Elaine Learned To Move At Her Own Pace, and It's Paying Off

Elaine doesn't like being sent beats. She'd rather be in the studio when the song's foundation is laid down. "For me, it's all about the feeling the song gives me, and it starts with the chord progression," she tells OkayAfrica.

OkayAfrica caught up with her in early August, days before the release of "One More Dance," her latest collaboration with Major League DJz and the second following their 2023 link-up, "All Night Long." We're discussing her greatest strength, songwriting — the thing that made her debut EP, Elements, one of the biggest R&B projects to ever come out of South Africa, and that secured her a lucrative international career she later walked away from to come home.

"Every studio session has to start with the chord progression. If I'm not hearing the chords, I'm not feeling the soul, [and] I'm unable to write," she continues. At times she'll write over a chord progression, then send it to the producer to finish off. "Chords are perfect for melodies, perfect to write to. They get my emotions out. That's how someone can kidnap me, with chord progressions," she jokes.

We're at her press junket, hosted at the Warner Music Africa offices in Johannesburg. In person, she is the epitome of elegance that doesn't overwhelm — Miu Miu shades, a white fur coat that isn't trying to do too much, jewelry that augments her essence, and a bottomless charm that finds its witty way around our conversation, revealing new information and clarifying inaccuracies as we go.

About two years ago, a clip surfaced of her performing an amapiano song in front of a live audience, and the internet had a field day, decrying her career as dead and wondering whether her record label was altering her sound.

She had signed to Columbia Records following the runaway success of Elements, and went to live in the United States for a period. There, she says, the uncertainty of a new place, compounded by missing home while navigating a pandemic-ridden world, got to be too much.

"There was a lot of learning that [the label] had to do: about a girl from South Africa making R&B — they didn't even know that a South African girl can make R&B like that. We made some amazing music together, but I was like, you know what, you guys have a lot to learn, I have a lot to learn," she says. "I also wasn't willing to wait for them to figure me out."

"I've always known what I want, and sometimes labels have their own ideas for you, and sometimes it's not really a match like that. And you must be strong enough to be like, this is cool, but I don't think this is really my vibe," she says. "At the end of the day, I want to be known for who I am, not for something that's [not really me]. As an artist, I feel like you shouldn't dedicate your life to people figuring you out."

Coming back home involved a conversation with her parents, who she says are the most supportive people in her circle. Her mother would take trips to the US during the pandemic just to check on her, and was the one who helped her pack her bags.

"They were very supportive," she reiterates.

Back home, the law graduate formalized her independent record label structure and got to work.

"There are very few people, very few women in the industry with their own labels. A lot of the women that I love and respect are still signed, still trying to figure it out," says Elaine, adding that she felt there was a lot of work to be done in that space at home, in South Africa.

"But I look at my peers and they're doing amazing. Shekhinah has a festival [Rosefest] — that's an independent artist with a whole festival! That's why I love and value being home: you get to see what people are doing in real time with no help, no funding, no investors. It grounds you, it motivates you, it pushes you. It's amazing to see. It's a huge inspiration."

She released Stone Cold Heart in 2024 under her own Elaine Music imprint, and continues to chart the independent artist's course with the music she puts out today.

"The minute I have any fear when I'm creating, I feel like I'm manifesting that energy onto the song. I don't write with any type of negative emotion, I come with a pure heart. And I write because it's my gift. I don't write because I'm desperate, or to get a reaction. I write because that's what I do, and I'm good at it. That's what I've been blessed with, to my best capability, regardless of the BPM, regardless of the producer. I do what I do, and God does the rest," she says.