It's been a whirlwind two-and-a-bit years for musician, actor and writer Nakhane.You Will Not DieSince then he's been name checked by Madonna, featured in every international publication you want to be in, including the New York Times, and now he's returning to SA for a series of concerts.
Since he left SA, Nakhane has also toured the world and been part of the cast of maverick director John Cameron Mitchell's critically acclaimed musical podcastHe starred in a second film shot in Los Angeles, due for release next year, and when he spoke to the Sunday Times, he was in Paris recording material for his next album.
As he thinks about where his journey has taken him, the 31-year-old artist, born in Alice in the Eastern Cape, says:"I know it's a cop-out but I'm always grateful because I remember that a few years ago, I was playing at the Bohemian in Joburg and there were so many of us playing music and we were all good. Some of those people are still making music but some of them stopped because it wasn't financially feasible.
Nakhane admits that he takes his success for granted every now and then."You step into a room and then you step into another room and you forget the journey it took to get there. You want more but you need to realise that where you are right now is pretty f**king cool."may feel it insulted his Xhosa ancestors, but the artist says he feels he's watched over by them.He says:"A strange thing has been happening to me recently.