These easy-to-make gifts are the perfect way to let mom know how much you care.
Born and raised in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, multi award-winning singer, songwriter, performer and Pan-African activist Zoe Modiga sits down with us to talk about the art of storytelling through music and performance, going back to and falling in love with ourselves as Africans and her upcoming tour.
Please tell us a little bit about yourself and your background.
I am an award-winning singer, songwriter and performer. I’m just an artist who loves people, who loves music and who loves being able to tell stories.
Where did your journey begin?
I would say my journey began at home, you know. I come from Pietermaritzburg, where you're not just raised by your biological family, but you're raised by a community of people. For me, it's always just been about telling those stories that are familiar to me as a young black child.
I grew up in a space where people had very interesting tastes in music. I would listen to people playing that music out loud and would always wish that I could impact people in that way as well. So, in many ways, these songs and love letters that I write are really to reflect the human experience and to speak to people I was raised by, people I was raised with as well, while allowing people who don't have those backgrounds to relate as well.
Speaking of impact, I know you're also a Pan-African activist. Why is this important to you? What does being a Pan-African activist mean to you?
For me, the idea of being an activist comes with being an artist, because you're automatically there to reflect the times. Reflecting the times is reflecting the order of what life is, with its social ills and its social joys. And so, I think it's a label that comes with it.
Pan-Africanism, for me, really is just kind of unifying people of African descent. Elevating our messaging and bringing us back to ourselves allows us to fall in love with ourselves, as vast as the idea of being African is. We have beautiful languages, cultures, ways of living and ways of looking at life, fashion, food and heritage. To be able to make that cool again and to bring it to the forefront is something I'm so passionate about.
Please tell us a little bit about yourself and your background.
I am an award-winning singer, songwriter and performer. I’m just an artist who loves people, who loves music and who loves being able to tell stories.
Where did your journey begin?
I would say my journey began at home, you know. I come from Pietermaritzburg, where you're not just raised by your biological family, but you're raised by a community of people. For me, it's always just been about telling those stories that are familiar to me as a young black child.
I grew up in a space where people had very interesting tastes in music. I would listen to people playing that music out loud and would always wish that I could impact people in that way as well. So, in many ways, these songs and love letters that I write are really to reflect the human experience and to speak to people I was raised by, people I was raised with as well, while allowing people who don't have those backgrounds to relate as well.
Speaking of impact, I know you're also a Pan-African activist. Why is this important to you? What does being a Pan-African activist mean to you?
For me, the idea of being an activist comes with being an artist, because you're automatically there to reflect the times. Reflecting the times is reflecting the order of what life is, with its social ills and its social joys. And so, I think it's a label that comes with it.
Pan-Africanism, for me, really is just kind of unifying people of African descent. Elevating our messaging and bringing us back to ourselves allows us to fall in love with ourselves, as vast as the idea of being African is. We have beautiful languages, cultures, ways of living and ways of looking at life, fashion, food and heritage. To be able to make that cool again and to bring it to the forefront is something I'm so passionate about.
What are some of the challenges that you faced along the way and how did you overcome them?
I would say challenges that I've faced are really just being able to share my message far and wide. I am an independent artist; I always have been. There have been conversations about me being with labels, but at the time, it was more important to me to have artistic freedom. And so that comes with challenges of resources and being able to elevate the brand and the messaging.
With that being said, challenges are good because it allows you to discover, sometimes even better, ways of relating to yourself and relating to people and -- certainly for me -- as an artist as well.
I want to know more about Ubuntu and its feature on the Netflix series, Savage Beauty. Did you mean to have the song linked to the story? Why did you agree to it?
I agreed to be a part of Savage Beauty because I really think of myself as an artist to reflect the modern African story. If I think of myself as that kind of artist, I need to stand behind that. I enjoy being associated with different kinds of stories coming from the continent. I think in the last 20 years, we've seen Africa publicised a certain kind of way, with one certain kind of lens, when there's so much more to us. I thought being able to be a part of a different kind of story coming from the continent was beautiful.
You have impeccable style, is it something that you've always made a conscious effort to showcase?
I've always related with the idea of fashion as an everyday, all-the-time thing. I think fashion is just a visual representation of who a person is. Whatever it is that you put on your body is communicating who it is that you are and that's ultimately what I've always thought fashion to be.
I think the beauty of being an artist is that people don't just have to hear you, but they can also see you. I also enjoy collaborating with peers who are making such beautiful contributions to the South African story. I meet designers like Rich Mnisi, Thebe Magugu and being able to connect with them in telling our collective story is so important.
Related Article: June/July Cover Story: TT Mbha
What's your favourite pastime?
My favourite pastime is watching YouTube. I love YouTubers, and I love YouTubers that talk about fashion, the way people think and who interrogate everyday life. I like to think I reflect that in my music, so I really enjoy consuming that content.
I also enjoy makeup. I use it for work but I also just enjoy expressing myself using it. It really is such a beautiful, therapeutic, expressive mode of existing for me.
I've always related with the idea of fashion as an everyday, all-the-time thing. I think fashion is just a visual representation of who a person is. Whatever it is that you put on your body is communicating who it is that you are and that's ultimately what I've always thought fashion to be.
I think the beauty of being an artist is that people don't just have to hear you, but they can also see you. I also enjoy collaborating with peers who are making such beautiful contributions to the South African story. I meet designers like Rich Mnisi, Thebe Magugu and being able to connect with them in telling our collective story is so important.
Related Article: June/July Cover Story: TT Mbha
What's your favourite pastime?
My favourite pastime is watching YouTube. I love YouTubers, and I love YouTubers that talk about fashion, the way people think and who interrogate everyday life. I like to think I reflect that in my music, so I really enjoy consuming that content.
I also enjoy makeup. I use it for work but I also just enjoy expressing myself using it. It really is such a beautiful, therapeutic, expressive mode of existing for me.
What are some of your plans for the rest of the year and beyond?
I have been working on my messaging and working on being able to articulate and celebrate the modern idea of South Africa to South Africans, to Africans and to the world. I've been enjoying what has been able to come out of that for the year, I'm looking forward to collaborating with different kinds of artists in different mediums, whether that's visual or sonic mediums.
I'm also getting ready for an incredible European tour. We'll be performing at the Africa Festival in the Netherlands and at the North Sea Jazz Festival, which will be featuring Diana Ross, Robert Glasper and Erykah Badu to name a few. I'm so happy that we're getting to a place where the world is getting smaller.
Related article: Fierce & Unyielding: La-Toya “Lioness” Mwoombola
And the last question, what message do you have for people that look up to you?
I would just encourage them to relate with whatever reason they look up to me for. I would encourage them to be curious more about themselves. For me, that is the most powerful thing. I think some of the most powerful people are those who might not always have the answer to that for themselves, but they're constantly interrogating because when you get to the other side of that there is a silent confidence that I think you exude within yourself.
TELLING AND REFLECTING THE MODERN-DAY AFRICAN STORY WITH ZOE MODIGA
Reviewed by Edgars Mag
on
June 15, 2022
Rating:
Reviewed by Edgars Mag
on
June 15, 2022
Rating:
