Chronicle Editor
Bongani Ndlovu, Showbiz Correspondent
The year 2020 looked promising for singer X-Mile with many bookings lined up but things dramatically changed just after three months when Zimbabwe and South Africa imposed lockdowns as part of measures to curb the spread of Covid-19.
This signalled the start of what later turned out to be a very difficult year for X-Mile.
South Africa-based X-Mile (real name Xolani Ndlovu), an afro-jazz soul singer, songwriter and performer from Bulawayo is best known for his Clique song and Qamazing. He was a StarBrite finalist in 2012.
X-Mile relocated to South Africa about six years ago seeking greener pastures and settled down well in the neighbouring country.
However, like all other artistes, X-Mile was also affected by the lockdown as live shows were banned and travel restrictions enforced.
The singer who feeds off live shows, said 2020 was a difficult year for him as he did not know where his next meal would come from.
“I was meant to perform at some festivals in Botswana, Eswatini and the Free State here in SA, but all that was cancelled by the lockdown. That meant we could not perform anywhere anymore and that also meant that no income would come in. I went into some sort of depression as I didn’t know where my next meal was going to come from and how I was going to pay my rent,” said X-Mile.
The year was not all gloomy though because when the lockdown was eased later in the year, bookings came rolling.
This saw the artiste sharing the stage with hip hop superstar AKA.
“As hard as the year was for me as an artiste, it also had a lot of good things that it brought. When the lockdown restrictions were eased, live shows resumed and that saw me enjoying some of my greatest stage moments.
“One of the biggest highlights in 2020 was the AKA back-to-back X-Mile show. It was a two-man show that was a success. It was an amazing show,” said X-mile.
He said his experiences last year taught him not to give up and this is the advice he wants to give to young up-and-coming artistes.
“I’d also like to advise young artistes to keep going and not give up no matter how hard it can be in our industry. It will definitely pay off one day. Sometimes it’s just a matter of time before things change for the better and nothing should stop you from realising your full potential,” said X-Mile.
He said this year started off on a bright note for his career as he roped in multi-award-winning videographer Vusa Blaqs and new record label KayNine Records that is based in South Africa for his forthcoming music.
In a couple of days, X-Mile said he will be releasing a song, Induk’enhle that he describes as an “emotion”.
“I’ll be releasing my new song in the next few days. I wouldn’t want to say I’m releasing a single because I feel it’s way more than that. I’d prefer to say I’m releasing an ‘emotion’ because that’s what the song is all about. I’m expressing the feeling that’s inside me.
“The title of this emotion is Induk’enhle. That’s what I decided to name the song. People should expect something amazing and coming with visuals too.”
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