2 days ago
Adilah singer Thembisile Ntaka opens up about life in Hong Kong and upcoming music
She was introduced to the music scene in 2003 when she participated in the Coca-Cola Popstars singing competition, where she reached the top five.
Following this success, she became a member of the group Adilah. Later, songstress Thembisile Ntaka embarked on a solo career and released an album titled Thula in 2016.
In the years that followed, she continued making music and was a fan favourite, because of her unique style and she recently came back from Hong Kong after clinching a role in Hong Kong's adaptation of Disney's Lion King. Although she stayed in Asia, she had music in her vault back home that she wanted to release once she returned home.
And now that she has returned home, she has a burning desire to work and release new music.
Thembisile, whose excitement is palpable when she chats to Drum about her time working abroad.
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She delves into the lessons she's learned, what's kept afloat in the cutthroat industry all these years, and her desire to venture into TV acting.
'Working abroad was an awesome experience, because I got to work with different actors from around the world and that was an experience that I had never had before. I wish I can get into a TV drama here at home, not something daily, but something that will enable me to do other things,' she says.
Having just arrived in May, she's in the mood to work and perform the music that she wrote before going abroad.
'I want to start by releasing a single and then gradually ease into releasing the full album and perform songs from there live. I also wouldn't mind collaborating with some artists that I worked with there, because I want to experience other cultures, as I believe that music is universal,' she explains.
She is in awe of how punctual and professional the artists in Hong Kong are, and she wishes the same could be said about South African artists.
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'Everything there is done on time and on schedule. It's planned, I wish we could also be punctual and professional. There if you are late, the bus leaves you behind no excuses are welcome. I wish that as artists we could respect time and be professional at all times, because artists from other countries are sheer professionals and they respect their craft,' she emphises.
Being an artist for over two decades, she has managed to keep head held high, because 'I've always been honest with myself.'
'I've always been honest about who I am and not tried to live beyond means, that's what's kept me all this years and I wish every artist can do the same, because struggling causes undue stress and affects productivity,' she concludes.
