BY SIPHOSETHU MABUZA
MANZINI – What happens when the sounds of home meet a modern African sound? For Velemseni, the answer has always been found in the music. The Eswatini singer-songwriter and creative entrepreneur has built her sound around that balance, drawing from African Soul, alternative Afro-Pop and the country’s rich vocal traditions to tell stories about identity, heritage and contemporary African life.
That musical identity will take centre stage when Velemseni performs at the InnovateHER INDABA on September 30, adding another performance to a career that has seen her become a familiar voice in Eswatini’s creative landscape.
Rather than treating tradition as something separate from contemporary music, Velemseni weaves the two together. Her songs create space for Eswatini’s languages and vocal influences while exploring experiences that extend beyond the country’s borders.
Her career has also stretched beyond performing. From 2017 to 2024, she lectured in music at Limkokwing University, while also taking on arts leadership roles including serving on the MTN Bushfire Arts Roundtable Committee and the Eswatini Theatre Club board.
Her work has received recognition through the Standard Bank SHEro Award in 2024, as well as MTN SWAMA Awards for Best Afro-Soul in 2022 and Best Soul in 2021. She has performed at major regional platforms including MTN Bushfire, Standard Bank Joy of Jazz and Standard Bank Luju Festival.
At InnovateHER INDABA, her performance will place that distinctive sound within a space centred on women, creativity and entrepreneurship For Velemseni, music remains a meeting point between where she comes from and where she is going carrying the sounds, stories and identity of home into new spaces.
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(Courtesy Pic)
