Lloyd Cele Interview
South African musician Lloyd Cele, born and raised in Kwa-Mashu is not only an artist but he is a family man who is very passionate about community development in South Africa. Many remember him from the 2010 SA Idols competition where he was runner up . Though things didn’t go as expected after the idols, Lloyd Cele is now making his long desired career a breakthrough and there is no doubt about whether he is going to make it in the industry or not. In the year 2011 Lloyd Cele released his first debut album “One” collaborating with artists like Loyiso and in 2012 he received a South African music award for the album in the Best Pop Album category. Adding to his list of his achievements, Lloyd has his own autobiography at the age of 30, has released his second album No Limits and there is no stopping.
In the interview Lloyed tells us more about his personal life, his career, the challenges he faced after the idols competition and his involvement in community development.
YV: Who is Lloyd Cele?
Lloyd: Well either than being a musician, I am a proud father, married for five years and I am highly passionate about music and that’s who I am in a nutshell.
YV: How was it like growing up in KwaMashu?
Lloyd: It was incredibly difficult at the time in which I was born in KwaMashu, I faced a lot of challenges in the family. My mom had me at a young age, she was 18 years old, so my grandparents where the ones who took care of me. It was very difficult, we were not doing well financially. We were faced with a lot of problems as there were a lot of political violence that we even had to move out while I was still young. But my grandparents tried their best to give me a good life and it also taught me a lot of things about life and to be the person that I am.
YV: You are a family man, what does family mean to you?
Lloyd: Ah man! I love my family, they mean everything to me. I am nothing without my family; I am a very proud husband and a proud father. My family comes first even before my career, I really do value family and I believe that family is what makes me who I am and keeps me grounded and complete.
YV: What inspired you to enter the Idols SA competition?
Lloyd: For many years people have been telling me to go and try it out and I didn’t want to do it. But it came in at a time when I was really battling financially, I was battling in terms of my job, things where really difficult for me and I felt like Idols will give us that breakthrough we were waiting for as a family. My wife really motivated me to go and give it a try as I had nothing to lose. So I took a chance and I gave it everything that I got and it was one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life.
YV: And how was it like being on Idols?
Lloyd: To be honest it was mixed emotions, I am not going to lie and tell you that it was all rosey. When you sitting at home and watching it seems all rosey but when you experiencing it is very challenging especially when you are a family person. So I hardly had time to be with my family and I couldn’t afford for my family to come to Joburg and visit me every week. So my family could only come up once in two weeks or once in three weeks and even when they did come up I didn’t have the opportunity to see them because I was busy going around with the schedule of Idols. But all of that was really well worth it and it all paid back.
YV: Your life changed after Idols, how has the transition been like?
Lloyd: For me it was not that difficult but for my family it was. I had at least three months to gradually understand everything around me, but for my family it was difficult for them to adjust not to the new Lloyd but the new environment, being in demand and popular. But now it comes easier because we have been able to adjust well. So they were a lot of things that you had to learn and thank God that I had the background of being very involved in church, which taught me to be able to understand people, appreciate people and remain humble through all of that because sometimes when you are in a place that you not prepared for that. So you can easily offend people without knowing it.
YV: One of your fans on our Youth Village Facebook page wants’ to know, who inspires you?
Lloyd: First and fur most my family inspires, when I write my music I write about my experiences. Even on my new album I have a song that I dedicated to my children Levi and Zoey. So my inspiration come from family, it also comes from God. I am a very religious person and I firmly believe that everything I have gained and that I have is a blessing, it’s a god given talent and I’m truly grateful for that. And thirdly I draw from my fans as well, they really mean everything to me and I love taking the time to reply to people, whether it would be on twitter or facebook. So I really take time to appreciate my people because they inspire me as well.
YV: So do you write all of your songs?
Lloyd: I write all of my songs, both of my albums I have written 90% of the songs. I have also worked with people from overseas, I also co-write with other musicians. I have been writing from the time I was a teenager it’s something that I have always loved and enjoyed to do, something that is close to my heart.
YV: How did you feel when you won the SAMA award with your first album?
Lloyd: It was incredible; they are no other words to actually explain . It was overwhelming, incredible, it was amazing and it was emotional at the same time. I really felt that people believed in me, they loved me and haven’t given up on me even at the time when people said black people don’t vote but people supported me. So it really showed me that South Africa appreciates what I have to offer, which is something really different from most popular genre like house music. I do pop music something which is completely different. So for me to get the award showed that SA appreciates they style of music that I have to offer. This is why I went ahead and released my second album so quickly because I wanted to give people what they want.
YV: Who would you say are some of the musicians that have had the strongest influence on you and how?
