LUUKHANYO is a rapper/singer from Cape Town who’s showing some promise. He released his first single, ‘FLOAT’, in 2021. The single combined singing and rapping, which seems to be the direction he’s taking with his music as his single ‘Hii ROLLER’ sees him rapping and singing over a breezy 80s’ pop-leaning instrumental.
LUUKHANYO credits his cousin for introducing him to rap and fostering his desire to make music. “He was a big fan of music, specifically West Coast hip-hop. He used to wake up every Saturday without fail and just play rap,” he says.
The rest, as they always say, is history.
In the interview below, LUUKHANYO speaks to SlikourOnLife about his new single, how he sees himself and his plans for the future.
Who is LUUKHANYO?
LUUKHANYO is first and foremost a human being, having a human experience. During my brief stay on Earth, I've learnt to use art to navigate through life and the experiences that come with it. My relationship with music has taught me a lot about the basic qualities that I believe every human being needs to possess in order to live a fulfilling life: love, passion, discipline, commitment, trust, gratitude, honesty, faith, and patience, just to name a few. I'm a constant work in progress, working on myself and my craft, with the hopes of improving my environment, and the lives of those impacted by my existence. I'm also a cutie — on a good day (laughs).
You dropped your first single, 'FLOAT', in 2021. How has your music been received so far?
The reception has been amazing, to say the least. I'm not the kind of artist who relies on praise or approval from others, but knowing that people are genuinely drawn towards the music I create out of the sheer desire to express myself is a feeling I can't quite compare to anything else. I've had random strangers come up to me on the street to express their appreciation for the music I've released thus far, and I'm truly grateful to be able to move people that way, by just doing what I love most. It's nothing short of a blessing.
'Hii ROLLER' has an 80s feel. You weren't even born in that era. Please take us through the inspiration behind the song and how it came about.
Honestly, I wasn't even aware of the 80s feel until people started drawing my attention to it, after the song had been released. Quite frankly, I often struggle to categorise my music, only because I create with the intention of expressing how I feel. And more often than not, I find myself mixing different genres in pursuit of a musical interpretation of those feelings. I also listen to a wide variety of music, and I suppose some of my influences seep into my subconscious without me even taking note. I'd be lying if I said I'm a genuine fan of 80s music as a whole. The actual truth is that I'm a fan of good music in general, and the 80s produced some of the best artists, songs, genres, and styles known to mankind — great art overall.
The song was inspired by a falling-out between me and a casual ex-lover of mine. As you can tell from the lyrics of the song, this wasn't a clean break-up (if such a thing even exists, smh), and I was left hurting for a few months, falling into bad habits in attempts to cope with what I was experiencing. When I made the song, the first verse and the chorus just poured out of me as I recalled the recent events of my love life, building up to, and during the summer of 2021.
You do a lot of rapping in the song. What inspired that move?
I actually consider myself to be more of a rapper (a poet, if you'd like) than an actual singer. I'm sure we can all agree that the lines between rapping and singing have become a lot blurrier in our era of music, and in that aspect, I guess I'm a product of my times. As I release more music, people's perceptions of what I do and what I'm capable of doing will only grow broader. My only hope is that they allow themselves to grow with me instead of trying to limit me to what I've created in the past, as we do so often with many of our favourite artists. Either way, I've got so much in store, and I'm looking forward to taking you guys through each aisle and section as time progresses.
Stream LUUKHANYO’s latest single ‘Hii ROLLER’ below:
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