Freshly coming off the release of her latest single titled ‘Sweet Nothing’ Nalu gets transparent in her latest interview with Nounouche Magazine. “I started listening to my music again. There was a time when I didn’t. I guess the perfectionist in me would be so critical of myself. The voice of your inner critic can be so loud sometimes.” She adds as we begin our interview. 

Looking back on her life Nalu mentions that five years ago she wasn’t even making music. To see how far she’s come put a lot of things into perspective for her. “Listening to my music from a place of gratitude and not criticism has helped me. It’s cool to see how far I’ve come over a short period.” Nalu honestly explains as she shares about the beginning stages of her career. “I wouldn’t have been able to perceive something this big. I think in terms of collaborations and people that I’ve worked with I could never have imagined being where I am today.”  She admits that she didn’t forecast the trajectory of her career thus far. Nalu has always been making music but not professionally. The most interesting part of her career thus far was making that transition between making music for fun and making music for a community of people.  

Adapting to this new environment was initially easy because she was set on making music that resonated with her as a person.  That reason for making music hasn’t left Nalu even after the things that she has achieved. Ultimately her goal is to make music that she wants to share and conform to industry standards. “There is a certain amount of power and independence in making what you love for the sake of self-expression as compared to creating for a profit” she explains. Nalu recalls where it all began for her. “I used to write poetry as a kid and play guitar. Those two things came together.” Since then Nalu has gone on to work with household names in South Africa and abroad.

Her most recent single was the result of working with Christopher Gutierrez. The Death Row recorders producer has been working in-house for the majority of his career. Now he adds ‘Sweet Nothing’ to the list of his production credits. This collaboration sees Nalu’s music style fused with the iconic West Coast sound. Towards the end of our interview, Nalu speaks about the importance of rest as a person let alone an artist. “It’s part of the artistic process, normalising not resting.  I would say that you can’t create if you are depleted. How can you put anything out if you have nothing left to give?”

Nalu ended the interview with a message to herself which I thought was fitting to end our interview: “I think if I could speak to my younger self, I would tell her to just completely and entirely trust herself because she knows exactly what she’s doing. Her intuition, paired with God, is the only guidance that she needs.”

A lot is happening right now. How are you feeling?

I’m feeling good. Things have been very busy on my end. I work in corporate while I’m an artist. I’m literally like between like my nine to five and then after that, I have my five to nine, I guess you could call it. I feel grateful. I’m able to balance things out in this way but it’s very busy. 

Do you think that you would have like made it this far?

Wow, that’s such an interesting question. Five years ago, I wasn’t making music. So I wouldn’t have even been able to perceive something this big happening to me, you know? I think in terms of what I have achieved in terms of the collaborations that I’ve done and the people that I’ve worked with. I could never have imagined that I’d be where I am today. I’ve always been making music, but not professionally. So it’s really interesting to see how that transitions from making music just for fun compared to making music for a community of people or a community of listeners. I didn’t forecast this happening! 

Do you think that you made your best song yet?

I have, but it’s not released. I made it this year. I’m planning to release it early next year hopefully. 

Between production and writing, which one do you prefer or enjoy?

It depends every single song is different. I’ll pick up my guitar and start playing a chord progression and the music will come to me. The lyrics will take a bit longer, but then other times I’ll be sitting on a plane or driving in my car and just thinking and piecing words together. Writing poetry, is initially how it started because I used to write poetry as a kid. Then I played the guitar as a kid as well. Both of those things kind of just came together. I don’t know if I enjoy production more or if it’s a different element of the process that I enjoy. it’s like a completely different thing to create from a sonic experience. Versus the poetic experience through words, so yeah, it’s, I think that I definitely could, like, there’s a lot more than I, that I have to learn in production, I would say, um, but everything in perfect time. 

Daniel: What’s your first studio memory? 

