It’s easy to see just how passionately TK is taking the music she is making in 2003: Following the recording of the title track of her third album, Black Butterfly, the singer went out and got herself a beautiful black butterfly tattoo on her left arm, now on beautiful display on the cover of her just-released album.

“I had to” she says of her black butterfly tattoo, with infectious exuberance. “The song is so amazing it’s going to be around a lifetime.”

TK’s not wrong.
“Black Butterfly” is a masterpiece of urban music that glides along with all the incandescent beauty and ethereal appeal of … well, a summertime butterfly drifting beneath the bluest skies. It’s already causing a storm at South African radio, earning a well deserved place on the rotation lists of a diverse spread of stations including 5fm, YFM, Metro FM, Good Hope, Ukhozi FM – all pointing to the ease with which this gifted artist has crossed over in her home country.

Produced by Alexis Faku and written by TK and Faku together in the space of a single day,
“Black Butterfly” opens with the languid sounds of an organ before TK’s voice pierces the music, taking the listener on a journey of unforgettable proportions. Everything about “Black Butterfly” works – from the understated production that boasts an inspired combination of off-kilter urban drum beats, funked-up jazz guitar work and classical strings courtesy of a six-piece string section to TK’s lyrics which draws the listener in, and in again.

Ask TK about the song and she says: “Black Butterfly” is a song about a girl who likes this guy but is too shy to tell him so she simply sits at home and writes songs and poetry about her ‘black butterfly’.” It’s an everyday scenario for sure but what sets TK’s song apart is the quality of her lyrics – who else but this singular woman would come up with the highly evocative phrase, “black butterfly”?

In some ways the words are descriptive of TK herself – a beautiful black butterfly who flies, on the wings of angels, into the music scene, always delivering music that is that much more potent than what she has created before.

Black Butterfly (the album) does just that – pulling TK forward from her already impressive musical journey, to a place of increasing maturity and sophistication whilst retaining that urban edge that has made her beloved of many of the country’s most forward thinking music makers and producers.

If there is a thread that knits the songs on Black Butterfly together, it’s TK’s voice – on exceptional form throughout the album and, in places, nothing short of astonishing. You need only listen to TK’s version of the classic song (made famous by Judy Garland), “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” to experience this. “Somewhere Over The Rainbow was the first song I ever sang in public,” TK says. “I was in Standard Five and was singing on a stage for a competition which I lost – but I will never forget that feeling of singing a song of such immense power before an audience. That aside, I had to be convinced by Chris Ghelakis, the MD of Electromode Music to take up the challenge of singing it for the album – but when I began singing in the studio, magic happened.”

Magic indeed. Built on a musical foundation that is truly jazzy, TK’s version of “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” will move listeners to tears and give even the most jaded music industry stalwart renewed faith in the ability of songs to live, year after year, through the sheer force of a singing gift like that which TK has.

As an album Black Butterfly is compellingly diverse.

If “Black Butterfly” and “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” are on the gentle end of the musical scale, others, like “In Dis Piece” give notice that TK can be as edgy as the most prominent female voices currently working on the global urban music scene. Taking its cue from the production aesthetic set by the likes of The Neptunes, this track is going to blast TK into superstardom on a worldwide scale and is certainly one of the most scorching tracks off the album. The inclusion of rapper Stagga Dondada, on the song that keeps rolling forward with visceral momentum is a stroke of genius. “I love Stagga’s way with words,” says TK. “He produced a rap for the track that is just amazing – I am so in love with this song and cannot wait for people to hear it.”

And hear it people will when Black Butterfly flies its way into the hearts and minds of music lovers in South Africa and beyond. Already the buzz around this long-awaited album is palpable. “It’s been blood, sweat and tears getting this album recorded,” says TK. “I had to find just the right chemistry with the production team and it took a while to realize that coming full circle back to Alexis was just the way it was meant to be. He is a genius and we have a creative connection that is hard to describe – it brings out the magic in both of us.”

There are many other standouts on Black Butterfly – each song created to showcase just where TK finds herself musically at the tail end of 2003 and every track proving just how far this artist is able to stretch, musically, lyrically and, most strikingly, creatively. In all ways, Black Butterfly is the sound of a South African star on the global rise.

