Elaine Mukheli. Image: Instagram If you don’t know who Elaine Mukheli is, it’s okay, we won’t judge…we’ve got you. Elaine joins a long list of supremely talented vocalists in SA, such as GLAMOUR cover star Shekhinah, Ayanda Jiyah, Zonke Dinkana, Zoё Modiga, and, and, and.
Elaine made history with her debut EP, ELEMENT, by being the first independent female artist in SA to reach number one on the APPLE Music album charts. At just 20 years-old, this girl is in her…er element. Music from her internationally acclaimed album, has been featured on international shows such as Ebro Darden’s radio show, and on the Joe Budden podcast.
We can’t get enough of her silky-honeyed almost sombre voice. A goose-bump inducing vocal assault on your soul, that gives late SA R&B pioneer Tsakane ‘TK’ Mhinga, meets H.E.R. vibes, at first listen.
Elaine Mukheli is not out here shooting her shot at fame;she has known that music is her thing since she was six years old. This songstress has put in her 10 000 hours, and you can hear that she takes her craft and her audience, very seriously. We appreciate the authenticity and pure passion in her lyrics and her sound.
Elaine Mukheli. Image: Instagram And for the critics that say her music is too American and lacks an ‘authentic’ South Africa sound, her response was that it’s ‘a tired conversation.’ In her view, music is music and does not need to sound a certain way to be authentic. Elaine stands by the fact that she’s a South African woman, regardless of how her sound gets categorised.
Take a listen to our favourite tracks below:
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