Amapiano Vocalist FakeLove Aims to Dazzle and Evolve This Coming Year
Platinum-selling vocalist and songwriter FakeLove is set to put his foot on the gas in 2024, accelerating towards rapid expansion and musical reach. With his 2023 EP, I Think Ka Nahana, already out for enjoyment, the rising star has had his hand up in the game for several years through hits such as “Snake Park” and “Picture JunkPark”. However, he feels he has only begun charting proper territory.
The vocalist recalled his time as a youth en route to the destination of self-discovery. He cited that even though he wasn’t under the tutelage of anybody in particular, he was able to swim his way into the pool of the industry by navigating the pond of his schooling years.
“Nobody helped me with my craft growing up. Back in high school, I was part of the choir, and my love for being a vocalist started there. However, I never thought that I could evolve into a solo artist and flourish on the mic as a standalone act. One of my friends from back in the day and I would randomly try out something, and people started loving what I do, and that’s where my career began as a solo artist.” he said.
FakeLove | SUPPLIED
At the beginning of 2024, FakeLove stressed how much he has his sights on fanning out his ventures through features. With prominent artists on his guest hitlist, the crooner took us down the path of his creative game, expanding upon the steps of working hand-in-hand with his contemporaries.
“This year, I’ll be doing a lot of collabos with more established artists. I’m channelling my creative juices into making music that is inclined with the energy of the people I will be working with. Before I do anything, such as a collabo, I start by building a friendship or a relationship that will make my music process easier for me. That’s one thing that I have found other people struggle with; they have problems making music with people they don’t know. So, connecting with the people I work with prevents that and makes it simpler.” he said.
I Think Ke Nahana EP Album Art | SUPPLIED
Employing the lessons he picked up from late greats, FakeLove has used the industry as his makeshift university, taking lessons from departed masters.
“When it comes to influences and those that have inspired me, I’d have to say HHP. He was a dope vocalist; I could relate so much to his wordplay. So he’s, without a doubt, my number-one inspiration. The second is AKA because of the way he played with the music and the way he wrote. Moving down to the younger cats, I’ll say that I like the way Ch’cco goes about his songwriting, as well as Young Stunna. Those are the people I draw from.” he said.
FakeLove spoke about a particular piece of work he regarded as his magnum opus, purely based on the impact it had and the traction it got. Released in 2021 under Mr JazziQ’s album titled Party With the English, “Picture JunkPark” features the late Mpura and aspired for a cult status similar to that of “eYadini” by Manqonqo.
“Of all the songs I’ve done, the one I love the most is ‘Picture JunkPark’. We did that song while was a co-owner of the restaurant JunkPark in Alexandra. So, I used to spend most of my time with Mr JazziQ, and we’d do music together. It got to a point where we wanted to create something that would live forever and represent the brand itself. So we made that song, and it became wildly popular and attracted extensive attention. If you were to ask people about the song, they’d tell you about the memories they had in the establishment. That’s probably my biggest song and the one song I’ve made that a lot of people related to.” he said.
FakeLove | SUPPLIED
For FakeLove, amapiano was only the beginning but not the end of his evolution as a musician.
“In future, I’d like to experiment with genres along the lines of hip-hop and R&B, but I still want to make as much music as I can in the piano scene. If you listen to my song ‘Sillicon Twist’, you’ll notice that it has a variety of elements that showcase my versatility, and people have been receiving the song well.” he said.