It’s okay for artists to genre hop until they find a sound that suits them best.
It’s okay for artists to genre hop until they find a sound that suits them best
MZANSI was shocked when singer-songwriter Elaine was trending on X for performing amapiano at a recent event.
In a video making the rounds on social media, the acclaimed musician can be seen singing along to the popular musical genre which has taken the world by storm.
But despite amapiano’s continued rise, many were concerned about Elaine’s dwindling R&B career.
She rose to fame in 2019 with her hit single “You’re The One”, which was shortly followed by an EP tiled “Elements”.
That project was certified platinum by RiSA and was nominated for Best R&B/Soul Album at the 2020 South African Music Awards (SAMAs).
She then signed with Roc Nation, an American multi-disciplinary entertainment company owned by Jay-Z.
Many expected this move to catapult her into becoming one of the biggest R&B musicians of her generation.
This didn’t happen. Instead, her R&B career faded, with the Covid-19 pandemic also partially to blame.
Elaine has now returned to the music scene and hopped onto the amapiano trend and many are now shocked at how she went from singing emotional R&B songs to chanting “Gwiralang”.
This included @YouDunnoVusi, who posted on X: “She doesn’t have a single song in her discography that needs her to chant this.”
Others are also concerned that Elaine’s record label is changing her sound.
“Can someone explain to me how a record deal is doing wonders for Tyla but has halted Elaine’s career. Did her label tell her to change her sound?
“Did Tyla negotiate with hers? Does the difference lie from a management perspective??? I need answers because this is heartbreaking,” said @reesupremacy.
Meanwhile, @Lord_Syclonic added: “I won’t lie, Elaine gave me hope for South African R&B at some point, seeing how career is turning out is mad confusing dawg.”
