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Top Billing Catches Up With SAMA Winning Artist Sun El
From being broke to working with Alicia Keys, we catch up with Sun El to chat about how far he's come.
If you ask any South African who loves local music who Sun El is you’d probably be met with a “Of course I do, he’s hella dope!” and they’d be right.
Sun El is a talented, award-winning musician who recently achieved a hat-trick by scooping up three SAMA’s in one year. This musician is no way limited to the African continent. Having worked with Swizz Beatz in the big apple as well as the unstoppable song-bird that is Alicia Keys, this South African musician has a bright future ahead of him.
Born in Mooi River, Sanele Sithole took his inspiration from Zulu folk songs, soul & house music and blended them together to create his signature sound. It was when he collaborated with the Samthing Soweto on the smash-hit “Akanamali”, a song about the plight of being young that the nation listened up.
It was when the ever-popular Cassper Nyovest introduced the sounds of Sun El to producer Swizz Beatz that Sun El found himself working with R&B/Soul powerhouse Alicia Keys.
Jonathan Boynton-lee speaks to Sanele in his studio about his crazy rags to riches tale. At the time that he worked on Akanamali which means “no money” the artist literally had no money but this didn’t stop him from pursuing his dreams and it’s brought him this far.
Sanele is usually known for his dance music but on his latest offering “Sengimoja” off his album “Africa To The World” Sanele’s voice can be heard and fans want more!
Growing up with older siblings, Sun El was exposed to their favourite music and thus he and his younger brother & DJ Sandile Sithole turned these influences into new songs.
Sun El displays a remarkable amount of humility for such an accomplished musician Jonathan finds as they visit an obstacle course for a “bro challenge” of sorts.
Sun El is also keen to help those that aspire to follow in his footsteps and credits the Internet for allowing aspiring DJ’s & musicians to hone in on their craft. He advises, however, that in order to make it, piano lessons can be valuable as well as enrolling at a school of sound.
You’ve heard it from the man himself, with technique down all things become possible.
