Singer Ami Faku chats to us about her inspiration and debut album, lmali. By Kwanele Mathebula
I grew up in a township called Ezinyoka in Port Elizabeth. We had a church at home, and my father was the pastor. It was around this time when I realised that I could sing. When I turned 18, I took an interest in recording in studios. And for many years, I would travel around PE recording music of all genres. Little did I know that I was preparing for today.
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My voice made me realise that I had something special. At an early age, I could distinguish that there wasn’t anyone who sounded like me. This made me want to share my gift with other people, so I decided to pursue music. I surrounded myself with people who were in the industry, so I could connect with the right people. This worked out well for me because it allowed me to fulfil my dream of becoming a musician.
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#ThisFeeling drops tomorrow. From @bennyafroe and I ? https://t.co/kdDJafxF1E
I’m proud of my debut album. It speaks about my life experiences and of those around me. It’s an album that is in tune with its emotion and is very honest. I was in a great frame of mind when I created it, even though I didn’t know how it would turn out. But, I knew the elements it had to carry, and in the end, it turned out amazing. It took more than a year to finish it, and it has songs that I recorded in 2017.
Having two of my songs go Gold was a huge career highlight. It felt incredible to receive two Gold plaques for my collaborations with Sun EL Musician on Into Ingawe and with De Mogul SA for Ungowam. It’s a great feeling to know that people are streaming my music and enjoying it. My song Ubuhle Bakho was also featured on Uzalo, which I’ll forever be grateful for because it impacted my career positively. Performing at all the amazing festivals and seeing my supporters sing my songs word for word is an incredible feeling. I’m also grateful to have worked with Vth Season alongside all the amazing producers, mixing engineers and musicians on my album.
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I’m excited to grow in all aspects of my life; personal and career. I look forward to performing more live shows and travelling, as well as a lot of great music. We just released Uwrongo with Prince Kaybee, Black Motion and DJ Shimza. I also have two upcoming singles titled This Feeling with Benny Afroe and a surprise collaboration with Black Motion.
