Yep, that's right; the Crossroads show a couple weeks ago was the last "Ema" show, Ownership is "Ema's" last album and this is the last EmaWorldRock blog... Yeah, yeah, don't get all bunged up, I'm not going anywhere; ...just making a slight change...well actually a pretty significant one. Read on.
First, I've been called, and professionally identified with the name Ema for over half of my life. My "gender ambiguous" pseudonym's
origins aren't as enigmatic as many think. What started, from when I was a young muso, as a nickname phonetically derived from my initials, eventually evolved thus: MJ > "Em-a Jay" > Ema - and became solidified as my professional identity, my "stage name," early on. I've always embraced it, identified with it, and been amused by the widely-varying and often confused reactions to it from industry types, PR peeps and lay-persons alike (but ironically less so in South Africa because it has a genderless meaning in Zulu - "one who is standing/waiting").
But, what was once a unique PR conversation-starter, has now become a hindrance. Ever since I launched my solo career and debut album Ownership in '08, I have been on a constant treadmill of trying to clear up and resolve issues of confusion between myself and several other artists of the same name (and spelling) concerning: a) accurate accounting of distribution and sales with online portals i.e., iTunes, Amazon, etc. and streaming outfits i.e., Pandora, Spotify etc.; b) digital rights and royalties with Sound Exchange; c) show/tour scheduling with online tour promotion/social media apps; and well...you get the picture. It is an interminable "herding cats" issue in the
online ether (don't EVEN get me started on global performance rights issues!) and taking it on has been a quixotic, energy-sucking sink-hole.
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| The instigators: Stella and Faith |
I decided fairly early on that reinventing myself was going to be much easier and in fact, as an artist, I found the idea quite energizing. It was just a matter of what and when. "What" was the easy part. Ever since my South African sisters Faith Kekana and Stella Khumalo dubbed me Mthakathi, in a studio session, it just caught on and spread on its own until pretty much everyone in my South African circles was addressing me as such, or some derivation of it - "HEY Mthakza!" [slang] or "Yebo Mtha!" [elided]. OK, so the "what"...check. Now for the "when"
Well, a couple of weeks back I was laying in bed watching Lettermen. Just as I was drifting in to "la la" land, I heard him say "when we come back we'll have music from EMA." I knew instantly that he was referring to South Dakota's post-punk-noise-folk artist Erika M
Anderson - my co-participant in the tangle of online artist ambiguity and simultaneously the biggest threat to my nom de guerre, because she also goes under the moniker of (you guessed it) EMA. *That* was the moment... she has greater exposure and a bigger fan base: she wins. Time to change.
SO, kids, as you read this, the transformation process online is almost complete...a few loose threads but far enough along that we can make it it official. As of now, the name "Ema" and Emaworldrock as my "brand" and online presence are no more. The new website www.mtharock.com is up and running and all of my web portals reflect the new "me" - Mthakathi (the FB band page will switch over on Oct 30).
My peeps, this isn't just about name change; It's about moving forward: PHAMBILI! and up: PHEZULU! It means new blood coming in, new aims, new inspiration, new *fire* and new material. To quote a certain songwriter we know, I'm "wiring up the terminals and throwing the switch!"
So face to face, nothing really changes; I'm still Ema, MJ, "Em", knucklehead, whatever you're used to calling me. But officially, from here forward, it will be:
Mthakathi
- the "magic man," the "witch-doctor," the "inyanga who mixes things that shouldn't be mixed," the Zulu title endearingly bestowed upon me by my beloved South African family - under which I will be performing and releasing all of my future work.
HAMBA KAHLE EMA, BEKUMNANDI: MANJE, NGENA MTHAKATHI!
...much much more to come...and as always,
a million years of peacetime.
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