A daughter's offering

A cinematic Afrosoul offering, Sodwa captures Pearl Thusi’s journey into music through nostalgia, collaboration and deep emotional clarity

- Lesego Chepape

There are moments in music where sound becomes something more — something visual, almost spiritual. Moments where you don’t just hear a song, you see the person behind it.

Sodwa, Pearl Thusi’s debut single featuring the legendary Ihashi Elimhlophe, arrives exactly like that. It does not knock on the door; it simply opens it and fills the room with a portrait, one painted in Afrosoul brushstrokes, dusted with maskandi earth, and framed by memories of home.

It is a simple song about African resilience, love, and celebration.

It is rare to witness an artist who sounds like themselves immediately, without hesitation or mimicry. But Sodwa holds reminiscences of the Thusi we've come to know: bold yet tender, familiar yet consistently surprising. The song stretches beyond mere sonic pleasure. It becomes an image, an old photograph warmed by time, where beauty lies not only in what is seen but in what is remembered.

The Afrosoul beat dances with the unmistakable maskandi pulse, giving the track a texture that is undeniably South African. It fits effortlessly in a club, yet it also finds sanctuary in the backseat of a taxi weaving through the late afternoon rush, the basslines hugging the chatter of commuters and the rhythm syncing with the beat of township streets. It is music that travels across generations, across spaces, across hearts.

"My team and I try so hard to make cinematic music, even when it’s light and upbeat," Thusi explains. "So I like that it sounds like a picture, because that is exactly what we try to do." And indeed, Sodwa plays out like cinema — soft light, a sepia undertone, silhouettes of love and legacy.

For Thusi, stepping into her DJ and music era is less of a new venture and more of a culmination and a weaving together of everything she has been, everything she has survived, everything she is yet to become.