Carving a music career was more than having a passion for it, said Clemond Maimela, whom fans know as Cnow, noting that it was his safe space when facing difficulties.
Born in Phalaborwa in Limpopo, Cnow moved to Gauteng around a tender age of four. He said his entry into the music industry was by chance when her aunt caught him mumbling the lyrics of a beat he had produced.
“My aunt encouraged me to record the song and release it. I didn’t think much of it, but I knew I loved being on the mic. After its release, it hit over 10K sound cloud streams,” shared Cnow, adding that his drive to tell his stories is what motivates him the most.
Though he is very private, Cnow said if you listened close enough to his songs, you will discover much about him.
He explained further: “I want to be on the world stage just like every other artist, but I want to build a cult following and pioneer my own sound. I would love to be mentioned along niche artists like Kaytranada, Tems, Soulection, Syd, etc.”
Walking away with an award for best newcomer at the 012 (Pretoria) awards in 2020 sits on top of his highlights, but most importantly when his family acknowledged his passion.
“I really wanted to get out of my shell wand with my latest EP that I have released, Avukeni, which means ‘hello’ in my mother tongue. I am introducing myself to the audience.”
He said fitting into the industry dominated by amapiano and hip-hip has been one of the challenges he had to overcome, noting that it is a little harder to grow in popularity as the R&B and Afro-pop musician.
But he knows his perseverance will pay off.
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