South African dancehall artiste Buffalo Souljah is hoping to make a breakthrough locally. An avid fan of Jamaican music, his latest single Family features StarFace.

Family was produced by Jerome Elvie and is featured on the Gold Leaf rhythm.

Buffalo Souljah spoke about, among other things, his adoration for Jamaican music.

“From me was a youth, Zimbabwe was always a reggae country even before Bob Marley came to perform there. Zimbabweans always related to reggae because of the liberation and struggle heard on songs by Peter Tosh, The Wailers, and others,” said Buffalo Soujah.

He continued, “My father was a musician and he introduced me to reggae when I was a youngster. I used to listen to people like Yellow Man, Dennis Brown and Shabba Ranks. The late Jamaican selector Jah B was one of the persons who introduced a lot of us to Jamaican music through his sound clash events.”

Originally from Zimbabwe, Buffalo Souljah has won several awards in his homeland. They include the Channel O Africa Music Video Awards and the Zimbabwe Music Awards.

Family is his second collaboration with producer Elvie. They teamed up earlier this year for the song No Man is Bigger than God, which was featured on the Porus rhythm.

He spoke about collaborating with StarFace.

“It was a great feeling, considering her vibrant energy and melodies. I am an artiste known for similar energies, melodies and consciousness on my songs,” said Buffalo Souljah.

StarFace was also upbeat about the collaboration.

“I have a really strong bond with my family and whenever I hear #family, tears roll down my cheeks. Knowing the things I want to do for my family, maybe this is one of the reasons why I love this song,” said StarFace.

She added, “It was a good feeling working with Buffalo Souljah. I enjoyed working with him because the chemistry and the connection felt so real.”

The Gold Leaf rhythm was released earlier this month. It also features songs by Jahvillani, Teejay, I-Octane, Masicka, Lybran, Deeclef, Knaxx, New Kidz and Deep Jahi.

— Kevin Jackson