NEW TUNE! Toya Delazy - Pump It On


Toya Delazy - Pump It On CD cover
Hailing from eMahlabathini near uLundi, Kwa Zulu Natal, Toya Delazy (born Latoya Buthelezi) has taken South African Top 40 Radio by storm with the release of her debut single ‘Pump It On’.  Recently signed to Sony Music Africa, the superbly talented young singer-songwriter trained as a jazz pianist but Toya’s more recent influences lie somewhere between Hip Hop, Electro, Alternative & Pop.Playlisted immediately on 5FM in October, the gritty pop anthem ‘Pump it On’ has also been added on major radio stations 94.7 Highveld Stereo, 94.5 KFM and GoodHope FM, as well as key campus and community stations across SA. ‘Pump It On’ was produced by, Jax Van Heerden and Johnny Deridder, the creative force behind Jax Panik, and is the first single from her as yet untitled debut album, scheduled for release in early 2012. Toya’s musical career started with classical piano at age nine and developed into her enrolling in the Jazz program at Howard College UKZN in 2009.  She sights classical influences like Debussy's 'Clair de Lune' as responsible for “unlocking my creativity and influencing the way I construct my chords…and helped me tremendously when it comes to playing by ear and composing music.” A relatively conservative upbringing meant exploring more contemporary genres came only after leaving school, but Toya recalls that watching movie ‘Sister Act’ at a Convent primary school in Eshowe, KZN as a truly inspirational experience for her. One of her break through moments of 2011 came in the form of a solo performance at the 2011 Africa Concert, filmed live in Johannesburg and broadcast across the continent. Toya’s biggest live performance to date saw her share the stage with Baba Maal, Habib Koite, The Mohotela Queens & Tumi and The Volume. “It was an amazing moment in my life,” she says “from the Winston Pub in Durban to an International stage was. It felt priceless.”

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