Who is Lolo Skai?
Since inception last year, NashTV’s Color Vibes has given many upcoming and unknown artistes the platform to showcase their talent to wider audiences.
Some musicians who might have been relegated to niche audiences ended up blowing up after making appearances on this particular show.
The platform probably doesn’t get enough credit, but what I can say is that this is definitely one of the best things to happen to the Zimbabwean music industry in 2020.
It seems like NashTV has carried their momentum into the New Year as they have already shown us that they will be giving us more untapped talent.
On Monday they unearthed another gem. An artiste who goes by the name Lolo Skai.
The song she performed, Colorful Life, which combines Mbira instrumentation, soulful vocals and poetry is just mesmeric to say the least. I was getting some Chiwoniso vibes as I was listening to the song.
Sometimes I just can’t help but wonder where some of these artistes will be hiding because the talent is just amazing.
She probably hasn’t been doing much to push her music of something or that sort but hopefully we will be getting more from her in the future.
Having dug around and managed to listen to another song from her, I decided to reach out so as to know more about the South Africa based artiste whose real name is Laura Siwawa.
“Lolo Skai is a neo-soul, Afro-pop singer, songwriter and poet, but she is a human being first, a lover of life, a lover of music and just a regular girl with stories to tell,” she says.
Born in 1994 in Norton, her family would move to Borrowdale when she was in second grade.
“Norton 1 was where I did my first two years of primary. My family and I moved to Harare after that and we stayed in Borrowdale for a bit, then Hatfield, then Alex Park so my childhood was shaped in different places around the capital.
“I then moved to South Africa in 2015 for my tertiary education and I was studying at the University of Johannesburg.”
I know you might have heard this a thousand times, but yes, Lolo also says she fell in love with music as a kid.
“I fell in love with music right from the jump. I was that loud, happy child running around with my hairbrush as a microphone with a song to sing for every occasion.
“My professional career though, started in high school at Peterhouse in Marondera. This is where I learnt how to perform and to translate my emotions into song.
“I performed at the National Arts Eistedford in 2013 where I won the honors trophy for Best Female Vocalist Under 30. Now that was a moment of validation for me. That was when I felt I could really turn my passion into a career.
She added that music has always been her passion and an obvious career choice but the realization that she could write songs and poems that people resonated and related with is what gave her the push.
“Of course the thought of being a black Zimbabwean woman making waves in the music industry also helped to push that decision.”
She said her music is inspired by human experiences and the stories people tell. “It also stems from my personal journey and perspective of life and love.”
Before dropping her new song on the Colour Vibes show, she had only released one single, Angidingi, on various platforms.
“I don’t have an album yet, but it definitely is in the near future. I have an EP though that I am currently working on which will be released soon.”
The artiste performs at various spots around Johannesburg, being a fixture at jazz restaurants, poetry institutions and afro-pop festivals.
“I recently opened for Zoe Modiga and Stogie T for their spring show called Blooming sounds from Joburg. It was held at the Constitutional Hill in Johannesburg CBD, on the 24th of September, 2020. That was pretty epic.
“What I can say is that the future is bright for Lolo Skai. I plan to release more music, collaborate with other artists and grow my career enough to build human connections through my music.”
Check out her performance on Color Vibes and tell us what you think…
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