R&B artist Elaine’s highly anticipated debut album, “Stone Cold Heart,” officially hit all music platforms at midnight. IOL Entertainment attended an exclusive album screening on Thursday night, hosted by TV personality Pamela Mtanga at Nu Metro, Hyde Park.
This latest project showcases her growth as an artist, particularly now that she’s independent. You can feel her resilience in every track, as she pours all the emotions she experienced during the album’s creation into the music.
After her time with Columbia Records, she’s now free to explore her full potential, with all the creative freedom she’s always wanted.
“Stone Cold Heart” is a stunning visual album with two parts: Side A and Side B. Elaine Ndivhuwo Mukheli, or just Elaine as we know her, really opens up in this project.
On Side A, she brings us back to the sound that made her fans fall in love with her, with tracks like “Broken Hearted B**tch” and “Fake Deep” giving off the same vibes as her breakout EP, “”Elements.
Side B is where things take a fresh turn, mixing amapiano with her signature R&B sound. The whole album feels like a deep dive into self-expression.
Elaine and her team worked around the clock, creating 12 different looks for the album visualisers in two days, barely getting any sleep, to deliver what is essentially her bearing her heart to her fans.
She explained why they split the album into two sides: “Side A speaks more to what I feel like my core fan base fell in love with, nostalgic R&B and trapsoul.
“Most of Side A is about my heartbreak and trauma. At the time, there were so many relationships standing in my way, and it was just an overload of emotions.”
On Side B, the mood lightens up, and we see her getting stronger and more confident. She even throws in some dance moves in the "La Vida Loca" visualiser, blending amapiano with R&B like it’s second nature.
When things did not work out with Columbia Records, Elaine took a long break to focus on her mental health. She opens up about how she found herself falling into depression, stuck in a foreign country during the pandemic, and unable to be with her loved ones.
“I realised that the label’s system was not working for me. It was daunting and heartbreaking because I’d moved all this way to make my dream come true, but the set up just was not for me,” she shared.
The 25-year-old said it took a lot of courage to tell the label she wanted out, especially since she did not know much about being in a record label, let alone leaving one.
The constant back and forth with them over keeping her music left her drained, but she pushed through by spending more time in the studio. She eventually got out of the contract and regained full creative control.
Having started off as an independent artist, she knew what it would take. Elaine said creating “Stone Cold Heart” took “blood, sweat, and tears,” with many attempts before it came together.
This album reintroduces her already remarkable talent, but now with more confidence and a contagious, electric energy.
Mukheli dedicates this debut album to her parents, who have supported her through every step of her journey as an artist and their daughter.
IOL