Samson Mbatsa, the Philippi-based maskandi artist known as Qhude and Phantsikwenzakali in the industry, recently released his latest album titled Umalalephenduka.
The album has already received extensive airplay from various radio stations across the country.
The 11-track offering caters for everyone and seeks to uplift, educate and entertain maskandi lovers, said Qhude, explaining that many of the songs were inspired by current issues impacting the community.
That said, however, his life experience had also played a major role in the shaping of many of his compositions.
And he believes that sharing your own experiences and challenges through his music also brings healing to other people who might find themselves experiencing similar tribulations.
Through his music, he said, he also wanted to preserve our rich culture and customs.
“I hope this album touches every soul who listens to it. This is one of the best works that I have ever done so far. I hope it makes a difference on whoever listens to the album,” he said.
He says through this album he wanted to re-introduce another concept in the industry such as ushameni which different on other albums he has done before.
Talking about how he discovered his singing passion, he says his mother used to play Umrhube, a rare traditional instrument and that is how his loved for this genre was ingrained in his mind.
When his mother played the instrument, he said, he would sometimes compose a song and he believes that was where the seed of his future career in music was planted.
His first album was released in 2017, after which he released two more albums, under the stage names Qhude and Phantsikwenzakala.
He said the massive he support he received from his previous two albums has enabled him to continue producing music despite facing numerous challenges.
He has urged every lover of maskandi music to buy this CD and thanked local maskandi artist Magnet for guiding him and ensuring that he produced good quality music.
