Majola (Khanyisa Buti)

I've been lucky that my last few presentations involve new artists that I can feel passionately about. I always love the artists that I present and I want them to do well. Sometimes I love them a bit more. Ben, Martin, and today's artist, Majola, are favorites of mine.

Majola, originally Khanyisa Buti, was born in 1985 in Zwelitsha Township, the Eastern Cape, South Africa. He is Xhosa (an ethnic group with a history that goes back many centuries and currently a population of over 8 million strong.)

Majola officially started singing at the age of nine with a gospel group called Heroes of Faith in Zwelitsha, King Williams Town. He obtained a performers’ diploma in Musical Theatre from TUT (Tshwane University of Technology). His career as performer was launched on an international platform when he got hired by the Miami Florida Based, Royal Caribbean productions. He travelled the world on cruise ships as a singer, but then he chose to come back home to work on his lifelong dream of completing an album.

"In my 21-year-old understanding I believed I had made enough money to last me a lifetime. But more importantly I wanted to find my true identity as an artist and as a person here at home", he said.

Back in 2008, as a 22-year-old, Majola faced his darkest moments. Living in the south of Johannesburg, where his aunt took care of him, he would walk for four hours a day auditioning for any role in the South African arts scene.

"I came back with rejection after rejection. I don't blame my aunt for sometimes getting tired of supporting me because I was a grown man already. It was such a painful time and I would get home, take a bath and listen to Sibongile Khumalo's Khumbula on repeat."

It was during this time that Majola lost the R20,000 he had saved up to record his first album. It was to take four more years for him to step inside a production studio to start recording his first track.

"It took me about two years to record Boet/Sissy. I had sessions from 2012 until early 2014. I would stop and start because I had to save in between."

The title, the songs, the whole concept of the album was about the multiple aspects of being gay. The album was mostly sung in Xhosa, Majola's voice sounded heavenly, the lyrics (those I could understand) worked perfectly and the spoken-voiced interludes showed that Majola was a master of creating the right mood, as well as theoretically very well-versed in the sexual and gender politics of the world. The music evoked a gentleness without eschewing drama and emotion. It would be hard to describe it because it's unique, but if I were to use a western analogy, I'd say it's as if Freddie Mercury were singing Marc Almond songs in the style of Al Green.

“The album is a combination of different genres like choral, classical and gospel with underlying tones of soul music,” the artist said.

Some interesting answers to questions:

You’ve chosen to unashamedly write and perform music about being gay. Why is that?

"Because it is the only aspect of my identity after being born black that has brought about a lot of pain and man-made adversities designed to make me feel shame. I am using music to exorcise the demon of shame."

Most artists wouldn’t use their first album to be so open out of fear of limiting their commercial success.

"A lie is a lie, and when you settle for a lie the flow of your life’s existence becomes destructive. The artist has to choose what matters more. Is it material wealth or spiritual wealth?"

Some might say that you’re very brave; singing about being gay and gay love in your home language of Xhosa… 

"Thank you for that. I don’t take that attribute lightly. The intention is to disrupt the myth that sexuality is a western thing, when it in fact is human nature."

What does the title Boet/Sissy represent?

"The acceptance of the masculinity and femininity that is within me. I’ve gone through circumcision to be culturally regarded as a man and to be addressed as “bhuti”. Justice Edwin Cameron writes in his second biography Justice: A Personal Account that he secretly wished to openly be a “sissy.” I agree with his sentiment and I decided to claim it."

In fact, the album actually features Constitutional Court Judge Edwin Cameron whose voice can be heard during several interludes. Justice Cameron, says Majola, has become a friend and mentor to him.

Cameron opens the album as the judge who conducts Majola's trial over his "manhood". The opening lines go: "Mr. Majola, you are the accused before this court. You may now stand, and make your statement of defence." Majola's first utterances in the whole album is “I stand in this court a man, fully aware that manhood is a narrowly defined subject within society.” This opening lines targets the narrow definitions of manhood, particularly black manhood that often positions black gay men as outside of manhood. And then Majola goes on to masterfully define what he thinks is a man.

The first song is named Khanyisa (Majola's real name) and it starts at the beginning, with his birth. As Khanyisa grows up, experiences life, trying to discover himself, he gets lost. Khanyisa eventually meets a woman called Nobanzi who saves his life. The friendship that Khanyisa has with Nobanzi keeps him strong. The song is partly a homage to the relationship between black women and black gay men. The song sets the tone for the album in a way, as he deals with issues of light and darkness, getting lost and found, and eventually loving yourself.

