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Healer tunes in to the business of music

SING ABOUT IT: Ntsikelelo 'Ntsika Rise' Colossa PHOTO: SUPPLIED
SING ABOUT IT: Ntsikelelo 'Ntsika Rise' Colossa PHOTO: SUPPLIED

TRADITIONAL healer-turned musician Ntsikelelo "Ntsika Rise" Colossa releases his debut album titled Ngim'Tholile next month after winning Best Afro-pop artist at the South African Upcoming Music Awards (SAUMA) last week at Soweto's Uncle Tom's Hall.

Colossa has been juggling two professions as a sangoma and musician.

He remains adamant that one can't exist without the other.

The singer wrote his first song Lindiwe in 2009 and says he was inspired to write about his feelings and thoughts about relationships.

"Being in love gave me the courage, and that is how I started writing. At first I was not interested in a recording deal because I wrote and sang for my passion," he says.

Colossa's mind quickly changed when he realised the interest around his first single Lindiwe and was asked to perform at weddings and funerals. "When I accepted my calling and underwent training I couldn't go back to church and sing as I used to.

"I felt a void inside of me and decided to find another way to share my love for music and started performing at weddings and funerals when asked to," he says.

The aspiring artist was born in Welkom, Free State, and endured the harsh reality of poverty and coming from nothing.

He was determined to make something out of himself when he moved to Johannesburg.

"I have turned to music throughout my life and it gave me hope, and when I came to Johannesburg and recorded Lindiwe I knew it would change my life," he says.

With a musical selection of Afro-soul and Afro-pop infused with traditional sounds, Colossa has performed his singles Lindiwe and Uthando at concerts throughout South Africa.

"I am so blessed to have my music thriving in other countries. I receive a lot of love and admiration from people in Swaziland, Botswana and Lesotho," says Colossa.

With his own record label Colossa Music, the self-made entrepreneur intends managing himself with the help of his fiancée.

"I depend on myself and have always worked hard.

"I want to have control over my career and I know it will take off," concludes Colossa.

 

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