The first time I stepped into a studio it was a wow moment I was 20 or 21 years old. Seeing the full studio set up, seeing the mic, seeing this fully soundproofed room with this little window with a man on the other side, who’s like doing the sound engineering. Just being in another room with so much space to express yourself. That was my first memory of being in the studio.  The moment is so empowering but also a super vulnerable moment at the same time. I’d only ever sung in my bedroom before then. I would say there’s a very surreal shift that happens when you’re an artist going from making bedroom hits to making studio hits. 

As an artist how important is having management? 

I think having a solid team behind you is so beneficial. Those people have to ride for you and see your talents. We’ve seen so many examples of artists who have an amazing team who backs them and also artists who have a full team who don’t see their light. Having management is important, but you also need to know why you have management. What is their intention and why they’re doing what they are doing? Are they there to invest in you as an artist to make a quick buck or to grow you and develop you as an artist? I currently am not signed to any management or any label. I am completely and fully independent and that’s what’s worked for me so far. I think as artists to sort of navigate this journey, it’s important to protect yourself and maintain your independence. But also to ask for help from people who you trust. I think that sometimes hyper-independence can also be self-sabotage. Thinking that you can do everything and completely execute everything by yourself. It’s okay to ask for help, you know, that’s something that I’ve had to work on. 

What inspires you in life? 

I think I think I’m inspired by different things every single day. My life experiences and the way that I feel within each season of my life. The conversations that I have with my parents, my family and my grandmother. Also seeing what other young artists are doing and being inspired by that as well. There are so many hidden messages I feel within this human experience. From every little engagement that we have even this conversation in itself could inspire me to go and write a song. Whether it’s about the industry or just us having conversations through this virtual device, having never met each other, having such an open and beautiful conversation. So I think there’s a lot. You can draw inspiration from anything pure in life.

Going to America and having the opportunity to work at Death Row Records, can you talk to me about that? 

It was out of this world and was nothing that I could have ever imagined. I think America has always seemed like this faraway place for us as South Africans. It was never really something that was within reach, you know what I mean? So when Snoop Dogg’s son reached out to me I initially thought it was a scam!  I didn’t believe it. It turned out to be incredible. I met so many different producers and worked on so much music, some of which is still going to be released. It’s incredible to be in a whole new environment that allows me to grow. I think the best way that you can grow is by completely stepping outside of your comfort zone. The best part about it was that I didn’t sign over my life to anyone or label. They invited me there as an independent artist and I worked with them independently and everything that I created is mine at the end of the day.  

Will any of the songs that you recorded at Death Row Records be on a project soon? 

There will be a project. Whether it’s coming up soon or not, I cannot disclose. But there will first be a couple more singles just to showcase what I did when I was out there.

Do you never have impostor syndrome?

Yeah of course don’t we all? I think there were some days when I woke up and I was like, oh my God is this supposed to be me out here at Snoops label I’m not even a rapper and I’m here at this big label. I would just sort of guide myself through those conversations and be like, you know if it wasn’t me then I wouldn’t be here. Nothing that’s for me will pass me and everything that’s meant to be will come into my path.  I know that God put this experience into my life to help enrich me as an artist and help me grow as an artist. I think staying true to my spiritual health as well during the process helps me. It helped when the imposter syndrome did come up or any sort of self-doubts. I was born to do this. I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t supposed to be.

How do you make sure that you’re spiritually okay with the schedule that you have? 

It’s hectic. I won’t lie. I don’t have a lot of time for a lot of things outside of work. I make time for my friends and family. The important things. In terms of keeping it together spiritually. I meditate and pray every day. I try to journal every evening, but I don’t always because I’m so tired.  I can’t even think let alone like write when I’m tired. I always just make sure to do soft check-ins. I think it’s important not to go into full autopilot or robotic mode because, at the end of the day, we are human beings. We need to rest and you can’t create if you haven’t. Your energy needs to restore itself. So for myself, it’s mostly meditation, prayer and journaling that sort of thing.