Big Dreams and Becoming a Billionaire: The Things that Keep Singer Lwah Ndlunkulu Going
Nkabi Nation’s first lady Lwah Ndlunkulu has come a mighty long way since her debut appearance as a feature on Big Zulu’s hit single “Umuzi eSandton”, and with her pursuit of the soft life, of riches, and of a better tomorrow. And now only two albums deep, it’s poetic justice that the Afropop singer-songwriter’s life reflects the achievement of these goals and more, with her evolving into an award-winning songstress, a recognisable avatar of the Bhinca lifestyle, and a flowering businessperson in charge of Amaciko Productions. Much like the release of her sophomore album Amaciko, which celebrates cultural pride and artistry through her music, her ascension itself mirrors a miracle worth celebration.
True to the popular African proverb that says, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together,” the SAMA-winning songbird spoke about the family she found along the way, those she met on the path to stardom and helped her in her journey.
“My executive producer Leroy Khoza has played a huge role in my life and in shaping me. I am venturing into business because he’s my role model. I like the way he does things and in how he instills discipline in me by his conduct. Another person who I am grateful to is Big Zulu for giving me the opportunity to make music under his record label and also the entire Nkabi Records team at large for putting together those interviews for me, helping me take the right PR pictures, and helping me to achieve my dreams,” she said.
Lwah Ndlunkulu | SUPPLIED
Although her road has been well-furnished with the good company of those who have elevated her to superstar status, her place at the top, she conceded, is one she guards fiercely. Championing diligence, she talked about her work ethic and how her single-mindedness in excelling with her music has always been of paramount importance to her, even more than keeping an active social circle.
“I’m a workaholic. I believe in doing the right thing and I believe in making it work. I don’t have a lot going on. I don’t even really do friends because I don’t want to be distracted from what I want to do. I don’t want to be distracted from the vision. So, my life and everything is music. That’s what I always focus on to make sure that it works,” she said.
And with her hard work and lion-hearted devotion, she has not only structured the bones and dressed her vision with flesh, she has gone as far as breathing life into it with every note that comes out her mouth. From the side of music, at least.
With the checklist of her life goals in music crossed off, Lwah Ndlunkulu shared her prodigious dreams and ambitions of grandeur, envisioning herself in the same league as Grammy-winning DJ Black Coffee, reaching the echelons of the billionaire club off nothing but selling records.
“With the music, I’ve achieved everything that I’ve dreamed to have and even more. Business-wise, I have ambitions of seeing it grow and become big. In simple terms, I want to be a successful businesswoman. Like how Bruno Mars once said, I want to be a billionaire, so friggin’ bad. I want to go from zeros to Ms to billions, and I want to do it through music,” she said.
Lwah Ndlunkulu | SUPPLIED
Singling out the high of hearing her fans sing along to her music, the singer spoke about how much it meant to her when her concert-goers connected with her music at that level.
“One thing I am proud of as a musician is seeing the crowds cheering on while I’m performing a song. When the crowds I’m performing for sing along the song I’m doing so loudly that I can’t even hear myself sing. Whenever I experience that during shows, it just makes me realise how much I’ve won, and it brings so much happiness to my heart,” she said.
She talked about the vitality of maintaining close communication with God in order to stay aligned and to not encounter people that would cause her to deviate from her path.
“What has helped me stay grounded is to talk to God at all times and asking him to always protect me from negative energies and to always keep me away from people who would otherwise distract me from pursuing my vision,” she said.