Kelly has enjoyed a great deal of publicity in her career, whether she's making headlines for good or bad reasons, this songbird seems strong, beautiful and unshaken. Her hit Asine is doing well in Mzansi's music charts and also enjoying a lot of airplay in domestic radio stations. Since the death of Senzo, Kelly has been gracing Drum magazine's covers on a weekly basis - as they say: no publicity is bad publicity. I also heard that she will be touring the UK in the near future. It is very clear that this lady is truly living her life the best way she knows. This brings me to one of my favourite songs that Kelly has ever released: My Journey, contained in her album 'The Past. The Present. The Future'.
My Journey is a combination of pop and rock beats. In her amazingly beautiful voice, Kelly start this song with lyrics like "I've got it all figured out, I know who I am, I know what I want, So please let me be ... " Now, remember how South Africa was up in arms when Kelly rocked up at the Feather's a few days after the death of her boyfriend, Senzo Meyiwa. The question is: Are we as music consumers able to make the connection between the music we listen to and draw conclusions? Do you get shocked out of your boots when you read those stories about Kelly in the Sunday newspapers and magazines? Didn't Kelly make her statement long ago on her song entitled My Journey? Did we just dance and sing along to this song and never internalised it? Isn't she living her life the best way she knows how?
Ever heard of the saying that dynamite comes in small packages? Well Kelly is no stranger to controversy; one moment we read she woman-handled her once-upon-a-time-rival Khanyi Mbau, the next moment she apparently showed Senzo Meyiwa's wife some flames by the side of the highway! Oh, there was an article in one of the Sunday newspapers recently, reporting that she poked the Durban-based Inyanga in the eye with her long nails ... The thing is, I don't care if all these allegations are true and, quite honestly, it doesn't bother me at all. I am no judge of character nor a Shwashwi fan but just a music fanatic. The only thing that I know is that in her song My Journey, Kelly sings: "Don't you point that finger at me, because I might just break it off." That's all I know!
Moving right along, somewhere in her song Kelly sings: "I've heard so many voices saying Kelly do this and that, but up to this far, nothing makes sense to me, but to do what I want, to do what makes sense to me." If you take these lyrics and apply them to the day-to-day lives of Tom, Dick, and Harry, isn't it true that most of us forsake our own thoughts and desires for other people's ideas? Haven't we all regretted not going with our own intuitions? What about our desire to be right, the fear of criticism, the avoidance of necessary conflict, etcetera? How do you deal with voices that tell you to do this, and that? Do they make sense at all? When will you get to do what you want? These are some the questions that My Journey asks.
I guess the intrinsic meaning and message that we should be taking from My Journey and even her well-publicised life is - be yourself, find your own course, chase your dreams, walk the less-travelled path, don't fear criticism, live your life to the fullest, make your own mistakes, break the societal norms if you have to, question authorities, don't succumb to mediocre, be yourself, reject rejection, be consistent, break fingers if you have to (figuratively). I heard it somewhere that only cats have many lives, but we as human beings have one life. So live your life to the fullest - and, while you're at it, sing along to Kelly's My Journey.
