“Pain is universal and everyone has that. No matter who you are or whatever life you’ve lived, you’ve experienced some sort of pain”

It must’ve been around the middle of May 2024 when Sani Lockeheart’s talents came across my radar. It was after the release of his collaborative efforts with Harvey, titled “NEW DAWN”, a short but sweet R&B offering that had me captivated by the alluring sounds I had discovered.

A sound slightly different from my usual pick of poison, I found myself enjoying Sani’s distinct sound, merging specific elements like his vocal performances from the R&B genre with instrumentals that pulled sounds from the Hip Hop or Trap genre. This is what many perceive to be known as TrapSoul, a genre still on its way up, with artists like Sani Lockeheart striving to popularize it.

I managed to finally meet the gifted virtuoso after his exceptional performance at Kimberleigh Venty’s EP launch event, and we managed to lock in an opportunity to finally sit down and uncover a little bit more about his world. That time finally came around, linking up with him at a restaurant in Observatory, where I had the chance to understand his background, his love for music, and his views and opinions on the creative scene in Southern Africa.

Let’s take it back to the early days. What were some of your experiences growing up?

“I’m one of three siblings with two sisters. On my mom’s side of the family, there were a lot of women. That means a lot of sisters, and we’d always do a lot of family things together. I was born in Zimbabwe but left when I was six and moved around to Botswana, Malawi, and then eventually South Africa in 2012.”

“When moving around a lot, you kind of have to jump into different societies and different friend groups. You have to learn to adapt and to adjust, but at the same time, it messes up your identity. So I always just say I’m just Southern African. All these different countries have a part of me.”

“But with my childhood, I had no complaints. We moved a lot, and that came with its challenges. But at the same time, I had the privilege of experiencing so many different things, and that all contributed to me and my perspective. When you’ve been in so many different societies, you see how something that’s normal here could be wrong or unusual somewhere else. It really opened my mind, and at the same time, I don’t get attached to stuff because I’m used to things being temporary.”

“But I think that’s good for me, knowing how to let go very easily. It happens way easier than most people I know. Things are here for a time, and nothing lasts forever.”

When or how did music start playing a role in your life?

“It’s weird because music has always been around me. My dad plays guitar, I have two uncles who also play the guitar, and they all played in the church. My sisters had to do piano lessons when they were younger. I never did the piano lessons, though, only the girls.”

“I learned to play a few chords when I was about six. And then I didn’t touch the guitar again until Grade 7. It was for a talent show, I knew a few chords, did it, and it was dope. I didn’t touch it again until after high school. But it was around Grade 9 or 10 when the iPad came around and me and the homies would jump on GarageBand. We were just making stuff for fun, but every time we’d do that, my homies would tell me that they could really see me being a real musician. At the time, that was dope to hear, but we were really just having fun. It was never a thing of doing music as a career. Back then, you’re still young and you never really knew what you wanted to do.”

“It’s when I went to UCT, when I was around 18 or 19, that I made the decision to actually pursue this music thing. By then, I had been releasing stuff.”

“Then, when I started performing and meeting different artists in Cape Town, is when I got that feeling and connection. I experienced stuff, and I felt a purpose. I think the biggest thing for me is how sharing music is just so dope. With music, you can take your experience and put it in a song. It’s raw, and you never know how it’ll be perceived, and then you put it out there.”

“I’ve had moments coming off stage, and a person will tell you they’ve had a bad day, but my music made them feel better. Things like that are what I love, and I love that connection. The ultimate goal for me is to impact people's lives positively through my music.”

Finally coming to the decision of pursuing a career in music, was that move hard or easy to make?

“Obviously, it helped when I started that everyone was telling me I was good. So I think from the jump, I just had the confidence. But the other thing is, you can’t please everyone. Even Michael Jackson has haters. You can be the most amazing artist, someone will still hate your stuff.”

“And on the other hand, you can be the most evil motherfucker. Someone out there will still have love for you. So, just do you, and I promise someone out there will be listening. Some won’t like it, but pay attention to the ones who appreciate your music. Ultimately, if you like your music, someone else is going to like your music.”

“It is weird when you first start making music, and putting yourself out there is difficult for a lot of artists. You have to get used to hearing your voice electronically. It’s like when you send a voicenote, the way your voice sounds to yourself is different and weird. But that’s when you learn more about your cadence and your flow, and you then get used to the sound of your own voice.”

“It’s easier said than done, and fear stops a lot of artists. It’s not easy, but for me, I think I’d regret not doing it more than I’d regret doing it. At least you know you tried if it doesn’t work out. I’d rather try and fail. The one thing I’m scared of is not trying at all.”

What have your experiences been like navigating things like social media, streaming, or the music industry in general?

“I think people just do shit for clicks now. That’s capitalism in its nature. They don’t care what the content is; they just care that it brings in numbers. That’s everywhere in the entertainment industry.”

“It’s the same with the music industry as well. People make songs now just to trend. I get it, and I’m not hating, but if that’s all you do creatively as a musician…eish. I totally get making a song or two just to get motion to launch your career. But when you’re only doing stuff like that, I think the longevity of your career is likely to fail because you’re just going to do what everyone keeps telling you to. You won’t have an identity.”

“That’s why you see so many artists blow up off a TikTok or something, and then you never hear from them again. It’s like they say - fakes will always get exposed. For me, I’d rather start now so that when everything comes together, and I’m global, I won’t have to second-guess.”

Just recently, you performed at Kimberleigh Venty’s EP launch, and I recall Jeriah asking me what your sound was before introducing you to the crowd. You answered TrapSoul. Could you describe that sound of yours?

“Yeah, I’d say TrapSoul, but my sound is actually so hard to describe. I like that though, and there are so many huge artists out there who can’t describe their own sounds. They have a sound, but they make all different sorts of things.”

“But I also do R&B, a lot of guitar and electric sounds with synths and other electronic stuff. But I also tap into many genres.”

“Basically, I’m someone who can sing over a Trap beat. But I can also still be soulful with it.”

Sani & Kimberleigh Venty at The Pink Room - @langambukazi_ / Instagram

So with the substance within your music, I’d say it touches a lot on the ups and downs of experiencing love and heartbreak. Are those actual experiences that you’ve personally gone through, or is that maybe just an imagined tale for listeners?

“Hell yeah, are those real stories! Hell yeah man! I’ve been through it, and I think everyone is the same. We’ve all been through so much. That’s at the core of it, and all my music is about my experiences.”

“I do get that some artists write hypothetically, but for me, I write off my own experiences. I’m glad you noticed that about my music because the theme of pain has always been central to me and my music. My friend [jokingly] calls me a sadomasochist, but I’m someone who sees the value in pain.”

“I draw a lot of my music through my painful experiences, broken relationships, disappointments in life, and all sorts of that shit that happens. Pain is universal, and everyone has that. No matter who you are or whatever life you’ve lived, you’ve experienced some sort of pain.”

“But in a sense, pain can also be a positive if you overcome it. It’s not that I like pain in and of itself; it’s that I recognise whenever you’re trying to overcome pain or those challenges, you come back harder, you come back stronger, and that’s how I’ve gotten to this point. You have to go through stuff, you’ve got to fuck up and make the wrong decisions, and you’ve got to take risks. Each time you overcome those things, your confidence grows, and you eventually grow from that.”

Congratulations on your new project release, “DAYS GONE BY”. What’s the reaction been like from the public and what was the whole creative process like behind it?

“People are loving it, and that’s what I needed. Funny thing, when I made this album, I wanted to have 20 songs on it, but I cut it down to 18. My management told me it was too much. I get them, but I also wanted them to hear me out.”

“And it’s fully comprehensive because I feel like my sound is so broad. For me to incorporate an Amapiano song, an Emo-Rock song, and to have genre-bending sounds while also still having my core TrapSoul sound was my way of giving the listeners what they wanted and what they’re used to while also still having my own fun.”

