Culture Cabinet

There are few things that are quite so magnetic as someone who is unabashedly themselves. And, in that respect, one can’t help but be drawn to the powerhouse that is Moonchild Sanelly. 

Hailing from Port Elizabeth, South Africa, Moonchild Sanelly (born Sanelisiwe Twisha) grew up surrounded by creativity, from her brother’s work in producing hip-hop music to her mother’s encouragement of her natural performing abilities. Naturally, such a background inspired her to pursue the arts. 

After moving to Durban, South Africa for fashion school, Moonchild Sanelly quickly learned her true gifts were in music. 

“I started performing as like Moonchild back in Durban, in the poetry scene,” she explains in an interview with Culture Cabinet. “And from the poetry scene, there was this hip hop scene as well. So I started going into that where they had open mic nights every Friday. And then from there, I was just like, ‘I want more.’ So I started getting into just being curious about the music around me, especially the live music.”

From there, she started trying her hand in the music space by providing backing vocals for classically trained musicians, having had an understanding (and talent) for an array of genres. Through this experience, she found her true passion: performing live on stage. So, naturally, she set her sights on a solo career. 

However, she didn’t want to merely create music. She wanted to create her own music. 

“I knew that it was definitely going to be a fight, because no one could compare what I was doing to anything,” she says of her early career. “And no one could even make space for it. So, I guess it forced me to start creating my own gigs for rent and creating my own spaces, because there was no space for what I was doing. If you didn’t have a name, it didn’t exist.”

Given her natural talent, Moonchild quickly found offers, but none that satisfied her, as they often required her to compromise her artistic integrity, to fit more into something that could be neatly packaged and marketed. But Moonchild Sanelly is beyond boxes. 

“I was just like, ‘Yeah, I’m hungry, but I’m not going to be what’s debuted as something that I’m not. I am going to wait my turn while fighting for them to understand. Just break barriers for it to be heard, and you can understand later.’ And that’s how I got started.” 

I can’t help but commend her steadfast nature in sticking true to herself. In an ever competitive creative space, it would be understandable for someone in her position to take whatever opportunity was presented. But Moonchild Sanelly is a living testament to the power of believing in oneself, and refusing to settle for anything. 

“I’d rather be rejected for who I am, because when I’m loved, I’m not going to question who’s in my corner. And I feel like if you’ve got the artist license, why not exercise the freedom? So, if I was going to do this thing, I was going to do it all or nothing, my way or the highway, because I’m going to maximize this license for me to just be free, liberate, and just make some form of change by me doing myself.”

And, in watching her perform, or listening to her music, or simply speaking to her over Zoom, it’s a little hard to miss her rambunctious self expression. From her trademark electric blue hair (that she refers to as her ‘Moon Mop’), to her welcoming and outgoing personality, if there is one thing that is made abundantly clear to me in our time together, it is that Moonchild Sanelly is unapologetically and unabashedly herself. Thankfully, her passion effortlessly shines through in her music. 

Her new album, Full Moon, out today, encapsulates her signature style that she self-describes as “future ghetto funk,” providing 12 tracks of joyful, upbeat songs that outwardly reflect the artist behind them. 

The album came together over several months, over different locations, while Moonchild was on the road. Despite their upbeat tone, the lyrics are more reflective and introspective. One of the standout tracks includes “To Kill a Single Girl (Tequila)”, one of the album’s singles, which is, quite literally, a breakup song for tequila. But, of course, when asked about her lyrics, she’s quick to remind me that it runs much deeper than simply choosing to give up tequila.

“I let go of tequila because I had to apologize. I had to say sorry without knowing what I did the night before. I had to do those things, and I got tired of just not knowing, you know, and so I had to let it go. I’ve got a lot of people that are in my life that are not blood, especially after running away from home, that are my family. There’s only so many times you can say sorry. You need to change it. I practice what I preach. And tequila was the last one left, and I let it go, and then I wrote about it when I let it go.”

And, that is probably the best example I could give to show you who Moonchild Sanelly is. She is vivacious. She is fun. But she is also intentional and steadfast in ensuring that her message comes across in the end. 

With an already impressive resume that includes two other studio albums beyond Full Moon, a lineup of impressive collaborations with artists like Beyoncé, Gorillaz, and Steve Aoki, and having played music festivals like SXSW and Glastonbury, it feels like the release of Full Moon is, even still, just the beginning for Moonchild Sanelly. 

But, in terms of what she hopes is next, she tells me she dreams of collaborating with artists like Doja Cat and Meghan Thee Stallion (having described herself as a “collaboration whore’). But for now, she’s just focused on the journey of Full Moon, and basking in the light she so effortlessly emits, and encouraging others to do the same.

Though, in true Moonchild fashion, her advice is a bit more fun: 

“Always be a bad bitch and always use your voice. Everything else remains the same, but just let go of everything else that holds you back.”

You can stream Full Moon below: