Love and heartbreak are at the centre of Afropop. In many ways, those two emotions are the building block on which most of the genre’s most timeless pieces have been built. Rising star, Novvo, adds to that solid foundation by releasing his new single, “Laide,” a reflective ode to desiring someone but still mustering the self-respect to stay away because of past entanglements.
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Coming after the self-actualising theme of his last single, “Program,” this new one coming after more than 14 months is a complete 360 that Novvo says is reflective of his growth as a singer. “We chose a different story this time around, and I was in a pensive state of mind when I was writing this song because it’s from a memory of losing someone dear to me,” he explains. “Someone who knew me to a fault almost better than I knew myself, and you’ll see these things reflected in the song itself, in the lyrics. ‘Been a long time, you sabi my p.’

“This knowledge the person has of me brings me peace of mind, and at the same time, it gives me migraines, because I was constantly worried about the unknown. “What if this person betrays me? What if this person leaves? What then happens?” So, it was a situation where I hated it and I loved it at the same time. That’s the reason you find some people hanging on to some people that hurt them. It’s because they are scared of having to start all over again, having to trust another stranger.”

Releasing a song while still in law school was a challenge that the singer could not have anticipated a little over a year ago but it’s what was done to get “Laide” out to the world. “This is my most pressured release because I didn’t see myself being in law school and still dropping a song,” he says.

“I feel good about the release. I feel quite good about it. It puts me in a place where I’m beginning to see it like a business, like a job. I’m no longer in the space of ‘Am I good at this? Is this something I can do for a long time?’ I see myself doing it already.”

As it is, Novvo is ploughing ahead fully with the hopes of establishing himself at the pinnacle of a competitive industry. He plans to do it with steady music releases starting from now on. “Next year, I’m going to make more releases because I have a lot of songs,” he says. “So, when we wanted to drop “Laide,” we had options, but we went for “Laide” because we didn’t even know we were going to make this many plans for it. We didn’t see this side of it coming.

“Laide” wasn’t even finished when we decided to do it, and we didn’t even see it getting to this point at all. It just made me understand the music game a little bit more. I know there’s still a lot to learn, but then, I feel so good about it and about the future.”
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