Comfortable and happy: Zulu Mkhathini on album release after four-year break

Mthokozisi "Zulu" Mkhathini has made his musical comeback. He launched his album, Spirit of Ubuntu, on Friday. 

The rapper says he took a four-year hiatus to work on himself and rethink his mission. 

“The first thing was just finding self. I spent a lot of time introspecting and speaking to myself and understanding why I'm changing ... I was doing music and venturing into business.

“It took a lot of blood, sweat and tears. It took a lot of courage, discomfort. It took a lot from me and it took time. There was just so many things that I can't begin to describe this journey in one sentence because it completely changed my being,” he told TshisaLIVE.

Speaking on launching his solo career and leaving Durban hip-hop group Dream Team, the rapper said he would release an interview later this year on the matter because there were a lot of things that contributed to their fallout.

“It was a culmination of things ... I can't pin it on one thing, it was a lot of things. It was moving to Joburg, trying a new environment, it was me getting on TV, it was me wanting to explore other things, it was the guys getting kids.”  

After much introspection, Zulu has now launched his album.

“It took a lot of change. It took acceptance accepting that I could be wrong and that it could not be dope. Accepting that it's not exactly what I thought it was. The sound is different from me.”

“I'll do anything to uplift African sounds ... My message is speaking true culture, true tradition, I want to teach. This is my time to teach ... It's been four years working on the album, the journey has been interesting ... I'm accepting growth and change.”

Zulu, who also had a stint as a television presenter, says he's looking to get back into that space now, but wants his next gig to be more meaningful. 

“I would really love to get into TV with something bigger than just a TV show about gossip or lifestyle ... I want to do something meaningful, like Zola 7 did for TV. It all starts with the album to change narrative.”

The rapper added that he's taking a new approach to how he carries himself as a public figure and will shut out the noise. 

“I don't listen ... I've been away for two, three years and have not been engaging with what people are saying. I know what happened with my personal life, I know why things ended the way they did ... people have their own opinions. It doesn't make or break me, most importantly I leant and grew from my experiences.” 

“I've finally got comfortable and found more happiness in just being private, not just with my relationships, but I've been involved in a lot of business stuff that I'm not gonna publish. I feel like when people know a little bit too much, they feel like they own you, your life and your story,” he added.