TOYA DELAZY ROCKS CAPE TOWN ON HER AFRICAN TOUR

On Friday night Toya Delazy rocked our worlds at Mercury Live. She wrapped up her six-country tour dubbed #RockingTheCity with her new band Toya and the Warriors. The tour was a way for Toya to introduce her new sound to fans.

Cape {Town} Etc caught up with the pop star about her new sound, her African tour  and her upcoming ventures:

 The #RockingTheCity tour was all about showcasing your new sound. How did you feel before the tour began and how do you feel now that it’s almost over? 

I was super excited to bring this sound home. I met my band, The Warriors, in the UK and I’ve been working so hard to create a show that we could really be proud of. It was refreshing and inspiring to rediscover myself and create a sound that was authentic to me. Having the opportunity to share my music with Africa and seeing the fantastic reaction to my sound, has left me excited. I want to take this sound even further! The world is ready for an alternative sound.

 What was a highlight for you on the tour? 

Definitely Zanzibar! It was a full-moon party on the beach with about 5 000 people. It was such a diverse audience. We partied like animals (like we did pretty much everywhere else anyway) but when it’s on the beach, it’s something else 🙂

Why did you decide to wrap up the tour in Cape Town? 

We struggled to find the right venue in Cape Town and Mercury Live gave us the green light a few days before wrapping up the tour. So we were like, ‘Let’s do it!’. Cape Town is home for me, so I couldn’t end the tour without performing here.

You’ve come out with a new sound dubbed JEHP. Take us through the process of how you developed it and how you knew this was the right sound for you? 

I’ve always mixed genres. At the start of my career, I described my sound as JEHP which used to stand for Jazz, Electro, Hip Hop, Pop, but I recently replaced the Pop for Punk, which reflects the sound that I’m doing now – both on stage and in the studio. It’s live, it’s loud, it’s head-bopping; no more backtrack, this is the new Toya Delazy.

All this is leading up to your new album, which is being released next year. We’ve got a taste with your single ‘NU High’ but what else can fans expect from the new album? 

I’m working on releasing the album in 2017 but there are no exact dates yet. Right now, I have about 50 songs ready on my laptop and they’re all so different! I need to sit down with my team and see how on earth we’re going to release this! You can definitely expect my album to reflect the new direction of my sound and the same energy of my live shows!

 You’ve travelled the world to take your sound to the next level. Tell us about this experience and why you decided to make the UK your base? 

 I needed a fresh start, somewhere I could be myself without people just seeing the celebrity side of me. I needed a place where I could be inspired and encouraged to rediscover myself. London is the mecca of so many artists I look up to – Amy Winehouse, Freddy Mercury, Jimmy Hendrix , Adele, The Beatles – so it only felt right to go there and soak myself in all the culture.

Besides the new album, what else can we expect from you in the future? 

My new album is the most exciting thing on my itinerary. I’m currently finishing my #RockingTheCity tour which saw me travel across six African countries with The Warriors. I have found my sound and my team, I’m building my record label, Delazy Entertainment, and I’m working on my fashion range that I hope to release soon. I’m a traveller, a storyteller, a dreamer, a healer, a strange kid – so expect the unexpected.

Photography Courtesy images