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Big Nuz do it for the people

Big Nuz are everybody's favourites. So much so that this year they're up for four SA Music Awards, having being nominated in the following categories: Album of the Year, Duo or Group of the Year, MTN Record of the Year and Best Kwaito Album.

Their formula of making music for the people is making their dreams a reality and further proves that, like the title of their latest album, they really are the 'undisputed' masters of kwaito - a genre that seems to be fighting for its life.

I had a chat with group member Mzi Tshomela aka Danger about their expectations, inspiration and how they handle the pressure surrounding them - especially since rumours about them impregnating groupies are always doing the rounds in Sunday tabloids.

Were you expecting any of these SAMA nominations?

No. Our main focus is doing what we do to the best of our ability - this has all exceeded our expectations. It just goes to show how much people are appreciating the hard work we do. Even last year we were overwhelmed by the success of our album.

Who would you say is your biggest competition in these categories?

We don't compete because if we do we'll lose our focus. Our main aim is always to do our own thing so we can remain unique and stand out from the rest.

Tell us about your song 'Umlilo'. Did you guys anticipate it would be this big?

No, we were merely making another song while putting our album together. When we're in studio there's no way of telling that the song will be a hit. We just put our all into every track we make with the hope that the public will enjoy our music. At the end of it all it's the people who choose the hit by listening to it. It's about what's good to the ear of the majority.

What inspired the track?

Like many other artists life is our inspiration. We sing about real life situations around us and some that we've even experienced. Whether we're okay with the subject matter or not we take it into the studio and make something out of it. So, with this particular song, last year we were supposed to win in the Best Kwaito category for our album 'Second Round Knockout' but we didn't - and we still don't know why. Even our fans were disappointed and said they had voted for us. So we've struck back with this track which compares us to fire. If you play with us you'll get burnt.

You're all from Durban and proudly so - on the music front what would you say sets you apart from everyone else?

To us the music industry is all about growth - because we want to be different we're always striving for innovative things. Luckily our producer Fisherman understands this and is also on the same track as us so we work very well together for that unique Durban flavour.

We're relaxed and true to our selves. We're not all about the gloss and the glamour of the industry. We're from the township and continue to lead regular lives with real people.

Success, fame and the media can sidetrack artists. How do you guys handle it?

A lot of things can sidetrack us yes but we've also accepted that this is our job and unfortunately it goes hand in hand with distractions like the media writing bad and false stories about us. But we're tough about it - we've developed that tough attitude of not caring because they're merely doing it for themselves to try sell the papers. We can only ignore it and carry on with our lives.

Besides winning awards what are some of your favourite achievements?

We're really privileged to get support from our city and the mayor of Durban, Obed Mlaba. We're gaining support for things like events, funding and celebratory parties. For the SAMA's they're getting a bus to transport some of our fans to witness the event so they can also get to enjoy the awards and celebrate with us in the flesh. We're hoping to get the bus branded with our name as well. It'll be great to have our fans with us because they show us great support by buying our music and voting for us for awards.

You've collaborated with a wide range of local artists in various genres. Who would you really like to work with in the future?

We're blessed because we speak to and get along with everyone in the music industry. So we can pretty much collaborate with anyone we'd like. It's all about respect and not looking down on other people and what they do.

What are you guys up to now?

We're busy in studio working on our producer Fisherman's album. We're also busy organising gigs with DJ Tira and L'Vovo Derango. We're planning to honour Durbanite musicians with our own awards so they can get the recognition they deserve.

Kwaito in its true form has long since perceived to be dead. How are you keeping it going?

Firstly we believe God gives us the power in all we do. We also disagree with that statement. Kwaito wasn't dead but rather needed a new addition to what was given to us by legends like Mdu Masilela. When kwaito first came out it had mid-tempo beats which were quite slow. When we came to the scene we decided to speed things up a bit because people want to dance and have fun and they couldn't really do that with slow music.