Musa Keys Reacts To ‘Kancane’ Going Double Platinum. Keys, real name Musa Makamu, was born in Giyani, Limpopo, and raised in Polokwane. From an early age, he spent his Sundays in church. It was there that he first learned how to play the keys and became drawn to gospel music. Given this background, making secular music was not a straightforward process.
His latest hit single Kancane fits that description. A gorgeous amapiano cut straight out of Keys’ playbook, the single sees him playing second fiddle to Konke, the talented 20-year-old vocalist whom he recently signed to his independent record label, House of Tayo.
Keys told the story of how he discovered Konke while scrolling through Instagram, sent him a DM, and flew him to Joburg from Durban. Except it wasn’t that easy. Konke’s parents refused to let him fly down because “he’s still a kid”. Not one to take no for an answer, Keys sent his manager to Durban to mediate; a diplomatic envoy of sorts. A day later, Keys and Konke set up shop in Joburg. During his three-day stay, they made Kancane and started planning his branding. The song ‘Kancane’ has now gone double platinum, and this is a huge milestone for the star.
In stark contrast to his peers in amapiano, he’s conservative in his use of drums and digital sounds, instead opting for light, spacious composition. When I ask him if his process is the reason it takes him so long to release new music, he says, “My music needs to take care of me as well. For me, it’s pointless to be putting out hundreds of songs but yet not making millions from the hundreds of songs that you have.
“Sometimes it might take four months for somebody to understand your song. I’m still performing songs that I made two years ago and they still sound very new. I always make sure that my music sounds timeless. I need people to listen to my music a year from now and still feel like it’s still new.”
