Life’s sharp turns run through Ithwasa Lekhansela‘s Amajika, a Zulu title that speaks of bends and twists in the road. The maskandi singer uses it to frame a song about change and the unexpected.
Amajika moves with the acoustic maskandi feel, Zulu guitar leading and a steady rhythm keeping the song on its feet. The idea of twists and turns suits the storytelling heart of the genre, where a singer walks the listener through a situation, and the arrangement keeps its roots character rather than reaching for a modern gloss.
Ithwasa Lekhansela carries forward the maskandi tradition tied to the Khansela name, keeping the guitar-led Zulu sound in front of a new audience. The genre’s grounding in lived experience makes a song about life’s turns a natural fit for his writing.
The detail worth noting is the guitar figure that returns between verses, a recurring line that acts like a road the song keeps coming back to. In maskandi that repeated motif is part of how a story holds together.
It suits a long journey or a season of change, the kind of listening that keeps you company while life shifts. Those rooted in the tradition will recognise its truth.
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