Music is life, it saved my life – Jimmy Dludlu at Calabar jazz festival

Weekend Magazine: How did you learn to dance like that?Jimmy Dludlu: (Laughter) I used to dance at weddings. And I used to play my guitar there, entertaining people at ceremonies with my close relatives. Those days we never had CD players and some occasions we were in places where there was no electricity. So we […]

Weekend Magazine: How did you learn to dance like that?
Jimmy Dludlu: (Laughter) I used to dance at weddings. And I used to play my guitar there, entertaining people at ceremonies with my close relatives. Those days we never had CD players and some occasions we were in places where there was no electricity. So we couldn’t play. Then, I’d pick up my guitar and start to dance and sing all the traditional songs and off course the songs that were playing on the radio at the time. That’s how I managed to learn to dance.
At what age did you start entertaining?
To play the guitar I started in 1979 at 13.
What is music to you?
It is life. It saved my life. Music is a universal language and so it’s how I express myself. It is a gift from God through which I am able to share joy, love, hope and togetherness. It’s about who we are as people, as Africans and to celebrate who we are and our culture. This is what music is for me.
What was it like growing up and what it is about those years that have had the most impact on you?
The challenges of hiding your identity, hiding who you are and be deprived of facilities and things that make you a human being and the racism and all that, it kills your spirit and who you are. In a long run, it affects some part of your life. Although you can fight it, it’s a strong element. One thing it thought me is to fight to be strong to have faith and hope and to love myself and others; but more than anything else, faith and hope. It also made me a stronger person as an African and   human being.
Who have you worked with and what was the experience like?
I learnt from great masters like Kofi Ahidoho. I’ve worked with people like Angelique Kidjo, Salif Keita and Miriam Makeba, as a much younger person. I travelled around the world. I used to play in Hugh Masekela’s band. I lived in France.
I feel very grateful and blessed that I have learnt from my heroes and people who inspired me through this journey.
I’m not the first. I’m just an extension of people like Fela, King Sunny Ade, Salif Keita, Manu Dibango. It’s like when you run as an athlete there is a baton that you pass on to the next person. I see myself as a generation after all these people.
I’ve a mission and a duty to fulfill as a cultural ambassador of this continent. It is all about our legacy and history. That is what I am here for.
You have interacted with all these people who have their different styles. How has the combination of them all impacted on you?
I have been doing thesis on how to find the voices in African artistes. One thing I have noticed is that we as African artistes, it is very easy to be influenced by the west and we start to look for answers elsewhere than within ourselves.
What I’ve learned from these people is the African voice and with that I am able to express myself in a different way from George Benson, Earl Klugh or any other guitar player or musician in the world, because I am unique and Africa has got a diversity of cultures.
I don’t look at it as the third world. I look at it as the first world. Very soon, as you can see, Africa is the future. Most people are starting to see that. People as refugees come to Africa. You should wonder why. And I always say I’ll rather be who I am, than be who I am not.  I did find my own voice through my heroes, my leaders in all areas of my life.
I would therefore describe my music as afro-jazz than any other form of music in the world, because it represents who I am as a person and where I come from.
Who has had the most influence on you?
My late dad; and my mum, she is the best. I called her yesterday and I said ‘Ma, can we please pray together for me to travel safely?’ She is everything in my life. I cherish every moment we spend together. After that, I had major influences from different people.
I had a very good teacher, George Lee (Kwame). He gave me skills, because I didn’t have means then. I worked as a waiter, welder, I went to night school. He said to me, ‘you know what Jimmy? I know you are a talented young man. I’ll love to give you knowledge. I won’t be able to give you money. And this knowledge can push you further in your life as an artiste’.
I invested my time going to learn those skills. I later joined Brenda Fassie’s band, then Miriam Makeba.
I used to be crazy about a lot of things. Then I said to myself, ‘No man, here is someone who’s been doing what she is doing and is very proud of who she is’. How can I learn a few things that can help me to move forward as a person, but mainly as an African?
So she inspired me on that level. Then I met Hugh Masekela in Paris. I worked in his band. I was selected as one of the 33 artistes to represent South Africa.
