“When it became global, I was now fully misunderstood,” Sho Majozi

In a candid and heartfelt conversation with Nandi Madida on The Motherhood Network Podcast, Sho Majozi opened up about the emotional journey that came with her rise from local stardom to global recognition. The award-winning artist, known for her vibrant style and unapologetic individuality, revealed that while her success took her across borders, it also came with moments of deep misunderstanding.

When Nandi Madida posed the question of whether the industry truly understood her, she described Majozi as someone “bigger than the industry” by being a creative force that seemed “out of this world.” Sho Majozi reflected on the complexities of being seen and yet not fully understood, sharing that while the local industry didn’t completely grasp her artistry, there were parts of her that connected deeply with South African audiences.

“I don’t think that the industry understood me at all, I think locally people did,” she said. “I was happy with my local fame or at least the acknowledgment to a degree, I was happy for me, I was happy that I existed for me that I could see myself being a young girl.”

Her connection with audiences grew beyond South Africa also brought fulfillment, particularly when her reach extended into East Africa. Yet, even with that expansion came moments of disconnect. “I was happy when I started talking to my East African audience, I was quite happy with that, and I felt again in some ways misunderstood right in some ways. I think people will always understand portions of me,” she said.

As her sound and image began to travel further across borders, the experience shifted drastically. What should have been a milestone quickly became a turning point. “When it got global, I was now fully misunderstood like fully,” she recalled. “The label I got signed to had no understanding of who I was… they meant well, but I don’t think they knew anything about what I am.”

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Sho Majozi explained that after signing in 2020, a year that followed the massive success of her breakout hit, she felt the direction of her career being pulled away from her original vision. “Everybody wanted to sign me after that,” she said, describing how management decisions and label pressures began to take over. “Everything I tried to do I was minimized… the first thing that they wanted me to do, I guess, was become more pop, but I never said I was pop.”

One of her most personal disappointments came when she tried to create a legendary collaboration with her musical icon, Dr. Thomas Chauke. “So the project I wanted to make in 2020 was like a legendary collaboration with my icon and favourite song of Dr. Tomus Chauke and for me it’s massive right, it’s like he has never in his 40 years if not more in this industry could be or at least like 40 years he has not collaborated with any artist ever,” she shared. Despite its significance, the project received little to no support. “It is entirely humongous in my world, but it is not their world, so then I create that project and it gets virtually no support at all from my label,” she said.

The lack of support grew into dismissal. “Then I start submitting songs and then I’m being told like oh that’s great, but we need it to be more English,” she revealed. “It’s to the point where I was now outright being ignored by my label right because they realized they couldn’t make me what they wanted me to be.”

The pressure began to affect her confidence and relationship with her art. “They made me doubt and put down and suppress that voice to the point where I couldn’t even hear myself anymore,” she said with emotion. “I feel really sad for my inner voice because my voice is the only thing that has led me and carried me right and it’s the thing that got me to them and I was doubting that.”

In her words, Sho Majozi’s story is one of talent caught between identity and industry. A reminder that success, when defined by others, can often silence what made it possible in the first place. And as she continues to find her way back to her truest sound, her reflection stands as a quiet but powerful declaration and at that the cost of being misunderstood can never outweigh the value of staying true to who you are.