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Following the success of his last single, Jehovah, which now sits on more than 30 million views on YouTube, Sicelo "S'Villa" Ngwenya took an unprepared two-year-hiatus from the music industry.
But now he is back.
Speaking to City Press on Wednesday, the SA Music Awards best music video nominee said he felt privileged to be able to work on his music passion again. He had taken a break after leaving his previous record label, Ambitiouz Entertainment.
Asked why he took such a long break, S'Villa said: "The music was there, the follow-up singles were readily available and I was putting in the work, but the music just wasn't being released. So as time went by, I realised my work was never going to be appreciated. Plus I'm not getting any younger, hence I opted to leave," said the artist from Durban. He is now based in Johannesburg.
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While on a break, the music writer and singer embarked on tours and was featured in other artists' songs.
Speaking about the success of Jehovah, which featured amapiano maestro Sabelo Zuma, the musician said he did not anticipate it to do as well as it did. He said the song opened doors and opportunities for him. It allowed him to work with three-time Grammy award-winning reggae band, Morgan Heritage from Jamaica on their single U Got To See (The World).
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The song also features BET-award winner, Eddy Kenzo, from Uganda. The single was considered for a Grammy nomination under best global performance last year.
S'Villa launched his own record label, Villa Music Group and signed a distribution deal with Virgin Music Group.
On what inspired him to launch his own record label, he said he felt there was no progress in his career after seven years in the industry.
For now, he is the only artist signed under the Villa Music Group and he will sign other musicians once he has learnt the ropes of the business.
He said embarking on this new journey taught him to be patient with himself and not be afraid to start from scratch. S'Villa released a single titled Ngiyak'dinga last week.
The song is about missing someone close to one's heart. The proud musician and budding entrepreneur said the song was relatable to anyone because everyone had someone they wished to be with, but for some reason, they could not.
The Thula hit maker said he will be releasing new music every six weeks. He was also working on a full body of work which will drop before the end of the year.
