From producing music that ranges from Afro-pop to soul with his duo group Mafikizolo, Theo Kgosinkwe has now collaborated with DJ/producer Da Mogul to give the late Paul Ndlovu’s classic song Khombo Ra Mina an amapiano remake.
This collabo is part of the Gallo Remixed series celebrating 95 years of the music stable during which artists reimagine iconic hits from the yesteryear for this generation.
Khombo Ra Mina was Kgosinkwe’s undisputed song choice because of the passion Ndlovu exuded in Kgosinkwe’s eyes.
He was responsible for co-producing the song, writing new lyrics and creating new melodies.
“Baba Paul Ndlovu was a huge musical inspiration of mine during our time growing up. He was someone who clearly believed in his own culture, in his own language and he loved his people and everything about him was so authentic. Watching him express himself unapologetically in music and gaining such success was obviously undeniable.
“He wore a sailor hat and that inner jacket with pride and made a statement regardless. It was that confidence and authenticity that drew me to him to date,” Kgosinkwe said.
Khombo Ra Mina the remake is the fifth single release under this series, adding to two of Brenda Fassie’s remake songs Too Late For Mama and Vulindlela and Phuzikhemisi’s Imbizo.
“This song was an obvious pick for me because of how big it was back in its hay days during the 80s, and also because I like its melodies. I wanted to challenge myself because over the years of writing and producing songs, I have never worked with isiTsonga or Tshivenda songs and thought this is the perfect opportunity to explore other languages.”
The star admits that reworking such a classic without losing its essence was challenging.
“Adding the amapiano feel to the song was a big challenge, I won’t lie. When people remake songs, they take different directions and for me, I wanted something very fresh. Because this song was produced in the 80s during the disco era, taking it back there wouldn’t have been challenging for me. So that’s how the decision came about to add amapiano, to reintroduce the song to the yano generation, ama2000 as we call them,” he said.
This amapiano song is just the beginning, he shared.