Sliq Angel, real name Ndixolele Mbali can be compared to any other artist that went from being a household name to being broke and faced with many challenges. At his peak, his hit song Amantongomane (peanuts) was on high rotation on many South African radio stations and he was the most sought-after Afropop musician.
“I’m in control of my own finances and they are looking better than before. My name was there but I was not making any money”. – Sliq Angel 18 September 2019.
In an EXCLUSIVE 30-minute catch up with MGOSI.co.za, Sliq Angel admits that things went sour, struggling was his right-hand man and the sad part he had no one to rely on as he had to ‘man-up’ in order to sustain himself in the cutthroat music business.
“The journey has been up and down because I had to learn the industry while I was already inside. To be honest, I’ve struggled and I am starting to pick myself up. I had to take things easy and start from the beginning, this included being strong to sustain and support myself,” Sliq Angel tells MGOSI.co.za.
From struggles to signing under his own company!
Sliq Angel’s suffering is no different from other musicians who went through the same thing and some died without a dime.
“There’s actually money in the industry when one focuses on working as an independent artist… The song Amantongomane never made any money for me as an individual, I was signed. Now, with my own company Masikhe Ikhaya Lethu Logistics I want to make sure that I own my creativity going forward. We can’t always wait to be spoon-fed by the giant companies and that’s why I am working hard to build my own empire,” he says.
On the bright side, Sliq Angel says that there’s a lot that has been happening around his brand.
Xhosalicious
“I’ve been hosting events like the new brand I’ve taken out, Xhosalicious where you get Xhosa people and other cultures to come and embrace the Xhosa culture. I want this venture to branch out to other tribes in South Africa so that we can better unite by teaching each other about each other and not allow our beautiful stories to be told otherwise,” says Sliq Angel.
He says since the inception of Xhosalicious it has been graced by local celebrities and more than 300 guests.
“It’s one of the events I am proud of and I am working with my team to push the brand forward. The name (Xhosalicious) comes from the fact that my fellow Xhosa people like to mix Xhosa and English,” says Sliq Angel.
Roots2000 – Monday Blues Tour
Sliq Angel recently came back to South Africa from the US following Roots2000, a tour he does with MXO. The tour themed ‘Monday Blues Tour’ graced audience in New York, Oakland, San Francisco, and Los Angeles in August.
“We organise our own shows and we do what we want to do without being told what to do. We are going to cry until when? We need to butter our own bread as artists and work harder. It’s high time that fellow artists follow this amazing journey of seeing your own money and actually managing it yourself,” he says.
Sliq Angel concludes our telephone interview by saying that artists who gave up it’s not like they were not good. It’s just that they didn’t have the mentality to wake up, dust themselves, work harder and focus on the talent, which according to him, “it’s my beginning and my end,” because music is what he loves.
What’s the FUTURE like?
His company Masikhe Ikhaya Lethu Logistics does music, events and is currently consulting in the Eastern Cape area.
He’s has a single Umjaivo out on all digital platforms and is planning to release another single titled Lukhanji soon. These single are released from his unreleased album that he plans to release digitally soon.
Sliq Angel is currently busy shooting a short film documentary about his entire life journey and he’s expecting it to come out in 2020.
Thank you Sliq Angel for chatting with us and all the best for your future endeavours!
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