Out of Africa
Well, I am from Cape Town, I was always going to have a soft spot for her surname.
After spending her twenties singing back-up vocals and rasing two children, Skeef is finally getting the recognition she deserves, in her hometown of London.
But she is still, very much, a product of her South African past: the child of a white activist mother and black musician father, her first birthday was spent in jail when her mother was arrested on suspicion of terrorism.
After a family friend and her young daughter were blown up by a parcel bomb, Mpho and her family fled to London, where they still live now.
Mpho won’t categorise her music but says, in an interview in Grazia, “My music is about saying what I believe, not writing a song I think could become a catch phrase. It frustrates me when I hear talented musicians talking rubbish. I’ve got a lot of respect for Lily Allen, but I think she is very manipulative – I’d be interestd to know what she thinks, rather than what she thinks would grab attention.”
Mpho is headlining The Levi’s Ones to Watch Gig in London tonight and her album, Pop Art, is out in February.
I’m interested to know what she thinks.