Lloyd: There have been so many, from my teenage years Michael Jackson. I will never forget this man he was a legend for me and while growing up I wanted to sing like him and I wanted to dance like him. I used to go to KwaMashu shopping centre and sing right outside OK and dance like him. I also love Steve Wander too bits such an incredible man and not just as a musician but also as a person he’s wonderful. As well as the late Whitney Houston, I mean I grew up watching her, Mariah Carey and Boys 2 Men, they’ve influenced me tremendously. To the current times I’ve had influences from arock band called You tube which is a rock band and Usher as well who has been a very consistent artist. One of my favourite local artist, I have huge respect for Hugh Masikela, Lira, Andile Yenana (Jazz Musician) and Freshly Ground which is my number one local band.
YV: What are some of the challenges you face daily in the music industry?
Lloyd: There’s quiet a lot of challenges that I face, one of them being that I wanted to win Idols, but I didnt. You think to yourself that when you come out of a competition you will see record labels coming up to you offering you deals, but that never happened to me. Universal turned me down. They chose Sindi Nene instead of me. That was the huge challenge to me because I needed to make an album and yet I didnt have a huge recording label that would assist me to pull out the ulbum that I wanted to do. I got to a point where I had to make an album, I had to work extra hard to make things happen for me, so I got out there and started connecting with the right people like Loyiso Bala, Denny K and I had to do an album out of my pocket without any assistance from any major recording labels. I was basically the independent label. That was one of the biggest challenge I had after the Idols but it has taught me that you dont necessarily need anybody in terms of the huge labels to make it happen for you. If you have the passion, the determination and you are committed and you have the discipline, you can really pull it off. So even though it was a huge challenge but when I look back I am really greatful, because it made me a better artist, a stronger brand and a stronger person at the end of the day.
YV: Who would you like to collaborate with in the future?
Lloyd: I would like to work with Lira, Dj Black Cofee and Prime Circle.
YV: Why did you decide to write your autobiography now?
Lloyd: I am 30 years old. I grew up in Kwa Mashu, I’ve experienced so much in terms of life, I am married with someone outside my race. I’ve been influenced by the wrong crowds, just hanging around with people who call themselves gangsters, I have been influenced by drugs and alcohol ,I‘ve been kicked out of school and I have had all those challenges and more, but after all of that I have been able to still achieve my dreams. So what I feel and believe in that it’s never too late to do something that you believe in. I think one of the biggest problems is that we have is that we always procrastinate and say this is what I want to do but I will do it when I am 40. You don’t have to wait until you are 40 years old to have a autobiography, you can be even 15 years old or even 20 years old and you could break the mindset especially amongst people who think there are no black people who are 30 years old who have a autobiography. I want to be one of the first to break the stereotype and break the mindset and to tell the people that its not about just your life but its about also changing someone else’s life. So if you have the means and the capability to be able to influence and inspire other people so that their lives can be better, why wait?. That’s why I am doing it, I am doing it because this is something I believe in and this is something that I feel could be able to add value and to change people’s lives. Especially people who are just like myself, who come from disadvantaged backgrounds where things where not working out for you. So I want to offer all of that through my experiences.
YV: Well besides your own, what book are you currently reading?
Lloyd: There’s a book I am reading called Positive thinking. Whats Good about this book is that , It teaches you how you can take any situation in life that’s negative into a positive one. It has been helping me to be able to find and to draw positive energy as opposed to negative through everything that happening in my life. I am really enjoying this book, because it is important to have a positive image about yourself and to live positively and to speak positively even when you are amongst people who are negative. You can be the positive one and not compromise on that, through that you can change people’s lives. I am also enjoying another book of Dr Phil which is about making decisions and about choices. I think it’s important to make the right decisions. To sum it all up, I love reading
YV: Who has given you the best advice and what was it?
Lloyd: I think my mom, My mom taught me that you should never change, you should always remain grounded and stay humble. No matter how much money you have.
YV: What are your future plans?
Lloyd: I am working towards my own foundation. We has just started, it hasn’t kicked off as yet. I want it to be a South African foundation that can teach people about music, but not only about music and also how to make their dreams become a reality. I would love to see myself as a producer, having my own studio and bringing up underpreveleged kids who want to be in the music industry.
YV: What advice would you give to people wanting to get into music?
Lloyd: I think it’s important to spend time with your instrument. An instrument is not only a guitar and a piano for example but it’s also your voice. Your voice is your instrument so invest in it. Do your research, do voice trainings, I mean perfect your instrument and perfect your skill. Don’t settle for second best, try and strive to be the best that you can be and ultimately don’t give up on what you want to achieve and what you believe in.
