The internationally-acclaimed musician, born Maya Wegerif, has released her debut children’s book, “Shoma and the Stars”.
Published by Ethnikids Publishers, it is a unique South African tale with an important message and a touching back story.
Madjozi, who holds a degree in creative writing, wrote this story of celebrating one’s uniqueness and being courageous as a tribute to her younger sister, Makhanani ‘Nyeleti’ Maganye, who died in a tragic car accident in 2019.
“I’m super excited to release my children’s book ‘Shoma and the Stars’. It’s a beautiful story and it’s a beautifully written story and it’s a gift to my young fans and all these young ones who dare to be different,” she tells IOL Entertainment.
Madjozi says she wanted to release the book as an offering to her younger fans to remind them to stay different, stay themselves and stay creative.
“Keep that, you know when kids are young they are so experimental in what they wanna wear, how they wanna do their hair and it seems over time, life kind of pushes us to be more uniform with everybody else.
“It’s kind of like my offering to say keep that, don’t let growing up take that away from you.”
Some of Madjozi's fans got their first peep at the book’s cover work, when she appeared on hip hop artist Da L E S’s YouTube podcast, “Posted with Da L E S and Friends”.
However, her appearance on the podcast didn’t go down well and she became a trending topic on Twitter as L E S’s podcast, which caters for an adult market, also reveals drinking and weed smoking.
Madjozi was candid about the moment, sharing that it was the most fun she’s had in an interview in a long time, because of its relatable nature. “What’s more relatable than two friends chatting, laughing over drinks, you know.”
“I think a lot of parents could also relate to it because there is this pressure, especially on mothers that you can’t have fun. If you have fun you’re a bad parent and I think people are tired of that,” Madjozi says.
Addressing the criticism of promoting her children’s book on a platform for adults, she said: “Sensible people know that there are different platforms that are for different audiences”.
“People who watch the Da L E S podcast know what happens there. I personally don’t smoke weed but people know that is what happens on Da L E S’s show and if people don’t like that kind of content there is so much other kind of content that they can watch.”
Her children’s book is just the beginning of her journey into creating content directed at kids. “I want to create more content that is actually for kids and that’s directed at kids,” she says.
It’s no secret that kids love Sho Madjozi, it’s hard to forget how she inspired little girls across the country to braid their hair in colourful braids like hers.
“That’s a big passion of mine and that is what this book is going to allow me to do and to create ‘Shoma’ as this character for kids because I think they do need great platforms and great entertainment,” Madjozi says.
Not only has Madjozi dropped a children’s book but this November she dropped her first single “Toro” after almost two years of not blessing her fans with new music.
“I’m happy for the hiatus to be able to work on and perfect the craft and still have fans that will be looking forward to what I will put out.”
In 2019, she released her banger of a single “John Cena”, which landed her the opportunity to meet the WWE superstar and for the single to be used on a national TV commercial.
Her last album, 2020’s “What A Life”, marked her first release under a new landmark international deal with US record label Epic Records, which is home to international acts such as 21 Savage, DJ Khaled and Travis Scott.
Her new single, “Toro”, featuring DDG, is lit and the perfect way to say, “I’m back”, especially after a season that has seen the singer make changes within her team after a fallout.
In March, she revealed that she had discovered two people on her team had been “stealing” from her and doing all sorts of “dodgy things” to block opportunities for her.
“It has been a while since I put anything out, I feel really blessed to have put out something so different to what I’ve been doing. And to show people that I’ve always been the kind of artist who has been multidimensional and that is going to do what I like.”
Her fans have received her new offering well, with “Toro” already being streamed 74 901 times on Spotify and on YouTube the visuals have 176 156 views.
“’Toro’ is such an incredible left field song for me and it’s been the most fun being able to put out a different version of myself and for people to see a darker, more serious me.
“I’ve been loving that and I think fans are loving the visuals and the lyrics, which is incredible for me.”
“Shoma and the Stars” retails at R180 and can be purchased at all major South African book retailers.