We recently connected with Bonolo Solomon and have shared our conversation below.

Bonolo, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

My number one meaningful project has to be my second body of work released in 2019 titled “Bipolar LP”, this is the project that defined the trajectory of my music career. The LP tackles the volatile emotional experiences that I went through as a teenager, from feeling completely deflated, unmotivated and have low self esteem to feeling hyped up, confident and driven in a snap. I experience a lot of emotional turmoil as a teen and that was poured into this project, it is no surprise it was the one that changed my life leading to me winning 2 music awards in my province Northern Cape here in South Africa.

Bonolo, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My story begins at age 7 when I received The Eminem Show CD from my Uncle, I remember playing for the first time what I heard was magic, never have I heard the finesse of language like that, the cadences, flows, rhyme schemes and the instrumentals, It was a completely new world for me.

Eventually my life changed for the worse at age 11 when I lost both parents in a car accident which I was involved in and witnessed the whole thing, as a traumatized teenager with no therapy to help deal with life I eventually turned to the only magical potion I knew, music. I began to use music as a tool for healing and reflect on my thoughts and emotions, I became obsessed with it and I wanted to do it for the rest of my life, as years went on I transitioned from Hip Hop to R&B when I heard August Alsina for the first time in 2014, I was 16 at the time. I am a teenager who’s developed an interest in dating so it’s only natural for love songs to interest me, but August was different from other artists I knew, his music was soulful which would eventually serve as a remedy for me, but it also had elements of Hip Hop which made it easy for me to digest it.

Over the years my love for music went from a therapy session to communication channel, I naturally a quiet person, I speak my mind through songs and I aim to share my story with those who might be going through the same background as me, I try to heal, encourage, educate and inspire through my music.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I believe the value of music is heavily underrated, we are talking about an art form that existed for as long as humankind has been around. Music comes from anything in nature, from the wind breeze brushing up on leaves, the rhythm of your feet as you stomp the ground while you walk and the birds tweeting early in the morning.

Music is nature and that is why we, natural being connect with it so much.

I believe, society needs to put more value in encourage and supporting artists who move the needle, those who shape the culture even in subtle ways, not only focus on those with major corporates backing them.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My philosophy towards music has always been that it life, there has never been an area of my life where music didn’t have an influence, so my goal is to create that lifeline support system by creating as much music as I can for those who will come after me, so that they can move the culture forward from where I will eventually leave it.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bonolosolomon
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/realbonolosolomon
• Twitter: https://x.com/bonolosolomon_
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@bonolosolomon