After three years abroad Nomfusi Gotyana is back in South Africa and has just released her second album.
The 26-year-old singer said - after touring Canada, Europe, Portugal and other countries promoting her music - she had realised that the "people back home" did not know who she was.
Gotyana said her latest album, Take Me Home, was dedicated to her local fans. Born in Port Elizabeth, Gotyana was raised by her mother, Kwazibani, who died when she was only 12 years old.
Her aunt took her and her sibling in, but she has also since passed away. After completing matric at Khumbulani High School in 2003, Gotyana moved to Cape Town to further her studies.
Often described as "a little diva with a big voice", Gotyana said her love for music started when she was still in primary school.
"I attended the Seventh Day Adventist Church, and that is where I learnt my harmonies," she said. After university, Gotyana started looking for a job.
"Like any township kid, I wanted to have money while studying, and I got a job at a restaurant in Rondebosch."
At the restaurant, workers were expected to entertain customers with songs. "Performing there made me realise that what I do is special, because people listened to me," she said.
Gotyana said a woman at her church suggested that she study music. "The lady managed to get me a scholarship," Gotyana said, adding that she also met her publicist and manager Philip de Villiers at that point.
"Phil hosted shows for up-and-coming artists, and the big recording companies would come and scout for new talent. Universal Publishing spoke to Phil and told him they wanted to record me," Gotyana said.
By the end of 2008, she had recorded her first album, Kwazibani, named after her late mother. "After releasing my first album I travelled overseas, but this year I realised people back home do not know Nomfusi, and I decided to dedicate my new album to South Africans."
Take Me Home was released on October 15 and will be available nationwide at the end of this week. Gotyana recently landed herself a role in a film about former president Nelson Mandela, due for release in 2014.
"I play Mama Africa, Miriam Makeba. It's a scene shot in Sophiatown, where the young uTat' uMandela goes to this bar with his friends and Miriam is singing."
Dedicated to local fans
After three years abroad Nomfusi Gotyana is back in South Africa and has just released her second album.
The 26-year-old singer said - after touring Canada, Europe, Portugal and other countries promoting her music - she had realised that the "people back home" did not know who she was.
Gotyana said her latest album, Take Me Home, was dedicated to her local fans. Born in Port Elizabeth, Gotyana was raised by her mother, Kwazibani, who died when she was only 12 years old.
Her aunt took her and her sibling in, but she has also since passed away. After completing matric at Khumbulani High School in 2003, Gotyana moved to Cape Town to further her studies.
Often described as "a little diva with a big voice", Gotyana said her love for music started when she was still in primary school.
"I attended the Seventh Day Adventist Church, and that is where I learnt my harmonies," she said. After university, Gotyana started looking for a job.
"Like any township kid, I wanted to have money while studying, and I got a job at a restaurant in Rondebosch."
At the restaurant, workers were expected to entertain customers with songs. "Performing there made me realise that what I do is special, because people listened to me," she said.
Gotyana said a woman at her church suggested that she study music. "The lady managed to get me a scholarship," Gotyana said, adding that she also met her publicist and manager Philip de Villiers at that point.
"Phil hosted shows for up-and-coming artists, and the big recording companies would come and scout for new talent. Universal Publishing spoke to Phil and told him they wanted to record me," Gotyana said.
By the end of 2008, she had recorded her first album, Kwazibani, named after her late mother. "After releasing my first album I travelled overseas, but this year I realised people back home do not know Nomfusi, and I decided to dedicate my new album to South Africans."
Take Me Home was released on October 15 and will be available nationwide at the end of this week. Gotyana recently landed herself a role in a film about former president Nelson Mandela, due for release in 2014.
"I play Mama Africa, Miriam Makeba. It's a scene shot in Sophiatown, where the young uTat' uMandela goes to this bar with his friends and Miriam is singing."
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