The son of Afro-pop singer Ringo Madlingozi, Phila, has released a single in support of the #FeesMustFall campaign.
|||Cape Town - The son of Gugulethu-born Afro-pop singer Ringo Madlingozi, Phila, has released a single in support of the #FeesMustFall campaign.
The song, titled Phila, features hip hop artist Solo. The track focuses on issues affecting students, especially in universities across South Africa.
Phila stars in the SABC 1 youth drama series Mutual Friends. His role in the series resulted in the song. Mutual Friends follows the university and family life of Jabu, Sizo and Badanile as they learn about life, love and adulthood in the age of social media.
“The series is about varsity students and their struggles. The show tackles current issues such as #FeesMustFall and #BlackLivesMatter. I was approached to write a song for the show speaking to those issues and so I did,” said the artist.
Listen to the song here.
Phila said the song had been well received, with some calling it the #FeesMustFall song.
“This means so much to me, it’s bigger than music. The song was meant to bring people together and so many people have been touched by it and that makes me very happy.”
His father’s celebrity inspired him to succeed in music and acting. “My father has achieved so much and has done well internationally. That gave me a bar to work towards. There were people who asked me, do you think you’ll be better than him? I’m sure there were people who asked my dad the same thing and he became better. I will also be better.”
Phila made his acting debut in the second season of the award-winning SABC 1 drama series Intersexions in 2013. In 2014 he was named one of South Africa’s Sexiest Men by Sowetan Live and he was also a top-16 finalist in last year’s Idols SA.
Phila was born in Johannesburg and grew up in Port Elizabeth, where he was raised by his grandmother.
In 2004 he returned to Johannesburg to finish his studies.
“I looked for answers but couldn’t find them in everyday things. I realised that music had the answers and loved the way I felt when I danced and that is what ignited my passion for the arts.”
The 27-year-old has shown he is more than just a pretty face and has talent to back it up.
He has set his eye on becoming a film producer in the local industry.
Weekend Argus
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