“Till Today I still Haven’t Understood How Big The Award Is” – Musa Keys On Winning SAMA. The artist born Musa Appreciate Makamu in Giyani and raised in Polokwane, Limpopo, is a triple threat: he produces, DJs, and sings. His live performances are a marriage of these art forms and are usually broken up into two parts. He plays an electrifying DJ set before seamlessly switching to render a mesmerising, auto-tune-delivered vocal display. His artistic showcases are the making of a superstar and can convert any detractor into a believer.
Musa Keys won a SAMA last year, and he has shared that he hasn’t understood how big the award is as he dreams and hopes high to win a Grammy. “You know ’til today I still haven’t understood how big the award is, the people around me keep telling me that this is a big deal. I think maybe my dreams are too high. My goal right now is to be nominated for the GRAMMYs, that’s where my head space is, being constantly nominated for the BETs, and all these big international awards.”
“Not that I’m neglecting the ones at home, but for me, that’s just where my mind is at. But I also know that there’s no way I can collect a GRAMMY if I haven’t collected something at home. For me, I’m taking everything day by day. I have my superstar button off maybe 80% of the time. 20% is when I’m on stage or when I’m out in public. But besides that, my superstar button is always off. I’m very down-to-earth about stuff,” he said.
Like many musicians of the past and the future, Musa’s music journey begins in the church, where he took up the role of a pianist. “Church highly influenced the way I approach my music,” Musa reveals during a band rehearsal for an upcoming live performance. “I’m a [all-around] musician before being an amapiano artist so I’m technical about everything, because I understand the importance of having a solid team, in terms of the band, and the importance of having different sounds playing on a song. How to put a song together and how to arrange it — that comes from the church.“
