When Cape Town musician S-Kay Mafu independently released his latest single, "Undenza Ntoni" in February, it may have appeared like the jolly love song was strategically released to align with the month of love.
It wasn't. S-Kay had finished recording the song several months prior, but had held on to it due to financial constraints.
Similar to what he had done with previous musical projects, he had to take intervals in between the recording process to save enough money to see the project through.
Making and releasing music isn't cheap. Some of the costs often associated with the music process include renting a recording studio, engineering costs such as mixing and mastering, cover art and other visual promotional materials, as well as distribution costs.
“People always say hard work pays off, but no one ever mentions that you also must pay real money for hard work to yield results.
"I have been working hard to realise my musical dreams for a while now. But I can’t solely credit hard work for the few milestones I’ve achieved so far. I have had to cough up some bucks to get the music recorded, produced and distributed," says S-Kay.
S-Kay’s first collaboration "Ubuhle Bakho" with Mbuso Ka Zulu and Lyrix was self-produced and released in 2019. In 2020 he followed that up with "Ndihoye", which is a celebration of love and romance, during the height of the pandemic
In 2021, he released his third single, "A Cry (for help)", a sombre track detailing his battle with depression and grief following the loss of his mother.
His latest offering "Undenza Ntoni" sees the muso return to creating upbeat music that celebrates and appreciates love.
To fund the pursuit of his musical dreams, he works a full-time job while making music on a part-time basis.
“At times, getting up every morning to do what you’re not necessarily passionate about can be exhausting and disheartening.
"But I have grown to understand that pursuing dreams is not an easy task – I need to make a lot of sacrifices with hopes that one day I will finally get my big break," he says.
With the financial and social pressures that come with being an emerging artist, S-Kay believes that support from the public can go a long way in helping artists like him gain momentum.
“We love what we do. It makes us happy, but most importantly, we do it for the people. Now more than ever, the world needs art as much as artists need the support of the world," he says.