Here is Majola in a live jam with Lebo Mashile that includes the song Khanyisa:

The next track is called Bawo – father – the word is also often used in reference to God. This song is an affirmation of the gay identity. Majola talks about a boy who is cursed out, really chased out by his father for falling in love with other men. Majola begs in this, asking why the father is rejecting the gay son, where will he go? What is this boy to do? There is a theme of redemption in this album, and in this song Majola then continues with the narrative of being lost and found. The gay boy who is cursed out by the father finds his way to the big city and his life spirals out of control. This is a powerful song that speaks to the lives of many LGBTI young people who escape home because of abuse. Majola begs, and pleads for acceptance in this song. The piano keys coupled with Majola’s voice especially as the track fades towards the end has an incredibly haunting sound.

Unfortunately this song is not to be found in any embeddable or link-able form. You can listen to it on Spotify, or on iTunes. Or you can buy the record.

My favorite song, the album's masterpiece, is also the only song in the album which is sung in English. Mountain View speaks of an ancient rite of passage of the Xhosa men. They go to the mountain to have their circumcision and return as men. Majola sings about falling in love and having a relationship (his first one) on the mountain with another initiate. Because of what the mountain represents, it is the last place one would expect a same-sex love affair to flourish. On the one hand, it's a place with only men walking around naked often with their penises hanging out. 

On the other hand, although men are often all alone on the mountain, there’s often nothing erotic about that space, on the contrary, it can be dangerously homophobic. Maybe Majola is trying to prove to us that you can find love anywhere. This has got to be the first romantic song about a love affair on the mountain during initiation. The love experienced is depicted as razor sharp. Hot. Majola talks about learning to love another man and understanding love. Singing about the lover on the mountain he states: “He was kind to me, patience a gift from him. I understood love, and how to make love from that initiate in the mountain.” Although both men experience great love, it doesn’t survive beyond the mountain. Majola was kind enough to offer this link to the master copy of the song, where you can listen to it in all it's elegant and graceful timelessness. If you listen to just one song today, listen to this:

Mountain View

Here's a live version of the song:

The second interlude is track number five where Majola talks about being different and the journey to self-love. “I have always felt different to other males, stares of disdain, the name calling, distant affection from elder males and sometimes the violence inflicted on me confirmed that I was indeed different. The price I paid for being different is the excruciating loneliness I felt. Accompanied by guilt, shame and stigma, I overacted being a man and still wasn’t man enough to many … I was a secret friend to some, and a secret lover to many. I thought I was deserving of secret validation, someone had to take a stand for me, and to my luck that someone turned out to be Me.”

Then there’s the title track where Majola captures the anxiety of growing up gay in the township. He speaks of the warnings people often give to visibly gay kids where they warn the young gay about their deviant sexuality. In the chorus of the song, Majola repeats “ndingu boet/sissy” –I am Boet/Sissy. He asserts and affirms himself in the song that he is he what he is, “and so what?”

Here's Boet/Sissy:

Sondela is a slow jam. It is about two men making love; it is made that much sweeter by the Xhosa lyrics. Majola speaks of listening to the body parts of his lover, and how these body parts encourage him as they become intimate. The song is beyond courageous. Majola poetically croons about his manhood and the manhood of his lover and all this is done with a persistent haunting sound in the background.

Here's Sondela, live at the Soweto Art & Craft Fair, 2017:

In the third interlude Majola does not shy away to speak directly to the political situation of the African gay. He directs his words to those that prosecute gays all over the African continent. Majola states: “My sexuality is used as political fodder to dissuade from real political issues. Men whose crime is to love other men fill up prisons that should be filled by men who snatch bread from hungry mouths. Who rape and murder daughters and sons of this land. Love is one of the greatest virtues to be possessed by any human being. To be prosecuted for the courage to love is the highest crime committed against life itself.”

On the three tracks that follow, you hear the influence of church or choral music. Majola was kind enough to offer links for two of these three tracks. First, there's Ndindedwa (Alone):

Ndindedwa

Then there's this beautiful song of lost love, Luthando (my second favorite of the album). The chorus is in English beginning with "I really loved you once...":

Luthando

This also is a great version of Luthando, but it ends abruptly:

Interlude number four is all about loving men. Majola states: “I love men, I love the feeling of being held by another man. In another man’s arms I find comfort, safety, healing, escape, release, pleasure, and unspeakable joy.”

Then there's the song about the late activist Simon Nkoli. Majola says:

"His is an amazing tale of courage and tenacity. He lived in a time when black people were illegal citizens and he fought bravely for the right to say “I am Simon Nkoli and I am black”. Also those he was fighting with in the ANC regarded him less of a human for being gay. He continued fighting for another right, to say “I am gay”. The HIV/AIDS that locked people into silence and stigma didn’t silence him either. He stood up once more and said “I am living with HIV”, in the early 90’s when people were completely in the dark about the disease. He had a spirit that couldn’t be defeated and I believe that not even death succeeded. We are still talking about him right now and living his legacy of freedom for black people and all gay people."

