Inspired by the deep symbolism he finds in the indigo colour, last week Friday Sipho the Gift dropped off sophomore album titled iNDiGO. To him, indigo represents his deepest thoughts and spiritual wisdom while paying homage and staying loyal to his creative processes and muses that have helped to shape the process that has led him to this moment.
“I find the older I grow I still feel like a big kid, figuring it all out – what it means to be young today, what it means to be young and black in South Africa and more importantly reducing what it personally means to be a man. So iNDiGO is just me unpacking it all out into a sonic mind map.” – Sipho The Gift
iNDiGO is said to be an instalment into the exploration of the state of mind of a young lad trying to define what it means to be a man (in South Africa). It is a form of introspection and a means of searching for answers. Sipho’s subject matter covers a wide variety of topics such as the immediate socio-political state of our country, love, heartache, mental health. Indigo is the album that Sipho needed to hear as a young black man still trying to mold and define manhood for himself.
“The intro is about combating the narrative that young people are young and lazy. Living in JHB while making this project exposed me to so many young people working hard and hustling with so much against them. We have so much to prove and nothing lose, that’s both a blessing and our biggest curse.”
iNDiGO is a graduation from his personal coming of age story to a renaissance of manhood. The entire album carries about 10 tracks in total and features Lucille Slade, Moulan and Ego.
Listen below: