Listen to queer South African artist nakhaneofficial's Summer of Pride playlist
Born in Alice, South Africa, and raised in nearby Port Elizabeth and Johannesburg, Nakhane Touré first came out as gay at the age of 19. At the time, his local community — comprised mostly of fundamentalist Christians — responded by sending him to conversion therapy, an experience that left his faith in question. “The older I got, we became very staunch, more conservative,” he says. “Like, if you have Jesus in your heart, this is a temptation that you can learn to live without.
A umXhosa, the second largest ethnic group in South Africa, Nakhane came from a musical family: his aunt, who raised him, and her sisters sang in choirs. “My first musical memories are voices in a room singing Mozart and South African choral pieces,” he says. “And then when we moved to Port Elizabeth my mum introduced me to Marvin Gaye and the O’Jays. I didn’t really know current pop music until I was in high school.
After relocating to London to re-focus on his burgeoning music career, the powerhouse singer arrived fully formed with the release of his debut LP in 2018 — an introspective and cutting take on his life experiences, helmed with producer Ben Christopher and featuring a collaboration with ANOHNI . A tour de force, the set nods both to the anxiety and depression that often accompanies coming out, as well the joy and validation that self-acceptance brings.
The album first came to Nakhane in a dream. “Suddenly, having forever lived in fear of divine punishment, I was certain I wasn’t to die the next day, or even 10 years later. It was incredibly freeing. I decided to catch up on lost time, to finally live my life,” he says. “It took a long time and a lot of complicated conversations, but over time I think the ice thaws. I remember being young, black and queer and having no-one representing me in the world.
Art is a sacred space, he says, where human beings can express themselves freely — “even when policed by governments.” “We, as queer people are resilient. We have always found joy even when fear was the only rational option. We created. We carved spaces and inspired the same heteronormative society that hates us,” he adds. “On this playlist I created, there’s humour and irony, too. It doesn’t all have to be earnest and frown-face serious. We can create change while still having some fun.
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