I don’t know what to say. That man till today is like my father… he is everything, but the most interesting story I’m going to tell you – in 1979 when I was growing up he was coming to my city to perform. I ran away from home to go and watch him. When I came home my dad had locked the door. He said ‘go and sleep where you are coming from’. Them my mum opened and I told her ‘please let me in’. So I went in and slept on the wall.
Two years ago, I went with Masekela to my house. I said to her, ‘mother, you remember when dad locked me out of the house? It was because I went to watch this man play, and today he is my friend, my hero and I’ve learnt so much from him’.
I’ve never met someone with so much energy and knowledge, in southern Africa or in Africa. He has been there since Fela, and anybody. And he is still going strong. I’m very privileged and have learnt so much from him.
Others who have inspired me a lot, mainly, I would speak about the first train of the presidents. I saw them in the black and white calendar which was a Pan African calendar. (I don’t remember the name now).
There was Julius Nyerere, Kwame Nkrumah, Kenneth Kaunda, Kenyatta, Mugabe; my dad used to have that calendar and I would take it to my room and wonder, ‘who are these people’?
Then when I went to Ghana I discovered more about Nkrumah. They also influenced me.
Considering all the odd jobs you had to do, to get you where you now are, how do you juxtapose the experience with the state of youths today in Africa?
The times have changed. A lot of youths nowadays are brainwashed. There are a lot of things which are good, but come with their price tags. I see a lot of them today, you can stand in a compound of seven people who are all friends, but they will never pick a topic and discuss. They are all going to be on their cell phones, talking to other people   though they are among themselves. This is not good for the mind, because it is trained to think and be used.
You cannot rely on occupying your mind with just phones. What happened to the times when we used to sit and talk and share? Nowadays people don’t share and the fact that they are not sharing is affecting the youths and all our generation because from father to son or friends, people don’t talk.
It’s like they are living in their own blogs.
There is a good and a flip side to all these, but all I’m saying is one needs to find a balance. We need to talk and share. I mean you are sitting at the dinner table, but people are on their phones and the food is getting cold. That is very anti social. Since when do families sit on the table and there are five different people dealing with different subjects on the same table and no one says anything?
With your art, what do you find most enjoyable?
I’m teaching in five universities in Africa. I teach a lot of young artistes how to find their voice as African artistes in the music business. I enjoy that because it is like sharing a gift and knowledge to the young generation to keep up the legacy of our culture.
But the stage is my world. When I’m there I’m like a king. I don’t know how to describe it. The stage is home to me. I’ve been doing this from when I was kid; entertaining people. Every time I just feel like being close to them, to give and to share my best.
You have a formidable band. How do you pick your team?
We never practised with this band. The drummer and I have been together for 20 years from UCT. The lady is also from UCT. UCT is one of the top universities for music and we’ve been working together and shooting a live DVD next week, (last week) with Jill Scott and Norman Brown and some other artistes. It’s called ‘Seven Albums’.
What we miss at the Jam sessions, in Cape Town there are places where there is music from Monday till Sunday. That’s where you discover new talents. That’s where I’m also going to learn from other people, because you don’t have answers for each and every question. You learn until you die. I go there to learn and share.
You think the west still has influence on music in Africa?
Of course, yes; because the west knows how to promote their culture and we don’t. This is a problem.
How would you say music has influenced today’s South Africa?
Big time, and in different ways! That there is a new song that is coming from southern Africa; it has created a new voice of pop music coming from the south. It’s like ‘Chop my money’ by P Square. We have our own sound which is Afro sound. We are unique and I think we are in the right place.
We are not too much of copycats anymore. We know who we are and everyone is aware of whom we are. The future is Africa.
Who are your favorite Nigerian artistes?
It’s King Sunny Ade. I love his music. There is also one, who sang ‘Joromi’ and ‘Guitar Boy’…
Victor Uwiafo
Yes. Oh men, I like him. I have been asking some people to help me to do his music. I want to pay tribute to him. I want to meet him.
Most people pay tribute to artistes from all over, but when I listen to him, It’s like I’m listening to myself. Somehow I feel a connection. I would love to play his music and to pay tribute to him. I hope it can happen someday for me to meet him.