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Bongani Ndlovu, Showbiz Correspondent 

SOUTH Africa-based kwaito artiste, Diliza, who is down with a chest infection has decided to stop drinking alcohol indefinitely as he feels that artistes tend to abuse the beverage. 

Diliza who has been under the weather for the past three or so months due to the infection has been in his home city, Bulawayo, resting and producing music. 

Asked about his health, Diliza said he was feeling much better.

“I was at the doctor’s recently and he was impressed with my recovery. I’ve decided to stop taking liquor, not because the doctor said so, but it was a personal decision. 

“I’ve gone to two doctors and they didn’t say anything about my taking liquor. I realised that as people living in South Africa, we overdo partying and drinking. Maybe one day people will see me drinking, but for now I’m off the bottle,” said Diliza. 

Over the weekend, the kwaito artiste held a listening session for his new track, Simanje Manje at the 4Life Studios run by Rebellious Suhns in the Belmont industrial site, where he recorded the song. 

He said Simanje Manje was an old song from Brothers of Peace (BOP) which he has taken and given an Amapiano twist. 

Explaining how the song came about, Diliza said he was inspired by BOP’s 1993 track which was prophetic. 

“It’s an old song that was done by BOP. These days, the lifestyle that the young are leading is worrying as they don’t care about what they are doing. Just like the track says, they are in illicit relationships with people as old as their parents or even their grandparents,” said Diliza.

He said, ideally, he had no intention of returning to the studio soon because he was resting, but his friend suggested that by so doing he risked losing his musical touch. 

“When Ireturned home from South Africa to recover, I spent most of my time sitting at home. A friend of mine in the United Kingdom, Simiso Ndlovu, then told me that I’d end up becoming rusty as an artiste. “He told me of the studio in Belmont and encouraged me to meet up with the two producers. I picked myself up and decided to see the guys,” said Diliza.

After meeting the producers, Emmanuel Jonasi, George Dube and Gladwell Ncube, he realised that they were very talented and decided to work with them in order to help get their names out there. 

“As a person who has worked in state-of-the-art studios in SA, I was doubtful about their music production. However, to my surprise and embarrassment when I listened to their productions, I was very impressed because they are very good. 

“I’d never heard about them and decided to work with them to get their names out there.”

Simanje Manje will be Diliza’s second Amapiano track after Ongenamali. 

“Ongenamali is doing well on the market. Now I’m working on promoting Simanje Manje which I’m hoping to release on my birthday in September. It’s going for mastering this week and its music video will be shot in South Africa and Zimbabwe,” said Diliza.