Rudy Chalmers Shares His Music Plans Ahead of His Sophomore Project Following His 2021’s Fears and Fantasies
Sithenkosi Mbuli, aka Rudy Chalmers, has been on a mission since dropping his debut mixtape, Fears and Fantasies, two years back.
The son of the late Vuyo Mbuli, the veteran news presenter and television personality, Sithenkosi has been steadily making a name for himself, setting himself apart as a unique entity with his genre-bending musicianship. A skilled lyricist, guitarist, and energetic performer, Chalmers has captivated audiences with his blend of soul, R&B, and hip hop, and the muso is set to rinse and repeat with his upcoming EP under a new distribution label.
We caught up with Chalmers for a quick chat and discussed his latest single, “Picture Frame”, the scope of his craft, his highly anticipated EP set to drop this year, and his plans for the future.
Tell us more about your first single for 2023, ‘Picture Frame’.
I’m really excited about this single because it’s my first offering in about six to seven months, and it’s my debut single off of my latest EP. The biggest thing that I’m excited about in terms of it is that I feel like I’m honing and streamlining my sound more and more with every song that I make and (with) every single that I release.
For the longest time, since I’ve dipped my toe in the music industry, I’ve struggled to put a label on my genre, but I feel like the main takeaway that I want to have as an umbrella for my genre is soul music. Just soulful music. There are definitely hip-hop, R&B, and funk influences. But soulful singing and rap lyrics are the combinations that I’m going for. And I think that’s coming through. So I’m super excited to have it out. I’m currently in the process of shooting visuals for it.
Your previous project Fears and Fantasies was jazz-influenced and had an alternative feel. How different will your upcoming the EP be sonically and in what way?
The biggest difference is probably the alternative influences now moving more towards a soulful feel, but the alternative influence is definitely still there. Especially because of the style of my singing. But yeah, jazz-influenced. Soul mainly is the direction we’re going through now.
How is the EP shaped thematically and in subject matter?
I think the music that I’m making now is much more lighthearted. The space I was in when I made Fears and Fantasies was during lockdown, so I was just very much reflective of myself, of my feelings in a maybe more in-depth emotional way. And also because the mixtape was 10 tracks, I had more space to dive deeper into my emotional state.
So, I guess maybe that’s why the overall subject matter might be slightly deeper than in this (upcoming) project. With this project, I’m just looking to capture the essence of soul music because I’ve been so deeply inspired by it in the last year and a half. I’m talking, like, The Brothers Johnson, Quincy Jones, George Benson, you know. So, love songs that have a creative twist to them and have a soulful, almost universal sound and idea lyrically. Universal concepts of love. Everybody feels love.
Who can we expect to see as guests on your forthcoming EP?
I don’t think I’m in a place to disclose that right now, but it’s very exciting thinking of the possibilities of features that I have on the cards. I’m also just really excited to give my listeners more music from myself, building on the relationship I already have with them. To give them more of my thoughts and my feelings and my emotions. But yeah, we should be looking forward to some very exciting features.
Besides working on your latest project and beyond the music, what else are you cooking on the side and for the future?
What I can say for sure is that I’ll be releasing two projects this year. That’s a guarantee. Two EPs and visuals. And I’m also trying to expand my business reach as well because events and shows in South Africa are sometimes hard to come by as an artist. So I’m trying to get my toe into creating events of my own, but we’ll see how far that goes. But yeah, just building my audience is what I’m really trying to push myself forward in. And I think the best way to do that is by putting out new and fresh music.
Keep up with the artist here:
Twitter @SitheMbuli
Instagram rudy.chalmers