TNS living his dream with second album

House music producer and vocalist TNS says becoming a father for the first time changed how he sees things in life.

The musician, real name Nkazimulo Ngema, who was raised by his grandparents after losing his parents at a young age wants nothing but to be a great example to his one-year-old son Phupholethu, whose name means "our dream".

TNS marked the birth of his son a year ago with an album, his second, and titled after his offspring. The double features among others Prince Kaybee, Professor, Madannon and Mampintsha.

Having started his journey singing in church choirs, TNS saw himself as a gospel star but that changed when he moved to Durban where he was introduced to hip hop music.

Watching the likes of Black Coffee and DJ Kent doing their own thing inspired him to move to house music.

Everything started in his bedroom with just a microphone and a laptop.

The love of producing grew over the years until he got a chance to produced music for people like Prince Kaybee, DJ Tira, Mampintsha, Xolani Ngema and Babes Wodumo among others.

Sowetan caught up with the brains behind the production of Kaybee's club bangers like Banomoya and Club Controller.

Why did you choose to name your second album Phupholethu after your son?

I named it after him because he is everything to me. His arrival changed how I see things and my perspective in life. I remember when I saw him for the first time, I had this unbelievable feeling that I cannot explain. He was a spitting image of me.

When I go out to play now, I do that knowing that I have a responsibility to take care of him and his mother. I’m no longer going to clubs at night. It (son's birth) has taught me to be responsible and value life more.

How is it different from your debut album?

I released my first album in 2019 through Sony Music Africa and titled it Madlokovu King of African House. In that album I was honouring my grandparents who raised me and supported my musical journey. In my first album I only sang in two songs and the rest featured other artists.

In the second album, I sing in almost all the songs because I am showing off. I’m singing because the album is about my story and I could not have another person telling my story.

How is the album doing?

The album was released last month and has been doing well. I have been performing in different provinces trying to push it. I’m loving the response that I’ve been getting. People seem to love different tracks from the album.

What is the inspiration behind the songs?

I have different songs in the album that addresses different issues. Some songs speak about things I have experienced and those that I have seen happening to people close to me. Take the song Ijele (jail) is inspired by a friend of mine who was arrested. When it comes to the sound, my style is house that has a bit of maskandi, mbaqanga, isicathamiya, and hip hop.

How did it all begin?

I began at home in Mandeni, singing in church. My grandparents had a church. The church used to have singing competitions and I won one of those competitions. When I moved to Durban I thought I was going to pursue gospel but things changed. I started creating house music and producing songs for many artists until my break came in 2019 when Sony Music signed me. I dropped my single My Dali which topped local radio station charts.

His song Umona from the first album reached gold status and charted on radio for over 33 weeks in the Top 100 Airplay Charts and the video generated over 7 million views on YouTube.