MOSSEL BAY NEWS - A versatile artist with a love of all genres of music, KwaNonqaba musician Mof-cando recently released the very first single off his six-track EP entitled Shibobo.
While the album's name references the South African term for a soccer manoeuvre, Mof-cando's music is inspired by love, life and making a difference in people's lives. The first single to drop, which is currently available on Spotify, is a love song called "Impilo Emnandi", which means 'nice life' in isiXhosa.
"I am singing to a woman and promising her that if she sticks with me, I will show her a nice life," said Mof-cando.
"It is more of an R & B genre, but the rest of the tracks on the EP are extremely versatile. There will be amapiano, trap, hip-hop, Afro and three-step sounds on it. The next single will be launched before the end of November and the rest of the EP will be released in January," he said.
Mof-cando said he was born and raised loving music in Botshabelo, a large township east of Bloemfontein.
He first discovered he could sing when he was in Grade One and his teacher told his noisy class to be quiet or sing, and so, Mof-cando began to do just that. His teacher was amazed, and soon he became known among his primary school peers for his voice.
Mof-cando in KwaNonqaba. Photo: Chelsea Pieterse
From there, he joined his grandmother's church choir, performing clap and tap music, a South African genre of music characterised by hand clapping, foot tapping and the combining of traditional African rhythm with gospel music.
At age 12, he began writing his own lyrics for gospel songs in seSotho and isiXhosa, and at age 15, he became the choirmaster of the church choir.
He said he grew up listening to all genres of music. "If it sounded good to me, I would celebrate that song by listening to it at least 10 times.
"I even had a few Afrikaans CDs. I didn't understand the lyrics, but the rhythm of some songs moved me," he said.
Mof-cando said his all-time favourite South African artist is Bonginkosi Dlamini, professionally known as Zola 7.
Following his matriculation, looking for work in the Free State was tough.
That was when a friend of his called him and told him to come to Mossel Bay. He did and started working as a waiter at a local restaurant, all the while working on his music and teaching local church choirs the art of clap and tap as he had learnt it in Botshabelo.
A church choir in Cape Town invited him to visit them, and he ended up living there for six years before heading back to Mossel Bay in 2012.
"When I came back, a few of my friends had their own studios. I told one of them I wanted to record and in 2018, I released my first single entitled "Vuka", which has an Afrotrap sound," he said.
In 2020, when lockdown hit the country, work in the studio suffered. And when it was lifted, he began taking his music seriously again.
"I write all my own songs. My music is influenced by helpful messages, something inspirational that could change someone's life, what we see and do every day, all over various beats. I don't have a specific genre of music I fit into," he said.
Find Mof-cando on Spotify, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and X, all through searching 'Mof-cando'.
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