COLORSxSTUDIOS is a platform that showcases the finest talents around the world. The online music platform has introduced upcoming and ongoing established artists for years and what makes this show so unique is through showing the talents from around the world, no matter the demographic or geographical aspect of the artist. This specific episode shines a light on the revolutionary, sublime and individualistic performance of South African artist Moonchild Sanelly. She sets the COLORS stage ablaze with the electrical performance of her single ‘Sweet And Savage’.
Moonchild Sanelly (born Sanelisiwe Twisha) is a South African musician and dancer from Port Elizabeth. She stems from a very strong creative background as her mother is a jazz singer, her brother is a hip hop producer and her cousins are kwaito dancers. Her career started in 2005 when she relocated to Durban to study fashion at the Linea Fashion Design Academy and she would perform poetry and hip hop at the Durban University Of Technology. She would go on to feature regularly on radio on the weekend show called “Poetry with King Siso” on the South African radio station Gagasi FM. She pursued her music career and went on to release her debut album ‘Rabulapha!’. In 2015 which earned her a nomination at the 22nd South African Music Awards for “Best Alternative Album”. She was then discovered by Red Bull through a feature she did on South African DJ Shimza’s EP. She furthermore went on to work with major South African artists such as Distruction Boyz, DJ Maphorisa, DJ Tira Kabza De Small, Focalistic and Major League DJz. Her genre ranges include Gqom, Amapiano, House and Dance-pop.
In 2019, Moonchild Sanelly featured on “Beyoncé’s The Lion King: The Gift” soundtrack for the single ‘My Power’ alongside fellow South African singer Busiswa, South African DJ Lag, Nigerian singer Yemi Alade, American singer Nija and American rapper Tierra Whack. Other African artists featured in the soundtrack included Nigerian artists Burna Boy, Tekno, Mr Eazi, Tiwa Savage and Wizkid. Later that year, she released her ‘Nude’ EP. She entered 2020 with the collaboration with Amapiano duo JazziDisciples on their album ‘0303’ with the hit single ‘Askies’ and she also featured on the British band Gorillaz seventh album ‘Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez’ on the single ‘With Love To An Ex’. In 2021, she featured on the BET TV Show “Madness Method” and her single ‘Yebo Teacher’ was released. She added another international feature to her belt as she collaborated with British band Sad Night Dynamite and British rapper Trillary Banks for her second studio album titled ‘Phases’ which was released in June 2022.
Moonchild Sanelly adds a unique twist to her artistry as she fuses multiple musical elements such as Afro-punk, kwaito, jazz and hip-hop into her sound. She infuses her home language isiXhosa into her lyricism and does so in both her local and international sound. She takes a different approach to her music as her voice creates a fun atmosphere in her music. Throughout her incorporation of English and her adding a twist of her home language in her hooks and always experimenting with her sound, she can be versatile in a long list of genres.
