Chronicle Editor
Sandisiwe Gumbo, Sunday Life Reporter
Award-winning Bulawayo hip-hop artiste Indigo Saint has unpacked his new music video titled Umdali which explores his personal journey and aspirations for growth.
In a recent interview, he highlighted insights into his musical influences, the meaning behind the lyrics in the video. Indigo revealed that he started his musical career in 2012 and achieved his first notable success in 2017 when he won the Best Underground Hip Hop Artiste award.
His passion for music was shaped by a variety of influences, including jazz music and the works of Bob Marley. He also drew inspiration from renowned hip-hop artistes such as Jay Z and Kendrick Lamar, whom he listened to while growing up.
“My music sets me apart from others as I’m capable of writing different hip-hop styles. In my new video that type of style is called drill. I can also do Afro beat. I produce a cautious type of music, my music is reflective and speaks about the wins and ups and downs of life.”
Regarding the meaning behind the lyrics in his video for the song Umdali, Indigo Saint explained that the lyrics were reflecting on his journey and growth.
“In the 1st verse, I share my reminiscence of the Varsity life I faced in Pretoria. In the second verse I’m expressing myself at this point in my life, in which I don’t want problems, stress and I am seeking growth.”
For the music video, Indigo Saint collaborated with producer Sparks 45 to create a catchy and memorable visual experience. He acknowledged that people often fall for music that touches on themes of love, relationships, money and success.
“People like to listen to things that are either about love, relationships or money or success, hence I also included those aspects. A lot of young people might relate to this. I tried to make it catchy in a way that people will remember.”
Indigo Saint highlighted his involvement in a project called Script and Bars, facilitated by the British Council, where he received training on releasing music and positioning himself in the creative industry.
“During the time when we came up with the song I was in this project called Script and Bars, a project facilitated by the British Council in which we got a couple of trainings on how to release music and position ourselves in the creative industry. I followed the template that they had for releasing my work. I knew I had to make a music video for it. We made a lot of bunch of content before we made the music video and one of my friends Admire directed the video.”
Looking ahead, Indigo Saint said he is actively working on collaborations with prominent artistes from Bulawayo, Harare and international figures.
“My hope for the future is for Bulawayo artistes to be criticised a little less. There are a lot of artistes even before us who struggled with criticism. I hope a time will come for Bulawayo to be in a better space in terms of music, for our stories to be heard through our music without facing any criticism,” he said.
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