Says TK: “I think Black Butterfly is a great foundation track to illustrate just how much I have grown musically and in other ways over the past few years. It encompasses everything that I am right now and I am so very, very proud of the album. I’m truly like a butterfly, ready to fly off to the next stage of my music career and life.”

The easiest way to get a handle on just where South African singer, TK, is in her life in 2003 is to see her with her baby boy, Oratile, who is just about a year old. For there is no denying the fact that the new male in her life has transformed everything about TK – she literally glows with joy, bubbles with enthusiasm about motherhood and is also as elated with the way her music career is going right now.
“If you had told me a year ago that my life was going to be filled with such joy and positivity, I probably would have laughed out loud,” 25-year-old TK reveals. “I mean it’s not easy contemplating the life of a single mother – even when you have such a supportive family as I have – but when you are involved in the music business and in the public eye, well let’s just say the idea can be daunting. But since Zoya was born in November 2002 and of course after laying low in terms of my public profile for some time after that, my personal and professional life has utterly transformed.”
“Black Butterfly” TK’s third after her debut TKO (released in 2000) and 2001’s Eject Yo’ Ass. Last year saw the singer complete a hugely successful roadshow for Edcon (the company that owns, amongst others, Edgars), spending a full two weeks traveling around South and Southern Africa, playing her part in a corporate staff motivational project run by the group.

The Edcon roadshow is just one of the corporate events that TK has been involved with – she’s a hot ticket on this front and is in huge demand as an entertainer. “What I like so much about the corporate singing work is that is really encourages versatility. I mean depending on the theme of the event I find myself singing so many different styles. A few weeks back I was in Big Band mode and it was fabulous. It really extends my vocal and performing ability.”

And indeed, it is these two elements of TK that have always earned her critical and popular acclaim. As a singer, her talents have always stood far and away above those of most of her peers. Listen to the strength of her voice on the track “How Do You Feel” off the Twistyle album, And rated, which is currently on high rotation on all the radio stations that count in South Africa. And as a performer, TK has always been able to combine sophistication with an earthy sassiness that turns her into a brilliant draw card at any event.

One of her 2003 live successes was the Rand Easter Show where TK performed daily from April 17th to May 4th. “It’s was a proudly South African show and I did a few well-known South African songs from the likes of Miriam Makeba and Bongo Maffin as well as all my hits and new material.”

TK’s career has always been one of integrity and talent. Amongst the awards she has won are three South African Music Awards for Best R&B Album for both her releases so far (2001 for TKO and 2002 for Eject Yo Ass) and she was nominated for two MTN Metro FM 2000 Music Awards (Best R&B Artist and Best Female Artist) even before she’d released an album. That early profile earned her a star-turn with Foxy Brown at a Gauteng R&B and hip-hop festival in 2002, and a slew of collaborations with several other artists.

That she could sing was something Tsakani (hence the monikor, TK) Mhinga always knew growing up in Soweto as the eldest child of Chief Shilungwa and Tebogo Mhinga of the baTsonga tribe in the eastern North Eastern Province. TK honed her vocals at boarding school where she sang – a little against her will – in the choir. Bright girl that she clearly is, after finishing her matric she gave university a bash but the desire to become a musician was too strong. TK’s first studio foray was after matric when she recorded the first version of “Secret Confession” (which appeared on TKO) which, through a series of events, put her in touch with Alexis Faku, TK’s creative comrade on TKO.

That award-winning and critically-acclaimed album contained the song that most of her fans still adore, the girl-power packed “Mind Your Businezz”. Its enduring appeal (find a radio listener who does not give the lyrics full vent when the track comes on) and those of many of her other singles (including “Eject Yo Ass”) ensure that she truly has made an impact on the highly competitive South African music scene.

A great deal of TK’s appeal has to do with her ability to handle a variety of material – testament to her vocal gift. For example, “Where Did I Go Wrong” off her second album is a song with Ed Jordan (who penned the track), and others like “Feeling’s Mutual” still stand up, well over a year after they were recorded.

Now with motherhood an integral part of her life and a 2003 that is filled with amazing work, and an album about to hit the retail shelves, TK’s set to take her musical career even higher. “This is my life and I love it,” she says.

For more information contact Karen Stevens on 011 463 0248 or info@gmanagment.co.za