Cape Town - The singer came to a point where she realised she is worth good, healthy love, not what she was getting in past relationships. And this Women’s Month, Ayanda Jiya wants all ladies to understand that they are worthy too.
Her voice has been dubbed one of the greatest in the game right now, and it seems it’s only the beginning for this local girl. Ayanda recently dropped her debut album, Ayandastand, which debuted at No 1 on iTunes and Google Play across all genres.
On Ayandastand, the singer features some of the country’s musical greats, including rappers Stogie T and A-Reece. We caught up with the Klerksdorp songstress to find out what inspired her debut project.
"I really wanted to give it a personal feel and introduce myself as Ayanda, and my life experiences. I packaged it in a way that would make it easy to connect to the people who listen to my music. I really believe in connections and that if you give the next person a chance to connect, they can then learn from your experiences as well," she tells Move!.
"And I wanted to present in a very special way, hence the selection of artists I chose to collaborate with. I mean, all of them are such great storytellers, and when you listen to the album you hear it."
Artists always say it’s unfair to ask them which one of their songs or projects is their favourite, so we ask Ayanda what inspired her to write our fave track on the record, Worth it.
"Past relationships, actually. You know how we, especially as women, sometimes accept any kind of love given to us? Which is very close to none most of the time. At some point I realised what I was getting was not what I’m worth, or what I was giving them, in fact. I spent a lot of time in selfish relationships, so Worth It came at a time when I was like, ‘You know what? I’m worth way more than this’. And it wasn’t just about or for me, it was also for all the ladies, and men, who go through some of the things I went through. So, this is a reminder to all of us that we’re worth all the good stuff, and the day we embrace tha, is the day we’ll start to reflect and attract that. That’s why it was such an important song for me to write, for everyone."
She’s been celebrated across the country, and her tunes are getting loads of airplay across radio stations, but Ayanda says it’s still so new to her.
"People actually wouldn’t believe I’m a very weird person and that I never expect people to come up to me in public, so when it does happen it still shocks me a bit. But I’m mostly grateful and humbled by the reception I’ve gotten," she says.
