You Need To Hear @khanyisa95 'Journeys' EP

Yesterday I was scrolling down my YouTube feed and came across a video titled "She sang Bruno Mars in ISIXHOSA?" and.. it was surprisingly good. I was caught a bit off guard because I half went into the video thinking I was about to have a laugh but I got the complete opposite. I was taken aback by her vocal ability so naturally, I did some digging and was happy to find an EP titled Journeys. 

The EP opens with 'I'm a Believer' which is a heartfelt song about believing in yourself and your dreams, which is the overall theme of the EP and features stripped-down piano-led production. The rest of the EP sees her explore a variety of sounds but still manage to stay within the Afro-pop/soul lane. I say Afro-pop/soul because her music hovers somewhere there and leans to either side depending on the song. 'Hamba Nayo' is an example of when she makes music that leans more on the pop side and she seemed very comfortable in the sound. I think she has an ear for making afro-pop because she understands how to make a song catchy whilst still finding a way to let her vocal range shine. She then took a more soulful route on the following song titled 'Bhabha', which is my personal favourite from the EP. I wish I had the lyrics in front of me, but I love what she says on the chorus of the song and I particularly enjoyed the upbeat African groove that the strings and shakers bring. Listening to this EP, she did a great job of keeping me 'hooked' because I didn't notice that 'Bhabha' and 'Amandla' were 4 minutes long until I played them for someone else.

Khanyisa closes off the EP with 'Ndiyabulela' which has a spiritual feel and it was the perfect way to bring the EP to a close. But I can't lie, I do wish it was a little longer. Stream Journeys below.