Poetry and Music
POETRY AND MUSIC:
IS THERE TRULY A DIFFERENCE?
Words are powerful. One of the most striking things about music is the lyrics that make up the songs we listen to. Whether it's because the lyrics are memorable or catchy, the lyrics are what resonate with our souls and what made me fall in love with music in general. As a lover of music and poetry, I often wonder why people find it difficult to switch from one to the other. Whether it’s Rap or RnB, every song has a story, just like every poem has a topic.
Therefore, I came across this incredible woman called Khanyi. Her Instagram page screamed beauty, confidence and positivity and I fell in love with it. It was then I stumbled upon her poetry. The potency and strength in her words, even if the poem was short, it blew me away and I just had to contact her. After speaking for hours on end, not only did I learn that Khanyi had a beautiful soul and did poetry, but she had also just started song-writing and we started discussing this topic of poetry and music.
Thank you Khanyi for sharing your journey and talking to me about your poetry and your new career in song-writing.
Nina G:
When did you start writing poetry?
Khanyi:
I started writing poetry when I was 11 years old. We had an arts festival at my primary school that happened every year and I decided that I wanted to perform my own poem that year. My first ever poem was about my grandmother getting cancer and it did not end up getting selected, but it was my first ever start.
Nina G:
What inspires you to write poetry?
Khanyi:
My poetry is mostly inspired by my experiences as a black woman, but I also get inspired by jazz music and other poets I have watched throughout my life.
Nina G:
What does your poetry tend to be about/based on?
Khanyi:
I focus a lot of poetry on my trauma and how it has affected the way I navigate through life. A lot of my poetry is about my rape, my experience in abusive relationships, my failed love stories and exploring my sexuality. My poetry is a coming-of-age story and can be seen in how my style of poetry has changed throughout the years, I have stepped into my power with a lot of my poetry right now. The themes of my poetry are mostly just chapters in my life now.
Nina G:
Would you say poetry helped you find self-love and if so, how?
Khanyi:
My poetry has contributed massively to my self-love journey. One thing creating art forces an artist to do is introspection. My poetry forced me to look at myself and have extremely uncomfortable conversations about my trauma, my sex life, and the way I view my body. It has been the greatest death of my ego and the birth of my empathy towards myself. I stopped comparing myself to the women around me and started using them as a mirror. The light I saw in them was merely a reflection of the light I saw in myself.
Nina G:
When did you get into song-writing?
Khanyi:
I got into songwriting recently. I was approached by an artist on Instagram to write a verse for him and that started my new career.
Nina G:
Did you find song-writing easy or difficult?
Khanyi:
I find song-writing extremely difficult; I feel like a toddler learning to walk when it comes to song-writing. I have never written a poem with music and it’s a new skill that I am learning.
Nina G:
What would you say you found easy and/or difficult with song-writing in comparison to poetry?
Khanyi:
Poetry is easier because I already have a voice, style, and themes that I like to talk about whereas song-writing is me having to write based on other people’s ideas. Song-writing is forcing me to branch into different themes and more genres.
Nina G:
What are your thoughts on poetry vs. song-writing?
Khanyi:
I do believe that a lot of song-writing is a form of poetry. Think of genres like hip-hop, jazz, blues and even RnB. These are all genres that tell stories with great emotion and phenomenal use of imagery. I think these two things are one in the same just used differently at times, so essentially for me song-writing is just me learning how to be a poet with a beat playing in the background.
Nina G:
What would you say someone can learn from practicing poetry or song-writing?
Khanyi:
The one thing I think someone could learn is the art of introspection. Poetry forced me to see myself for the good and bad, the inner child I thought I had lost and the woman I would like to be. I will write myself into a better woman with my poetry and it has given me the keys to my future.
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