That’s actually something I noticed listening throughout your project. There was the Emo sound, and then suddenly an Amapiano sound. How important is versatility to you?

“As an artist, it’s so key, man. But I also think it depends on how you frame versatility. Usually, you could make hard, high-energy music, and then you can also make a chill song. It can still be R&B, rap, or whatever. But you’re just making it at a different energy.”

“It’s important to always keep your listeners engaged. And from a consumer's perspective, we all know how it is when you listen to an artist, and every song sounds the same. A lot of artists are afraid to make that jump.”

“As a musician, you need to branch out. That’s how you tap into different fanbases and expand your reach.”

You’ve been in the game for around 6 years now. What’s your opinion on the creative landscape in Cape Town and how have you found navigating the local scene?

“Damn. I don’t even know how to describe this. I’ve found it a lot easier than people say it is. But I think a big part of it is the unique sound that I bring to the scene. Reaching out to people is easy for me. There’s been very few times when an artist isn't keen on collaborating.”

“I think there are a lot of spaces or ways for people to enjoy a certain kind of sound or artist. The thing with Cape Town is that it’s always changing. The same venue today will have Amapiano, and tomorrow they’ll be having R&B. The next day they’re doing Hip Hop, and the next it’s Techno. When you do that, it attracts different crowds every time.”

“So it’s hard to cultivate crowds in that sense. I think digitally, once you have your fans online, then yeah, people will come through if there’s an event. But yeah, that might be an obstacle. That has to do with ownership of venues as well. There’s a lot of politics in Cape Town with venue spaces. There’s all kinds of politics behind the scenes.”

“You can’t just open a bar or venue without specific types of people you have to talk to and go through. It’s a whole different world in that regard. Especially venues with bottles and those sorts, ey man, there’s real crimes going on there. And it’s funny because a lot of people don’t deep it like that, so if you don’t know, you don’t know.”

“But in Cape Town, when I do perform, the people are great, and the crowd engages. But it’s very difficult to find the same crowd like that in Cape Town. I would say that much.”

Do you have a community of your own then?

“I’d say my community is spread. That’s the funny thing, actually. I don’t have a massive following yet. I think now I have about 5000 monthly listeners, but when I look at my stats on Instagram and stuff, I’ve got people all around.”

“I only came to Cape Town in 2018. I was around in Pretoria and Joburg for a long time, so I have listeners from there and from Cape Town. I even have people over in the UK and some in America. So my shit is very spread out, which makes sense because of my sound, which doesn’t sound like a typical South African sound.”

For my last question, I see your guitar is a big part of your look and aesthetic. How important is that guitar to you?

“Shit, of course! That’s one of my few attachments. That guitar is so important to me. Like I said, I’m a purist. You can’t call yourself a rockstar if you can’t play the guitar. Obviously yes you can, and people do, but I’m legit.”

“I’m doing that shit and I’m playing that guitar live. And it is my favourite instrument. That’s sort of my X-factor. I thought ‘how can I distinguish myself from other TrapSoul artists?’, because there’s a lot of us and there’s a lot of talent. The market is so saturated.”

“And yeah, that guitar to me is integral. I want to go down as one of the greatest guitarists. I want to get signed to Ibanez, the brand that makes guitars. They sign artists and then you get to make your own signature guitars and you get to sell that shit.”

“For me, those are the kind of milestones I’m chasing and that’s me making a career out of this.”

This was definitely a memorable chat. I left our interview fully understanding Sani’s approach to his organic sound. His calming persona made our interaction such a joy to have while also allowing himself to unveil his truest thoughts and feelings about his views on not just music, but life in general. I left that table having a better outlook and perspective on life, and that was all thanks to Sani.

I urge you all to check the young virtuoso’s discography out. I’d especially recommend his latest offering, “DAYS GONE BY”, available on multiple streaming platforms. Give him a follow too and keep an eye out for his live performances, the star knows how to put on a show!

The Beauty In Pain - Sani Lockeheart

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