A Conversation With Lelowhatsgood About His Second EP, Rebirth Is Necessary

Following the success of Next Level, Lelowhatsgood’s EP Rebirth Is Necessary explores themes of growth, transformation, identity and becoming through a blend of 3 Step, Afro Tech, Gqom, Is’qinsi and experimental club music.

The project pushes against traditional genre boundaries while bringing together different influences into a single sonic world. Inspired by ideas of distortion, reconstruction and self formation, Rebirth Is Necessary extends these themes beyond the music and into its artwork, which was inspired by the work of Lunga Ntila.

More than just a collection of songs, the EP is a reflection on change, creative freedom and the possibility of existing in multiple forms at once.

Join us as we explore the thinking behind the EP!

All images courtesy of Lelowhatsgood. Photograph by Assante Chiweshe

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Before we get into the EP itself, I wanted to ask when you actually started working on Rebirth Is Necessary. At what point did this project begin for you? And the title itself, Rebirth Is Necessary, what does that phrase mean to you when you sit with the project now?

I would say the project started as soon as I finished releasing the first EP in 2024. I had already been working on what would be the first single now with Espacio two years ago and I was still getting the hang of being a producer and working with different people to craft very untraditional Gqom music. The title itself was something I had thought about long ago - it was inspired by Nigerian-British film director Jenn Nkiru who directed a 10 minute short in 2017 called “Black Star: Rebirth is Necessary” which explored the magic of blackness. Although the themes might be slightly different yet the message still being similar, the title itself resonated with the music I wanted to make - piecing together elements of African electronic music through the sonic lens of Gqom and Is’qinsi.

Looking at the artwork for Rebirth Is Necessary, it feels like it’s speaking the same language as the music. Nothing feels fixed, everything feels layered and shifting. How did that visual style come about, and was it something you were thinking about while making the music or did it come in afterwards?

The visual language was always inspired by my late friend Lunga Ntila. When the project came about in the process and while I was drawing some meaning behind it, Lunga’s work always struck me because her themes also speak on putting together pieces of your identity into one part. Trying to make sense of your complexities and how that fits in a world that tries to simplify everything. So much like the music, I wanted the visuals to reflect that as well so that it’s all cohesive as a concept. What I also loved about working on the visuals was that the team was made up of young queer and femme creatives. What I stand for always needs to show in the work as well, because often these voices are never celebrated and I’m glad we got to create work that will be memorable on a grand level.

What I stand for always needs to show in the work as well, because often these voices are never celebrated and I’m glad we got to create work that will be memorable on a grand level.

Listening to the EP, one of the things that stood out to me is how genres like 3 Step, Afro Tech, Gqom, Is’qinsi and experimental club music don’t feel separated at all. They feel like they belong in the same world. It could easily have become messy with so many influences, but instead it feels cohesive across all five tracks. How did you manage to hold that balance while still experimenting with so many sounds?

Being able to cross so many genres on songs sounds complicated but it’s really just about bending the rules a bit. I had approached producers like Emotic and Kiing Bhutie and they were keen on making music that was also outside of their comfort zone, and that’swhere we started. Using elements from all these genres in a non- conformist way was a fun challenge. I also wanted to feature people who wouldn’t normally fit into the genre or were always keen to play around such as Lazarusman and Joshua Future. So there were no rules with this EP and that’s the best part about it.

I noticed Next Level had fewer features, but on Rebirth Is Necessary there are a lot more voices across the project. Listening to it, it feels like each feature brings something different into the EP. What was behind that shift, and did working with more features change how you approached the music at all?

I think Next Level was an introduction into the scene as a producer and working with Dee Traits opened that door for me. I wanted this project to be totally different and using voices, different languages was one way to make it stand out from everything that’s out there. Sonically it’s different as well but still lives in the same realm. I loved Espacio’s approach for using another language on a Gqom song where in a lot of the music it’s mainly Nguni (Zulu or Xhosa). Thobeka and SunOrnza brought it back to Durban with Ngiw’loGogo, while Lazarusman and Joshua took it to the future on their tracks as well with spoken word and rap. We need to make music fun again.

Listening to Ten Toes felt like a turning point for me. It has more of a hip hop feel than the rest of the EP, and even though Ba Ko Kae? touches on it a bit, Ten Toes really makes it clear. In that moment it hit me that Rebirth Is Necessary doesn’t really sit in one space or one type of listener. It made me want to understand

how you were thinking about audience while you were making it. Who did you imagine this EP would speak to, if anyone at all?

I don’t think I had a direct audience for this EP. I wanted to make music for people who truly appreciate the art of it. It’s made for the late nights, for the clubs, the underground, anyone who feels like they don’t necessarily fit in. This EP was also made for me. It feels like a turning point in my life - being in my Saturn return and fully coming into myself again and understanding my position in life - it feels like my rebirth and I wanted to put it out there for arts sake. If you vibe with it, then my job is done

Listen to the EP here