The first time I heard Lusanda’s voice was through an acoustic cover of OutKast’s 2003 hit Hey Ya!. To date, the cover has about 4.5 million views on TikTok and remains widely used.
It was used as a declaration of love between partner, friends, mom and dads. It was the most soothing sound I have heard on the platform.
I quickly learnt that she is a multidisciplinary artist, with a dancing career that predates the music career and an array of other activities that are part of developing herself as an artist.
Now, Lusanda is making music that belongs entirely to her.
She has released a three-track body of work she is proud of, a diary of some of her thoughts that mirrors a lot of what she has gone through.
Her new offering is titled By The Time I Wake Up, which is the title track, as well as Progress and Lunchbox.
Much of the work has been in the making since 2024 when she was in school. Lusanda has since graduated and allowed the songs to grow alongside her.
When asked how she feels about finally putting the project out, she says: “I am relieved. It's my first project-type thing. It's only three songs but it feels like something. We're making something of it, so I feel really good.”
This body of work is inspired by Lusanda’s experiences. It came to fruition because she decided to look within herself.
“I can only write through lived experiences,” she says. “So it was natural for me to write about the trials and tribulations and how far I could come.”
Lusanda has no intention of leaving listeners alone in her story. She wants the music to be something that they too can carry into their lives. Seeing that social media is a big part of her career, she hopes listeners come back and share their experiences with the music.
“I get a lot of comments on my TikTok and Instagram that people find healing in my covers,” she says. “And now taking that into my music just means a lot.”
Lusanda makes music that is unmistakenly intimate, intentional with every melody, down to the last note. She wants to make listeners feel something past the words that are in sync with melodies on a track.
“I want to be like a hug and an emotional support,” she says. “Like white noise to fall asleep to. I wanted it to feel like that. I'm there and I can help with the healing, with getting over something.”
She is in the business of making the music feel like a presence, instead of telling people how to feel.
“I cannot dictate how the music makes people feel; I can only hope. I think once I have put out the music, I can no longer say it is mine.”
Lusanda also shares that the journey of creating By The Time I Wake Up has amplified her need to want to be a better storyteller and a better writer.
“I just wanna hone the skill to be a great writer. I just need to keep writing.
“There's many songs that I've done and a lot of them are bad,” she says, laughing. “Getting into my skills and practising something every day, I've learnt to be consistent.”
This is the unglamorous part of self-development as an artist and recognising that sometimes talent alone is not enough. Recognising that willingness to want to be a better artist requires a level of discipline.
She has that — and we have seen it through the quality of her music. Platforms like Spotify recognise that. Lusanda has been appointed as Spotify’s EQUAL Africa Ambassador of the Month.
The opportunity gives female artists support through editorial programming, marketing campaigns and cultural moments designed to help them reach new audiences. What it means is that it allows artists like Lusanda to have their music heard beyond her audience on the platform.
Some South African artists who have been part of this cohort are Tyla, Elaine, Khanyisa Jaceni, Makhadzi and Zoë Modiga.
“When I think about how big it is, I feel overwhelmed. But it's really exciting, especially in a time like now, when the headlines that we're seeing are about gender-based violence, which is saddening. But when we have resources like this that empower women and uplift women — it's a great feeling because I can do more and speak more about these crises and platforms given to us,” she says.
Lusanda’s relationship with her voice is developing, her relationship with her writing needs sharpening, her multidisciplinary practices are expanding and she is open to all that is ahead of her.
For now, she wants to make music that is honest to who she is. Music that feels like a conversation between her and her audience. She wants to grow alongside every song she has made.
“I am not in a rush to be anything, I just want to grow, be better and make music that is authentically me and more than anything, relatable. No boxes, no expectations, just music that sparks conversation and makes you feel.”
By The Time I Wake Up is not an announcement of who Lusanda is but more of a map showing where she is headed — away from labels, tags and genres, just honest music.
“I really do just like the word ‘artist’. Not ‘an R&B singer’ or ‘popstar’, not ‘neosoul’, just ‘an artist’. Because it is what I am outside music. I am an artist”.