TNK MusiQ Talk ‘Hayi Baleka’, ‘Le Premier Chapitre’ EP And The Evolution Of Their Sound
TNK MusiQ, the Amapiano DJ/Producer duo, has set the tone with the release of their latest single, ‘Hayi Baleka.’ This catchy track, featuring a collaboration with DJ Maphorisa, Ricky Lenyora and TmanXpress, has been eagerly awaited by fans. We had the chance to sit down with TNK MusiQ to get a glimpse into the inspiration behind ‘Hayi Baleka’ and dive into the details of their highly anticipated 7-track EP, ‘Le Premier Chapitre,’ scheduled for release on October 20th. TNK MusiQ also opens up about their musical journey, their unique movement called ‘France,’ and what lies ahead for them in the world of Amapiano.
Congratulations on the release of your latest single, ‘Hayi Baleka.’ Can you tell us about the inspiration behind this track and what it means to you?’
“We were with Phori at a gig and we hit the studio afterwards and we wanted to remake Kamo Mphela’s song ‘Sandton’ with the ‘Hayi Balekq’ part only and that’s how it came about”.
Hayi Baleka’ features a collaboration with DJ Maphorisa, Ricky Lenyora, and TmanXpress. How did this collaboration come about, and what was it like working with these artists?
“It was chilled, everyone had a take and wanted to hop on the track as soon as they heard it, and we decided to add Tman after seeing the crowd reaction.”
Your upcoming EP, ‘Le Premier Chapitre,’ is highly anticipated. Why that title and what does it mean?
“‘Le Premier Chapitre’ means the first chapter in France. This is because we have our own movement called ‘France’ which is a mixture of Isgitsha in our field and the sound we make so we call it ‘France’.
How did the movement ‘France’ come about?
“We started out our music career when we were still riding with DBN Gogo and she used to travel to France a lot so because of that and because we like France we decided to call it ‘France’, and our people also know we have a song called ‘France’.
You’ve had several hit releases in the past, like ‘Bells’ and ‘Wenza Kanjani.’ How has your music journey evolved since those track releases?
“It has improved a lot since we started working with a lot of and meeting artists like Mellow & Sleazy, Yumbs, LuuDaDeejay, Major League DJs and many others who have taught us a lot of things along the way. So our sound has definitely evolved since then”.
‘Le Premier Chapitre’ is set for release on October 20th. Can you share any details about the creative process behind the EP and what you hope listeners will take away from it?
“The EP is a mixture of music we did this year and last year. So we started working on some of the tracks last year, so 3 tracks are from last year and 4 from this year. It’s a mixture of what we’ve been cooking since and there’s a little difference but those who have an ear for our sound will be able to tell.
Most importantly we wanted to release the EP for the fans to say “thank you for waiting for so long and this is what we can offer you for now. We still going to drop way more.”
Who else have you worked with throughout the EP outside of the artists you’ve mentioned on your single ‘Hayi Baleka?
“We have two up and coming artists signed under our label Wayde and Hypeman, we have Chley, Tman Xpress, DJ Maphorisa, Daliwonga, DBN Gogo and Leonlee”.
Finally, what’s next for TNK MusiQ after the release of ‘Le Premier Chapitre’?
“We are planning a launch for the EP, we have a compilation coming up together with the boys who are under our label. We are also planning on dropping an album next year and before the album we will have a collab EP and we’ll decide with who at the time.”