Lungi Naidoo inspires kids with South African national anthem rendition and Zulu nursery rhymes. Picture: Supplied
Singer-songwriter and producer Lungi Naidoo is inspiring the next generation through a special rendition of the South African national anthem, performed in collaboration with the Institute for Music and Indigenous Arts Development (IMAD) and the Khayelitsha Junior Choir.
The rendition was released under Rainbow Nation Kids, a project founded by Naidoo.
Over the past year, Rainbow Nation Kids has released Zulu Nursery Rhymes, in which Naidoo contributed to South African culture by collaborating with children from KwaZulu-Natal to create an album and corresponding sing-along lyric book.
The vision behind the project is to help bring music back to schools and educate children through the gift of music.
This collaboration is followed by Mzansi Lullabies, a 15 track album featuring a mix of six traditional isiZulu children’s songs recorded as lullabies, as well as nine original lullabies written and produced by Lungi Naidoo and Ryan Sackanary.
The project was inspired by Naidoo’s recent re-entry into motherhood with the birth of her twins.
The singer-songwriter, who hails from KwaDukuza in KwaZulu-Natal, shares that starting a non-profit organisation had always been something she wanted to do early in her career.
“Rainbow Nation Kids came about because I was pregnant last year, and everyone kept saying my children would have all the South African nationalities because I’m half Indian and half Zulu, and my husband is white,” she says.
The idea to record nursery rhymes came when she searched for the ones she grew up on to play for her twins, but could not find them online. She then pitched the idea to her company, who were fully on board.
“Recording the national anthem with these amazing kids has been the highlight of my year. What an incredible experience,” she says.
Though there may be other renditions of the national anthem, Naidoo adds that she wanted to share this heritage with the next generation, helping them understand the meaning behind the words and facilitating a teachable conversation.
For Naidoo, working with the children was a humbling experience.
As someone who has been in the industry for so long, it fills her with pride to see the growth of the next generation, their potential, and what they will achieve in the future.
IOL