Singer Tellaman chats to us about his music career and new album, God Decides. By Kwanele Mathebula
Image: Tellaman IG
I began making music when I was 16 years old. I was born in Ntuzuma, moved to Kwa Mashu and then Newlands West. When I was 16, my friends who used to make beats taught me how to create my own. Two years later, I began learning how to write and record my own music.
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I struggled to kick off my career. The type of music I created made it hard for me to find people to help grow my career. I then began looking for artists that I could collaborate with. That’s when I met Zakwe, Duncan and a few other artists. In 2014, I got the opportunity to work on the Soul Candi Session 15 project alongside house DJ’s Mo Flava, Lulo Café, Cuebur and Harael Salkow. This was my first commercial project, and got to produce a 12-track disk in the compilation. This gave me a foot in the music industry.
Moving to Johannesburg exposed me to better career opportunities. In 2016, I travelled to Johannesburg to work with Nasty C on a few songs for his album, Bad Hair. After a few trips between Durban and Johannesburg, I decided to move, permanently. At the time, my career was taking off and Mayo, a single I was featured on had just been released. I stayed with Nasty C for a few months until early 2017.
It took me 2 years to put together my debut album, God Decides. Initially, I was working on my music as I was trying to get my career off the ground. It wasn’t until I decided to make an album that I realised that I had recorded enough songs to compile it. The album is inspired by my struggle to balance my career and private life. Therefore, the album is divided into four: head over heels, world was 3, the fall out and spilt milk.
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I am excited to release videos for my music. I am currently working on the visuals and production of some of the songs on the album. I am also planning a tour, so my fans can hear my music live.
