Prince Bulo Collaborates With Jazz Singer Natalie Rungan For An Amapiano Single. Prince Bulo is a musical composer, arranger, producer, educator and performing artist. He was born in Mohlakeng, a small township in Johannesburg, South Africa. Self-taught, Prince began playing piano and keyboards at an early age.
Jazz singer Natalie Rungan has teamed up with Prince Bulo for an amapiano single titled “Crazy in Love”, which was released earlier this month. Rungan, who has featured alongside some leading local and international artists, including Claire Johnston, PJ Powers, Danny K, Loyiso Bala, Al Jarreau and Kool and the Gang, over the years, stepped into this genre after Prince Bulo suggested she try it out.
In true amapiano style, “Crazy in Love” is not lyrics heavy but loaded with techno sounds and some guitar work, and is likely to receive airtime on local radio stations in the coming days. After Prince Bulo and Rungan put their creative heads together, the song was recorded in September. “It’s my step into the amapiano-Afrohouse genre, something I’ve been chatting to him about for some time,” said Rungan, who has a long-standing friendship with Prince Bulo. “We were doing a gig last year and he mentioned in passing that I should open my mind to jumping into this genre. So I did.”
She emphasised that she was not breaking away from jazz. “Not at all. In fact, the beauty of jazz is that it embraces so many other genres. You will hear it in the way I sing this. My nuances and phrasing are still very much jazz, just in a different setting I guess.”
Rungan revealed that there was more to come. “We have another track called ‘Ithemba’ which I am really excited about launching. Hopefully before Christmas. It’s something I believe will inspire many,” she said.
Prince Bulo, who has recorded and performed with an array of stars including Black Coffee, Frank McComb, Dwele, Gerald Albright, DJ Tira, Mi Casa and AKA, enjoyed what he and Rungan were able to create. “Besides being extremely experienced in her craft, Natalie is a joy to work with in the studio. She has depth and a vocal tone which can easily compete internationally. The collaboration was fun because she is a fast writer, making the studio session short and powerful.”
