Similarly, a hunter upon losing the spoor will have to retrace his steps back to where he spotted the spoors. That is the situation Olebile Sedumedi, popularly known as Maxy, found herself in - having to go back to the drawing board where her musical career started, to re-launch herself and stay relevant in this cut throat industry. After dabbling in other genres like House-Kwasa, and gospel she has cut an album titled, Kashoti, a throwback to the hit album Makorakoretsa, that catapulted the Otse-born artist from obscurity to stardom about 11 years ago. The songs - from the first to the last - are tinged with a tone of spirituality, addressing social issues, touching on the subject of God and his immanence. Maxy tells this writer that God speaks through her, hence she sees herself as an instrument that God uses to give words of advice to her audience. In a brief interview, the artist is quick to extol the virtues of staying on the cultural track. It is a moral compass that will help mend the wayward youth and straighten just about everybody who has lost their cultural roots to find the right path, she says. "The whole point of my new album is that knowing God and your ancestors makes you wiser. We also need to know where we are coming from to help us go forward," she says. Of the musical journey back to where she started from, Maxy says that it was a decision made out of a reawakening brought by the experience after steering from the traditional line of Makorakoretsa, frolicking with other musical genres that saw her back here. It was a journey of self-discovery, so to speak, she says.
"For the whole 10 years I was trying to change my talent to see my potential, to stretch my talent and see how far I could go. That is why I went through house kwaito, gospel ka bo-DiGauta albums. I wanted to see where my calling was, especially with regard to my voice. The music and the albums were selling, but they could not beat Makorakoretsa in sales. I have realised that I am more comfortable and creative in this genre than others. I don't have to struggle a lot in making the music.
