“Zulu” and “Welele” Hitmaker Pushkin RSA Is Here to Stay And He Means Business
Multi-platinum-selling amapiano vocalist and singer-songwriter Pushkin SA has been owning his lane of ascension in the music business, an upward gradient since his hit single “Zulu” dropped, which eventually spawned the viral #ZuluChallenge on TikTok, as well as “Welele”. Since engraving his name into the star-filled wall of the industry, he has since worked with contemporary movers and shakers such as amapiano pioneer Kabza De Small, hit-making machine Tyler ICU, dancer and vocalist Kamo Mphela, as well as Grammy-nominated star Musa Keys.
Born in Soweto, Pushkin let it be known that he was anything but a microwave-ready star, tracing back his musical origins to his childhood days.
“I started my music journey by singing in choirs from back in the day when I was grade 2. So my love of music is something that I’ve had time to grow up with,” he said.
Having released his single “Hlala La”, Pushkin was adamant about not resting on his laurels, with him already busy in the studio whipping up something fresh for the ever-burgeoning Barcadi audience in Mzansi.
“Have you ever heard anybody do Barcadi in Zulu? That’s exactly I’m cooking up currently musically speaking,” he said, with palpable excitement in his voice.
With the game being a field of passing the flame of the torch, Pushkin wasn’t shy to name who he felt were not only the best doing it at the moment, but also musicians he acknowledged helped him grow in his craft. True to the open nature of music growing from the soil of social media, his influences were all from Nigeria, namely “Calm Down” superstar Rema and singer-songwriter Fireboy DML.
With hits being churned out week in and week out, Pushkin stressed the importance of not neglecting studio time and keeping one’s finger on the pulse so as to not lose pace of the pack.
“Stay in studio and be consistent. Socialise with important people and don’t make the mistake of thinking anybody’s bigger than another in the game,” he said.
While most musicians can never seem to single out which song they love the most, for Pushkin, the answer was ready in his tongue, with his most beloved work being one of the most divergence.
“The song “Zulu” is definitely my favourite because it was my first time doing 3-Step, since I was doing piano on previous songs such as “Welele”. “Zulu” on the other hand was something different from my part with it being afro-tech-ish in its feel,” he said.
With 3-Step and amapiano sitting comfortably in his belt, Pushkin revealed that he had his sights set on taking his discography West with the sound.
“I’d like to experiment on pop and afro-naija in the future. Those are two scenes I wanna hop on in the future,” he said.