Rowlene could have listened to the critics and "followed the trend", but she is carving her own path and making sure she is not standing in anyone's shadow.

The star recently launched her new single, Curtain Cal,l at a glitzy event in Johannesburgy, showing off her powerful vocals on a RnB song that looks set to be a chart topper.

At the event Rowlene told SowetanLIVE sister publication TshisaLIVE that while she is often spoken about in the same breath as her Tall Racks boss Nasty C and collaborator Tellaman, she was determined to make a name for herself.

"I didn't even want Junior (Nasty C) on my album because I want people to know me outside of Nasty C, outside of Tellaman, outside of Gemini Major. It is so easy for people to put you in a box or in a group."

The track is the first from her upcoming album to be released in January next year. Rowlene said the album will showcase her talent as a solo artist.

"I am in a more mature space. It has been an evolution. That is what I wanted it to be. The album has virtually no features, it is just me. That is the message I want to send to people, that if I wanted to (have features) I can, but I won't."

She said RnB was always part of the plan, but she needed to convince others in the industry.

"I have always wanted to be unapologetic when I make music. I am the kind of person who always has a plan about how I am going to do it, but obviously it takes a lot of convincing in the music industry. People won't always trust what you want to do if it hasn't been done before. So me doing this hasn't been done before. I had to get my team on board."