NOMVULA, a debut album by ShabZi Madallion, an emcee, a thinker and a personality, these separate elements come together to form a fourteen track experience that is filled with energy, honesty and purpose. The three songs that follow the outro reignite the completion of the album as bonus songs.
Nomvula: The Mother of Rain
The name Nomvula is combined by combining two ïtems” which are “No-” and “-mvula”. The “No-” has been very useful in the nguni languages to help with clarifying the gender to be feminine. This is traced back from the ancient Zulu god of the rain uNomkhubulwane. uNomkhubulwane Was believed to have been a female and the Nguni/Zulu people took from her name the “No-” as a way to respect her as well. Nomvula would therefore mean the mother of rain, the one who brings life.
Rain is a source of life, evenly giving life to almost everything and everyone, plants, animals and humans. A child named Nomvula could be because of the belief and faith that they will bring forth more life, happiness and change the parents/family’s life for the better. – Buhle Mpila (@onegreatzuluman)
Nomvula, as translated above “The MOTHER OF RAIN” is the mother of the talented rapper, and is not only blessed with the title of the album but is given the responsibility of narrating the entire journey. She opens with words of affirmation and introduces the first theme of the album, confidence, self-belief and assurance, “Wena” and “When You Know” set the tone for this.
“Where Ya Homies At”, the unofficial first single from the album, as well as “We On Fire” continue the trend of high energy and braggadocious raps. “Go do it anyway” Nomvula states in an interlude as we see Dalli experiment a little more with records like “Lets Go, “Guapo” and “Play Like That”.
| Title | Time | ||||
| 1 | Alpha Lion | 0:57 | |||
| 2 | Wena | 2:44 | |||
| 3 | When You Know (feat. Payseen & | 4:05 | |||
| 4 | Where Your Homies At | 2:25 | |||
| 5 | We on Fire | 4:08 | |||
| 6 | Let’s Go (feat. Mad Lion) | 3:24 | |||
| 7 | Guapo (feat. Nelz) | 3:39 | |||
| 8 | Play Like That (feat. Mad Lion | 3:07 | |||
| 9 | Bro (feat. BigStar Johnson) | 3:41 | |||
| 10 | She (feat. Nandile Ndamase) | 4:02 | |||
| 11 | The Message | 0:53 | |||
| 12 | Nobody Knows (feat. Pdot O) | 3:32 | |||
| 13 | Destiny | 3:48 | |||
| 14 | Closure | 3:36 | |||
| 15 | 28 | 2:06 | |||
| 16 | We on Fire [Bonus] [feat. Eric | 3:24 | |||
| 17 | Trap Dalli | 2:31 |
On “Bro” we hear a more familiar ShabZi, following NOMVULA’s advice on acceptance, “She”, “The Message” and “Nobody Knows” are the soul of this album, the vulnerability, the openness, the medicine after the candy.
The end of this journey is highlighted by “Destiny” and “Closure”, records that will be appreciated by Dalli’s core fanbase, ever the poet, Dalli shows why he is one of the premier emcees South Africa has to offer.
Album stand outs and favourites will be all over the tracklist, great guest performances from Payseen, Nelz, PdotO as well as newcomer Nandile. Nicki Walker, Beats by Blass & Lize Mynhardt also make guest appearances influencing the production of the album. NOMVULA is sure to be a staple SA Hip Hop album for years to come.
Official stream/download links.
