Nakhane Toure

South African polymath Nakhane challenges stereotypes of gender and sexuality; his powerful, confessional, erudite odes to self-expression combine electro-pop and soul, and his extraordinary, swooping voice is front and center. Born Nakhane Mavuso in 1988 in the small town of Alice in the Eastern Cape, at the age of seven he was adopted by his aunt. Taking her surname, Mahlakahlaka, he went to live with her in the city of Port Elizabeth, where he was brought up in a conservative Christian household. He accompanied her to regular choir practices, and through her was introduced to soul artists such as Marvin Gaye before going on to discover homegrown heroes like Busi Mhlongo, Hugh Masekela, and Brenda Fassie. A precocious child, he was intellectual and literary-minded, and music-obsessed; he played in his school's wind band and steel band, sang in the choir, and performed in musicals. As a teen he came out as gay to his family; they forced him to undergo conversion therapy, which he initially embraced. At the age of 15 he left home for Johannesburg, still struggling with his sexuality. There he studied acting, film music composition, and literature but left college without graduating. Deciding to pursue music as a career, he began performing in clubs, adopting the Malian-inspired stage name Touré. He was signed to a record deal with the Sony-distributed Just Music and in 2013 released his debut album Brave Confusion, an acoustic folk-based effort in which he attempted to reconcile his Christianity and homosexuality. Eventually deciding it was impossible, he recanted his faith. In 2015 he was featured on the single "We Dance Again" by popular South African house producer Black Coffee. In 2016 Nakhane published his first novel, Piggy Boy Blues, and in 2017 he made his screen acting debut in the feature film Inxeba ("The Wound"), which tackled homosexuality in the conservative Xhosa culture. The film earned him several awards but provoked a backlash among the Xhosa community, with Nakhane receiving death threats. In order to expand his global reach, he decided to move to London. Dropping "Touré" from his name, he began work on his second album with producer Ben Christophers. Released in 2019 on BMG, You Will Not Die combined electronic pop with soul and gospel influences in a style reminiscent of Terence Trent d'Arby at times, while his confessional lyrics dealt with his struggle for self-acceptance.
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