Acclaimed vocalist Ntsika Fana Ngxanga has released an enchanting kids EP in celebration of Heritage Month.
Dreams, Love and Light is a six-track EP, a heart warming collection of songs that offer a wide variety for kids to listen to, with some being sung in isiZulu.
From lullabies like Ukelelela (children’s music) to inspirational songs like iGolide (Gold), the collection comes together as a celebration and adventure of childhood.
IOL caught up with Ngxanga to discuss the release of his latest EP, Dreams, Love and Light. He delves deeper into the creative process, the motivation behind working on a kids EP, and the influence of his own childhood.
Ngxanga, being a father himself, was the number one driving force in creating the EP. He shares that he wants the world to know about the blessing that he and his wife were given.
“The need to celebrate the blessing that my wife and I were given, being so grateful for our two beautiful kids and wanting the world to know about it,” he says.
The kids EP features a theme of affirmations and lullabies, which are a reflection of his experience with his grandmothers singing him lullabies whenever he would wake up at night.
He adds that he echoed sacred sentiments of becoming a father in the music and reflections of his gratefulness to the mother of his children.
“I also reflected just how grateful I am to my beautiful wife for being the blessing in my life that led to these beautiful human beings that are extensively celebrated in this special and heartwarming project,” he says.
Songs such as Nibahle (You Are Beautiful) and iGolide (Gold) send a message of affirmation to the children, which Ngxanga hopes his children and young audience take away from the EP.
Additionally, he wants them to leave with an overpowering sense of worthiness, understanding that they are beautiful from the inside out, and always shine their sacred light in everything that they are called for in this world.
His childhood influenced the creation of Dreams, Love and Light. The delicacy in how he performs mirrors the gentleness of how Ngxanga was raised by his grandmothers.
“The music also comes from an ethereal realm that has always been a part of who I am, a world that was cultivated since childhood,” says Ngxanga.
IOL