‘uMlando’ hitmaker 9umba shifts into top gear

Letlotlo-la-Bakuena Letlatsa, aka 9umba , has risen to fame as the producer behind some of amapiano’s biggest hits, most notably the smash hit uMlando with Toss and Mdoovar.

He is now stepping into the limelight, setting his sights on taking his music beyond our borders — with the hopes of being a headliner in Ibiza. Sowetan chats to him about being an independent artist, lessons uMlando taught him and his new single Kombamina .

9umba: Toss, Mdoovar and I were not necessarily a group. We came together to make music. I’ve always been a solo artist. It was individual brands coming together to push one song. When you have one common goal, you come together with a bunch of people to accomplish that goal, but each person still has their own path that they’re following.

9umba: It’s tough, especially with the genres evolving. It’s not just amapiano. All the different genres are evolving, and I’m trying to keep up with the sound and improve on it. I’m a perfectionist. I’m always trying to improve the sound and incorporate different elements from other genres so that it doesn’t stay the same.

You finish something and think, “Okay, cool, we’ve done this. What is the next step?” Creating something new is difficult because you don’t know what’s going to come out. It’s very experimental. That’s the scary part and the frustrating part, but it’s also a fun journey because you don’t know what’s going to come out.

9umba: I do everything on my own, with the people and friends who help out as well in terms of pushing the song and getting the songs out there. Being a solo artist is hard because you don’t have the structures or most of the connections that these other companies have. You don’t have the leverage that they have either. Everything is coming out of your own pocket. If you’re pushing the song, you’re physically on the street, handing out posters if there’s an event. It’s difficult to do everything independently.

9umba: Kombamina means “point at me”. The whole concept is about when you’re doing great and people start saying you’ve changed or blaming you for things. Everyone is trying to pull you down while you’re trying to achieve something. But you know what? It’s fine. Whatever reasons people have, I’m going to focus on getting to my destination, no matter what.

9umba: I always look at what I wanted 10 years ago, and I’ve done everything I wished for. With the Ibiza thing, that is the goal with the music — trying to reach that market as well. But in general, I want to become known internationally. I want to be that one producer who isn’t genre-focused. You can put me in a room full of people who sing R&B or other producers who produce R&B because I’m more music-focused, not genre-focused. I love music. As long as it sounds great, I’m with it.

9umba: FKJ ( French Kiwi Juice). He’s one of the guys who inspires me. Getting international gigs, hosting my own international shows and working with international producers and artists is something I want to do.