Cici in brand-new body of work: No more cries for me

Johannesburg– Award-winning singer, songwriter and performer, Cici is in a much happier space, and there’s no need to look any further as her new album is proof enough. The 33-year-old released her sophomore album titled Sukulila at the beginning of Spring season in South Africa, 03 September 2021. Sukulila loosely translates to Cry no more, and that is exactly what this whole body of work embraces.

This Afro-Pop album represents Cici’s new chapter in life and it beams of gratitude, love and happiness. With this album, the sultry artist celebrates answered prayers and being able to walk away from relationships that did not nurture her. Launched on Thursday, 02 September at an intimate listening session with friends and media, Sukulila is another step in Cici’s journey that started back in 2017 with a sombre debut album, Busisiwe in which she detailed her past and painful life experiences. She uses her albums to tell her own story hence she calls them ‘The audio books of Cici.’

The 16-track album is sang mostly in IsiZulu with 90% of the songs being feel good songs. Sukulila doubles up as the album name and a song in the album that very nearly incorporates the notion of every song in the album. The album also comprises of singles Cici released between 2020 and 2021- Pelo Yaka, Hamba Naye and Inyanga. She also has a track titled Thandi, an ode to her mother. Tracks like Phakade, Abazi, Ngowami and iMessage sum up the exultant space she is in right now. The masterpiece debuted on number ten of iTune’s top charts, and it features Mafikizolo, Donald and Zion.

With Cici being a new mom and the country experiencing different lockdown levels, completing the album took longer than expected, but the KZN born singer is content about how it turned out.

“The hours weren’t as flexible, no more 4am studio session meant limited working time. The producers were really amazing in keeping spirits up on days I didn’t feel motivated,” says Cici about her new offering.

“I am excited about dropping a full body of work, people are going to get to know more about where I am now. I’m looking forward to people experiencing love, joy and gratitude and turning into the next chapter in their lives through the music especially those who experienced the first album with me.”

Cici is grateful to God for the gift of life and being able to do what she loves. Gratitude also goes to her husband who continues to show support in what she does. The album is available in all digital platforms.

Listen here: catch full version on  stream.africancrestradio.com , Interview coming soon

Who is CICI?
Born on the 15th of February 1987 in Ladysmith, Kwa-Zulu Natal, Busisiwe Edith Thwala better
known as Cici, is a renowned singer, actress and fierce dancer that has had an impact on the growth and
development of modern the pop music scene in South Africa. her music career can be traced back to the year 2003 with the main influence being traditional pop craft. This immensely talented artist earned her stripes as she became the winner of the South African Arts & Development Association auditions. Her vocal ability is top class as she has also dabbled in theatre and cabaret singing. Cici’s artistry
can also be recognized through her acting career where she played the role of Lihle on the South African drama series Rhythm City and her role on SABC1’s highly popular soap,
Generations.
Further growing in the entertainment space, Cici joined Ambitiouz Entertainment in the year 2017. She debuted her signing by releasing a heartfelt single titled Iqiniso. The single successfully gathered a sad narrative into a smooth 5-minute composition accompanied by soft instruments produced by
renowned producer Ruff. The video to the song has since gathered over two million views on YouTube. That success was followed by visuals for her track, Ngidinge, a Zulu term translating to ‘Need Me’ taken from her self-titled album, Busisiwe released in November 2017. The music video has received over three million views.
Her growth can be measured by her achievements thus far in her journey, she took home three 15th Annual Metro FM Awards for Best RnB single, Best Styled Album and best compilation feature. She has also been awarded the SABC Summer song winner and landed herself in the SABC most played song Top Ten category.
2019 saw Cici’s acting career advancing to greater heights, with her name being counted amongst the stars. She landed herself a role in Khanyi Mbau’s thriller movie, Red Room, that debuted in cinemas on the 8th of March. Cici has not put her acting career on hold as she is part of The Ferguson Films Netflix series, Kings of Joburg. On April 12, 2019, the Pop and R&B singer coupled her emotive song, Uhlal’ukwenza, with an astounding music video bringing the lyrics to life. This decade sees the songstress changing the sound of her music from emotional to a more love-filled and upbeat sound as she released a song titled Inyanga in the month of love- 21 February 2020. Inyanga was followed by another love song with wedding vibes titled ‘Hamba Naye’ featuring the award-winning Afro-pop group duo, Mafikizolo. The song was released on the 23rd of October 2020 and it raced to the number one spot on the iTunes top charts across all genres for two consecutive days. Known for being a sucker for love, Cici attaches a love story to her ‘Hamba Naye’ lyrics. Through this vibrant music video, she brings two worlds together preaching that love is blind.
Hamba Naye music video comes right after the singer was featured by Donald in another love song
titled ‘Uzobuya’.