FINE Arts Alumna and musician, Thabisile Ndlovu known as Thab’sile recently released her hit single titled ‘How Do I Love Thee’, after taking a break for two years from music.
Thab’sile who is originally from Pietermaritzburg made a name for herself in 2005 when she collaborated with DJ Bongz and sang the hit songs: ‘Thina Sobabili’ and ‘Get Over You’. These songs especially Thina Sobabili got many people dancing. They were released under DJ Bongz debut album: Retreat No Surrender which later sold triple platinum.
Speaking about her return to the music industry, Thab’sile said she has decided to go back to using her original name and sound. She said in 2016 she ditched her name and changed it to Lellogreen after trying a new sound heavily influenced by pop music.
” The Lellogreen project was an EP called Misfit and I released a single, Doesn’t Matter. As Lellogreen I went to New Orleans Essence Festival and shared the stage with the renowned R&B artists such as Toni Braxton and Babyface. Unfortunately, the new sound and name did not bring me much luck. Things were not as popping as I would have liked,” said Thab’sile.
She said after thinking long and hard about her music career she decided to return to her old self.
She further stated that even though her music career had been a winding journey, she was not willing to quit as music is her life.
” I decided to go back to house music and my original name. This is when I started working on my new single, How Do I Love Thee, produced by C Sharp. It’s a love song. It’s a very sweet song, written in a girl’s perspective. She is trying to find a way to let her boyfriend know how much she loves him. Basically it’s a woman expressing her undying love to her man. I released the song independently but I’m talking to a label. I can’t talk about it yet since we haven’t reached a conclusion,” said Thab’sile.
She added that she had originally recorded her single for DJ Sox but apparently it was not his vibe as he specializes in gqom music.
Thab’sile said she did not write the song for a specific person in her life, but it was just a feeling she had at the time. Reflecting on her music journey, Thab’sile said she moved to Durban in 2004 to study Fine Arts at DUT. After relocating to Durban, she was introduced to music by her friend, TKO who was a music producer.
” We started making music! Luckily, we created ‘Thina Sobabili’ and ‘Get Over You’ which were released under DJ Bongz album. People liked my voice and welcomed me with open arms. This led to the release of my debut self-titled album: Thab’sile. My album had the songs, ‘Come Duze’ and the ‘Sobabili’ remix. I had an exciting career, up until I had to take a break from music and go back to my studies. I pursued another career, I studied Professional Cookery at Icesa. I missed music so much that I decided to go back in 2016 as Lellogreen. When I’m not singing, I’m working as a chef,” said Thab’sile.
At the moment, she said she is promoting her single online and is still monitoring people’s reactions. “If people give me a thumbs up then, I will release other songs and later on my album,” she said. ‘How Do I Love Thee is currently on YouTube’.
Pictured: Musician Thab’sile Ndlovu has gone back to using her original sound and name.
Simangele Zuma
