Msaki plans to hang up her mic with her last concert performance, Camagu in Symphony: 10 Years of Gratitude, next Thursday at SunBet Arena in Pretoria.
The 35-year-old singer told Sowetan SMag that it was not an easy decision to make, but her mental health took priority.
“I’m feeling clear with my decision, this is going to be my last time on stage. It’s been 10 years, so I’d like to leave my fans with a stellar show and a heartfelt ‘thank you’ for their support in the last 10 years,” said Msaki.
“To be honest, I’m tired of this nonsense. Being called all these names and people being naive enough not to get the facts right... this in a way is my parting shot.
“I’ve reflected on a lot and looking at my career, I’m more than grateful of what I’ve achieved.”
The Fetch Your Life singer was rocked with infidelity allegations in 2022.
“Being in the public eye is one of the things that I had to learn to accept as it comes with what I do but people tend to feel entitled to your personal life even though I’m just here to make music,” she said.
“To me, the stage is a sacred space for a musician to perform on hence I don’t want to play around with it, especially if it doesn’t serve a good purpose. I don’t know why things happen the way they do but acceptance is the first sign for a person who has to navigate through life.
“The lesson that I’ve learnt in the past decade is that I shouldn’t expect to be understood, this is not my mother’s house.
“But on a serious note, I’ve learnt how to figure out what my gift is and how to allow it to teach and shape me into the person that I am today.”
Reflecting on her career, the mother of three said she just wanted to bring hope to people through song.
“It’s against my nature to keep people at arm’s length because I love people and enjoy engaging with them but to protect my space, I need to keep them at a distance,” she said.
“Social media was a way for me to connect with my fans but there is no intimate connection with 300k people who half of the time are there to watch how I’m recovering or waiting for my downfall. I had to be realistic with myself and see that it’s probably 3,000 people who really care about my music and career.”
So what is next?
“I’ve got things I’m working on, I’ve been writing a lot of folk and country songs. I go to Nashville and Los Angeles often now. I’m also focused on building an infrastructure that will help independent artists who are coming up to have avenues and options into the industry, to ensure they don’t struggle as we did,” said Msaki.
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