Kwaito music gets a hot new remix from the self-style haute couture pantsula

Binwe Adebayo: Your first EP is here. Congratulations. What are you feeling as you share this full project with fans and new listeners?

Mx Blouse: It’s both exciting and daunting. I’ve been working on this for a little over a year now but I never quite anticipated just how scary it would be putting out a body of work, rather than just a single. There’s so much that goes into it beyond the creative aspect of jumping into the studio to cook what we think is a great track. You then have to start thinking about how you are going to get this project to as many ears as possible, in the absence of backing from a big recording label. That’s what makes it so scary, I guess. Even as queers there are expectations from our communities about how we should sound, and look like, and if you don’t, you’re very easily rejected. So for me, it had to be a conscious decision that, this is who I am, this is what I sound like, I am being authentic to myself, fuck everything else. That’s a hard place to get to, but it’s very satisfying.

BA: So let’s get into the genre, if there is one. In what ways do you think this project holds to ‘classic’ kwaito and in what ways has your artistry changed the approach to the genre?

MB: I think the delivery on this record is what makes it kwaito. I was very conscious about how I want to deliver the lyrics, rather than just straight up rapping, because I’ve also come to realise I’m not comfortable as simply a rapper. I draw from kwaito icons like Boom Shaka, M’du, TKZee, Mapaputsi and Mandoza. It’s rough, it’s rugged, it’s forceful. You can’t mistake it for anything else. It’s ghetto! It’s very black! It’s very southern African. It’s how we speak. Within that, I can’t sit here and lie about how much American hip hop and European electronic music have influenced me, and how much fashion influences me... I often call myself the ‘haute couture pantsula’ because I think that’s the sum total of what and how I am presenting as an artist.

BA: You and the producers Thor Rixon and Parabyl have a really strong working relationship. Talk to me a bit about your process for working together.

MB: It helps that we all enjoy what the others do. It’s not a marriage of convenience; it’s a collaboration that stems from admiration. It’s pure. It’s honest, and I love them as people. I think because we developed the Mx Blouse sound together, they’re also very much aware of what works and what doesn’t when it comes to working with me. I mean we’ve made full tracks in the space of a few hours! I also worked with TZARA who is an exceptional musician. I sent her some vocals and when we got to the studio, she had started writing the beat so we kept adding layers. By the end of the day we had a track that we were crazy about, but this hun went home and added some things that took the track to incredible heights I could not have imagined.

BA: What was your personal creative process for the EP? Take me through the ‘average’ creative day working on music for the project?

MB: There are no typical days, really. An idea can be sparked by a tweet, a quote in a book or a beat I come across on Soundcloud. I’m a loner, so I spend a hell of a lot of time on my own, and most of it is spent trying to articulate my thoughts, and trying to understand my actions and other things about life, the world, and relationships. I could be at a party, and I’ll take a few minutes to find a quiet space to record whatever’s going through my head on my phone, then I won’t go back to it for months until I hear maybe a drum pattern or a movie score that reminds me of those words, and then I’ll start trying to form them into something workable.

BA: So as we know well, the South African creative landscape is super vibrant and full of opportunity, but also constrained in some ways - social, financial, inclusive-wise etc. In what ways do you think you’ve been supported and propelled; and what are some of the challenges?

MB: I’ve come to realise it’s an industry that generally rewards loyalties. Opportunity is very much attached to who you know. It really doesn’t matter how talented you are. I think this fuels a lot of the mediocrity we see populating the South African mainstream, to be honest. That said, I’ve come to know some really incredible people who love and appreciate music and art, and I’m really grateful for their support. They’ve played my music on radio where the powers that be have said ‘no’, they book me for shows and they share my work. But I think the internet has levelled the playing field in many ways, and anyone can find an audience even when they tell you you’re weird and not sellable. Your work will find resonance somewhere.

BA: Within the creative scene, I think you’re as well known for your signature look and style, maybe as much as your music. How do aesthetics, fashion and style play a role in your personal expression?

MB: I believe that creativity is not confined to whatever medium we choose as artists. It manifests itself in many other ways, and how we dress is the most obvious of those ways. Over and above that, I think dress expresses identity. I identify as non-binary. There aren’t that many outlets for expressing that but there’s definitely a liberty that I feel from not confining myself to the gender binary. Fashion allows me to mark that territory, if you will. It’s like a big zap sign at patriarchy, mediocrity and mundanity, so to speak. If looking at me confuses, disgusts, or pisses you off, even better! You need to take a look in the mirror and understand why my freedom does that to you or, if you are a little bit more secure in your being than most people, take the time to feed your curiosity about the complexities of humanity. That’s my little present to you, babes.

BA: It’s always tricky to try and address LGBTQIA+ issues without categorising someone as solely an LGBTIQA+ artist. How do you navigate your interlocking identities as an artist and someone in the community? And how does your personal identity affect the work you make - if at all?

MB: Try as you might, you can’t separate your identity from your work as an artist, that’s why trash men rap about “bitch this, bitch that” and people whose entire lives revolve around champagne at the club tend to sing about that. It’s what they know. It’s a reflection of how much they interrogate their identity or not. There’s no right or wrong way of doing it, it’s just what it is. My identity goes far beyond being queer, so in addition to my queerness, when you listen to my music you will hear about self actualisation, you will hear about looking cute and going to the club, you will hear about my struggles with depression, you will hear about politics. All of these are things form part of my nuanced identity, which isn’t confined to who I am sexually attracted to. It includes that, but it’s much much broader than simply that. Unfortunately, because I am queer, most people won’t look beyond that, but that’s not something I concern myself too much about anymore.

BA: Where does this EP fit into your musical journey? More importantly, what has Re:Mx done for you as a living, breathing person with a life beyond being a musician? What have you learned?

MB: It’s honestly just the beginning even though it’s left me feeling 100 years old and ready to retire. I’ve learned a lot about expressing myself in my native tongue, which is isiZulu. I used to only write in English, because well, you know, colonisation, but now writing in English feels somewhat boring and not as enriching. So I definitely appreciate my language so much more. Most of all, because I have to be conscious about what I write, doing this has brought me so much closer to myself. I think as people, there’s so much going on in our lives that we never stop to think about our feelings. We hardly stop to empathise. Music has forced me to do both so much more often.

BA: Any particular tracks you’d like to highlight?

MB: Listen to the whole thing from start to finish, in the order that it’s in. That way it feels complete and makes so much more sense, but I will say the track Supernatural is a great get-up and go song. It’s the first song on the EP precisely because I think it’s the one folks should listen to first.