Here's Simon Nkoli:

Last year Majola collaborated with Lebo Mashile, an award-winning writer, television presenter, actress and activist. Together they made a 3-song EP. Unfortunately, none of these songs are available to listen to. Here they are though with It's my Body, live at the Soweto Art & Craft Fair, 2017:

For this story, I based myself on the following sources:

http://queerconsciousness.com/boetsissy-black-queer-xhosa/

http://allafrica.com/stories/201606081491.html

http://www.mambaonline.com/2014/11/06/majola-exorcising-demons-shame/

http://www.dispatchlive.co.za/news/2014/07/22/majola-deals-with-complex-issues-on-debut-digital-album/

http://www.timeslive.co.za/thetimes/2014/01/08/Buti-sings-his-truth-with-gay-abandon

http://www.artlink.co.za/news_article.htm?contentID=40068

https://www.facebook.com/pg/Iammajola/about/

But I also received terrific help from Majola himself, the three linked songs, photos to chose from, as well as this small email interview that I thought would be a nice closer:

Q: On your debut album, Boet / Sissy, you have so elegantly placed the struggle concerning your sexuality in the form of a trial. Is the everyday life of a LGBTQI person in your country ruled by fear of condemnation? And, if so, in what degree do the major components play a part in this oppression? For instance, what is more of a hindrance to living free? The laws and regulations, the authorities, the society, or the internalized homophobia of same-sex-loving people?

A: Yes, I would say there's high levels of external fear and prejudices within most communities, and that somehow hinders one's personal journey to fully self actualize. What that creates is an environment whereby fear outweighs love and people remain trapped within themselves. The laws of this country are progressive as far as human rights are concerned and protect all citizens on paper, but on the ground people get violated and are often chastised by law enforcement officers when they report hate crimes. So there's a gap that needs to be bridged between personal beliefs and human rights. Therefore that places one in a never ending trial where their morality is persistently under scrutiny. So then the question is who are the custodians of these moral values with which we use to judge our own selves and others by?

Q: On your FB page, you mention that you like Bongeziwe Mabandla, Simphiwe Dana, Nina Simone, Miriam Makeba. We know all about Nina Simone and Miriam Makeba, but could you please introduce to Bongeziwe Mabandla and Simphiwe Dana? Also any more artists that you like or have influenced you?

A: Bongeziwe, Simphiwe and many other voices of my generation continue the sound Miriam took to the world in the 50's through a confluence of unique soul. Between them and Makeba there were exceptional soulful voices of Busi Mhlongo, Brenda Fassie, Sibongile Khumalo, Jabu Khanyile, Lebo Mathosa, Thandiswa Mazwai, Gloria Bosman, Mose Taiwa Molelekwa and Judith Sephuma.  

Q: How do you see your immediate and distant professional future? Any thoughts of attempting an international career? Also, I realize that you’re also a Playwright, Director, Producer with a Musical Theatre graduate from TUT. Would your theatrical work complement or would it antagonize your music? Do you plan pursuing both directions in the future?

A: It's hard to say as for now I'm concerned about fully shaping the language of my artistry and what it needs to convey, that is the immediate process and I belive the future will take care of itself mainly through the resonance of the truthfulness of my voice. I definitely would love more International exposure and/or touring experience but I will let the universe do it's work and not get in it's way. All of my skills in music and Theatre somewhat complement one another as they draw from the same source, which is storytelling. That's what I am, an ancient African artform I have inherited, the all encompassing and multi disciplinary art form of story telling.

Q: Where do you stand between living freely and outside the system as a gay person (the romantic sexual outlaw notion) vs being recognized in society legitimately, and leading a life that's as close to the straight model as possible (monogamy, raising a family, etc).

A: So this is a very Interesting question that is impossible to answer fully through a limited response. As pleasing as it is to be free and by free I mean getting to a level where one perfects disengaging themselves from heteronormative standards we are socialized to subscribe and live by. but the challenge is how to entirely autonomous in a society where our love strings/heart strings are attached and formed by structures where heterosexuality is upheld and is believed to be only definition of normal. So if you are to be totally free it would mean completely cutting ties with family and community members who think of you as abnormal due to your sexuality. They love you enough to tolerate you but not unconditionally that they would accept unquestioningly the aspect of nature which you reflect in their reality. They never ask questions on anything relating to your sex life or romantic life because it leads to a dead end of conditional love which is a result of conditions itself. So as much as I can create beautiful art which sits in public spaces but how do I become an effective activist in family spaces where people are unapologetically homophobic and claim to love me in the same breath! Now that is a more complex path to maneuver towards being totally "free". 

Q: Anything else, professional or personal, that you’d like to add to our story?

A: More than international success I hope to love! I mean really love and be loved! I mean meet a man who is at an intersection of self love I have been working/walking towards. I yearn for a soul transforming love experience and I understand that the risk is so high there, I could succumb from the fall. But wouldn't it make a great human story? He met his end at love's corner? 

We don't want you to meet your end, not for a long time yet, my friend. After all, there's more great story-telling to come from of you. We can't afford to miss it yet...