Three South African voices: one a Strand-based singer-songwriter, guitarist and bow player with a choral background, an isiXhosa writer shaped by rural Eastern Cape church singing, and a Cradock poet-producer working across song and spoken word, meet on “Welela”, a track that came together as a songwriting camp collaboration.
Born in Tembisa and now based in Strand, Iviwe Nkopo is the youngest of the three. Recording as Ivee Soul, she started singing in school choirs at eight, moved through acapella groups, and went solo in 2021. Now she’s studying at the South African College of Music at UCT while gigging across Cape Town, playing guitar and traditional bow alongside her vocals. Her sound pulls from Afro-pop, soul and folk, and on “Welela” she anchors the track with a voice that carries weight beyond her young years.
Mishy Kope grew up in the rural Eastern Cape singing in church and school choirs. She writes in isiXhosa and her recent singles — “Qongqotha“, “Kufa” — deal in confrontation and resistance. That same unguarded quality runs through her performance here.
Mandilakhe Ikhaya, also known as Day 35, comes from Cradock and works across poetry, songwriting and production. His music touches jazz, South-African folk and soul, and he recently contributed to Abantu Development Agency‘s History Reimagined project.
On “Welela”, they shape a stripped-down, multi-voiced piece that shows how a new wave of South African songwriters are bringing folk memory, protest language and contemporary arrangement into one place.
Listen and stream the track HERE