Muso on journey to start her own record label
South African Music Award winner Candy “Tsa Mandebele” Mokwena has revealed that she is no longer part of Kalawa Jazmee following her refusal to renew her contract.
Tsa Mandebele, popularly known for her song with Oskido called Tsa Mandebele, said that she wanted to venture into starting her independent record label called Mosekedi Entertainment.
Speaking to Sunday World this week, Tsa Mandebele said: “My recording contract with Kalawa Jazmee expired this year.
“I opted not to renew it due to the fact that I felt I was ready to release music through my own company.”
She has been part of Kalawa Jazmee since 2009 and has released notabl songs such as Easy Come, Easy Go and Hupenyu Unenge Viri.
She has now signed a distribution deal with Sony Entertainment.
“I needed help with distributing/licensing my debut album. Before Sony Music Entertainment agreed to partner with me through Mosekedi Entertainment, negotiations with other labels fell through as what was o ered was not good at all,” she explained.
She said that the last three months have been “exciting and eye-opening. I have learnt so much when it comes to digital distributions. Previously, the record label handled that for me.”
Speaking of the highlights and lowlights of producing her first album independently,
she said money has been tight.
“Money was the lowlight. As you can imagine, I am funding everything with my own pocket, with the money I have been saving for a year, which I thought would be enough. But that proved to be different.
“I had to cut costs by making sure everything is recorded in one or two places closer to where I stay and also working with producers who understand the business of music. The highlight is that I have a nished product ready.”
The new 10-track album, titled Still Here, is officially dropping on April 10.
Kalawa Jazmee director Oskido said: “A career decision is always something we value as a label for the growth of an artist. We expected that move for the growth of her career as it is important for her to stand on her own, this also helps Kalawa Jazmee to open doors for young talent as it’s been doing for the past 26 years”.
