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There is a new, soulful voice in local music. I spoke to Tshepang Ramoba from BLK JKS when I heard that his label, Post Post, had recently dropped an EP by a very promising young man named Fortune Shumba.
“I met Fortune in 2014 when I was doing music for a drama series on SABC1,” the drummer told me, “and decided to use music from upcoming artists, as I thought it would be a good platform for them, especially in terms of building their confidence. I put out a social-media call for songs and received about 97. Fortune’s just stood out from all of them and I decided to give him a call.”
I spoke to Fortune and learnt a little more about this new voice in music.
Born and raised in Mpumalanga, and living between Nelspruit and Johannesburg, Fortune has been actively writing and recording music since 2013.
“My voice is my instrument. I use it to express my emotions and tell stories, while trying to educate at the same time,” he told me. “In 2014 I began working on my debut EP, titled Dawn [released in April 2015], which is part of a trilogy of EPs that I’ll be releasing over the next couple of months. In 2015, after the release of Dawn, I was also able to get the attention of one of my musical heroes, Tshepang Ramoba, who would later sign me to his label, Post Post, as a recording artist.”
Dawn’s first single, Emoyeni, is an Afro-fusion love song that Fortune wrote about his ex. The second single is a Ramoba alternative rock revisited version of the piano-driven ballad titled Free Heart, which has opened a lot of doors for him. Recently, he was lucky enough to be short-listed as one of the artists who got an opportunity to showcase in front of an international and national panel of judges at the SA Indies Music Week at The Lyric Theatre, where he was selected to perform at The South by Southwest festival next year.
Fortune says he draws inspiration from nature, people, technology, emotions and other musicians, nationally and internationally. He goes on to say: “I do not like to box myself as a certain type of artist. I do not belong to a specific genre of music, so I get the freedom to make just about any sound without feeling like a sellout.”
I asked Fortune whether or not he was looking to work with any other musicians. “I’d really love to work with Nonku Phiri, Thandiswa Mazwai, Moonchild Sanelly, Maleh, Nakhane Toure, Freshlyground and BLK JKS. They are such talented, authentic and rebellious artists who bring a breath of fresh air to the industry. I also love Bholoja, Petite Noir, Frank Ocean, Maxwell, Florence Welch, Bjork and SZA. The list goes on and on, but these are some of the many artists who inspire me. I’d really love to work with them. Busi Mhlongo, Jabu Khanyile, Lebo Mathosa, Luther Vandross, Brenda Fassie were, and are still, such inspirations to my music.”
Fortune says: “My biggest dream and goal is to represent South African music on a national and international scale. I feel like there’s way too much talent in this country and our musicians are not given enough recognition. The Grammy nominations came out recently and Ladysmith Black Mambazo, legends in their own right, received a nomination. This has been a recurring thing. I feel like it’s time for others to also get nominated. That has pushed me to work harder to put out quality music and hopefully get that Grammy nomination or, even better, win one.”
Follow Fortune on Twitter @Shumba_Fortune and on Facebook as Official Fortune SA
