Boitumelo Mpye says she wants to take her time before releasing her debut album. Mpye recently released her extended play (EP) record which is available on all music play stores.
During an interview with HuffPost SA Mpye, who is known affectionately by her stage name, Melo B Jones, said she believes an album should have a story behind it.
"I am not a fan of a bunch of singles put together. I believe an album should tell a story. I want listeners to have a journey that they go on with me. So I think it's important that I don't rush it, but rather make something that's sincere," she said.
Mpye first entered the music scene while at university in 2009.
"There was an opportunity that made me realise that I could actually do music as a career. I saw a poster at my residence that a vocalist was needed then I decided to try it out. It turned out, it was 'Crazy White Boy' who was looking to feature a vocalist for the new Soul Candi. I went through and auditioned. They loved my sound and because I could write, we ended up making four songs together," she said.
In 2014, she appeared on the X Factor South Africa and she has not looked back since.
Mpye said her sound, which she categorises as boom bap soul, takes the raw elements of old school and contemporary hip-hop and puts it together with the sweet and sultry elements of Soul.
"I am an avid hip-hop fan and I sing soul music, but my music does not fall under any genre, hence it was important for me to come up with a name for it. Boom bap has a lot of 1990's Hip Hop style of writing and production. It's very beat-driven," she said.
Mpye told HuffPost SA that she believes South Africa is ready for the kind of sound she makes and that it has a potential to become mainstream.
She said: "There's a misconception that if you are not doing mainstream music then you will not be well received. I have had nothing but a positive response so far and I think young people are ready for music that's original more than music that's commercial and popular. As much as I'd love to, one day have my music become popular and commercial, I think it has a way to go and there's a space for it".
As to what happened between her and Kaytranada, real name Louis Kevin Celestin?
Mpye said: "In 2011, I started a Sound Cloud account. When I was browsing one day I came across his page which was called Kaytradamus. At the time he had about 500 followers. I listened to his stuff and I inboxed him to say I liked his sound. He replied saying he liked my work as well and that we should work together. I agreed".
"One day, he tweeted to his followers that they should check out one of the covers I did. We connected again, but by this time he was already popular and just about to release his debut album", she explained.
"I asked if he was still keen to work and he said yes. He sent me some beats after which I sent him my ideas. There was a particular song that he liked and asked that I contact his management to get it going. I did that, but the window was too short because his album came out and he exploded. I think his managers must have thought I was a crazy stalker because he was already a big name by the time I communicated back to them."
The 27-year-old said her future is filled with possibilities.
"I have plans to take my music to the global stage. I am inspired by people like Jill Scott and Erykah Badu. Locally, I love Shekhinah Donnell."