Novvo’s Signatory Music Novvo Is Just Getting Started

Afropop continues to spawn stars of different variations and ilk thanks to its omnivorous sound that takes influences from all over the world to create something markedly different.

It’s a feeling that can be used to describe the current artistic trajectory of rising singer, Novvo. When he released his debut single, “Program,” last year, the singer was virtually an unknown trying to figure his way in the music industry.

A year out of the game was spent restrategising and figuring out how he wanted to approach his career. “I learnt a lot,” Novvo says of the last year. “I feel like it can be exhausting if you don’t have a team. Having a team is crucial for any artiste, no matter how small, be it one person or two people. It’s very important because the tap from your energy and you tap from theirs too.

“Also, I learnt that making music is one half of the coin, selling it is the other side. In fact, selling it is almost 70 per cent of the job, while making good music is just 30 per cent.

Anyone can record music and just have it lay around, but selling it is the real job. So, yeah, I had to go back to the drawing board and learn from the first release, because now I understand that the plans you make for each release is not for the release itself, it’s for your next release. It’s so that you can learn and repurpose the system.”

After close to 14 months without a new single, he released “Laide,” a ruminatory song about pain and heartbreak that he says was inspired by a personal experience. “We chose a different story this time around, and I was in a pensive state of mind when I was writing this song because it’s from a memory of losing someone dear to me,” he explains.

“Someone who knew me to a fault almost better than I knew myself, and you’ll see these things reflect in the song itself, in the lyrics. ‘Been a long time, you sabi my p.’
“This knowledge the person has of me brings me peace of mind, and at the same time, it gives me migraines, because I was constantly worried about the unknown.

To top it all, Novvo is presently combining the exigencies of his bid in law school with his music journey but it’s not throwing him off the scent of success and he’s confident about how this new release roots his music career.

“I feel good about the release,” he says. “I feel quite good about it. It puts me in a place where I’m beginning to see it like a business, like a job. I’m no longer in the space of ‘Am I good at this? Is this something I can do for a long time?’ I see myself doing it already.”