After five years of silence, soul singer Samthing Soweto is back with a full album that fans have been waiting for. The artist, whose real name is Samkelo Lelethu Mdolomba, just released Touch is a Move (Good Morning) — a project that blends love songs with stories from his childhood in Soweto.
This album is not just music; it’s a journey through the life of a five-year-old Samkelo growing up in the 1990s. “It’s an audio drama,” he said, sharing how the project took about three years to complete.
“I think the whole process from listening to the music and being inspired, sonically, I think the process started 2021, late 2021 and we finished the whole thing I think in 2024,” Samkelo told TRUELOVE.
Even though making the music came naturally, the wait from fans added pressure. “I had an audience waiting for the music from 2023, so the pressure was high. I started the process very excited… But after 2023, I lost my confidence. I didn’t want to talk about it anymore because I was trying to make it but it was taking longer than I thought.”
He admitted, “I don’t want to lie, I gave up [at] times over the years. Ja, I definitely did. But I always went back to it.”
For Samkelo, music is his “9 to 5” job, and he’s serious about giving fans his best. He also makes sure he makes time for loved ones after work in the studio.
The album mixes storytelling and sound beautifully. One of the people who helped shape the project was creative producer and scriptwriter Mpumi Ngidi. “The credit topic for me is a very deep one,” Samkelo said.
He added, “I think in the art space, we have a somewhat of an issue with crediting the right people. Or crediting the people who are actually working… I’ve also seen, in the industry, a rising trend of people claiming credits for stuff that they didn’t do.”
One song that holds special meaning is the second track Ndandatho. Samkelo found the melody in a video of a man singing at a taxi rank in Pietermaritzburg. The man, Sicelo Zondi, had never been in a studio before, but Samkelo tracked him down to give him credit for his part in the music.
“It was important to me to credit him on the song and to also include him in whatever credits that he deserved,” Samkelo said. “Because he’s never been in the studio before… but it was important for me to make sure that he gets it, the credit.”
