Following her departure from Mzansi Magic's soapie The Queen, actress Sibusisiwe "Sibu" Jili has decided to go back to her home province of KwaZulu-Natal and pursue her first love, music. Sibu who played the cop, Georgina on the soapie was among those who lost their job even before the Queen came to an end. ?
MAKING HARD CHOICES ?
She was forced to move back home in KZN because she could not maintain the Jozi lifestyle. Sibu says instead of crying and feeling sorry for herself, she decided to go back to the drawing board and decided to pursue her first love, music. She has received much criticism after making the decision to go back home, but she is not moved by negative comments from haters who say she is down and out. "Look, people will always have something to say. There is nothing wrong with going back home and regrouping. When people see you on TV, they automatically think you are loaded, and it is far from that," she says. "TV or not, I'm not ashamed to start afresh. Now I am in the right state of mind and in a happy place. My focus is all on my music," she reveals adding that she wanted to make her own mark in the music scene.?
HER LOVE FOR MUSIC?
"I was struggling to get gigs, instead of burying my head in the sand and playing victim, I decided to revive my music career while waiting for acting gigs," she tells ZiMoja. She shares that moving back home was the best decision she has ever made because it saved her from many things including depression. "It is easy to drown and wallow in your own problems when you are away from your family, which is your support structure. With my family around I became more motivated and driven by the fact that I was Surrounded by people who loved me." Sibu says this has been a transformative period for her. "I've been struggling with myself spiritually and this time at home has definitely helped me align. Everything else just fell where it needed to.' She has always been passionate about music and says she took a break from music because she wanted to prioritise acting. "I started music professionally in 2016, performing around KZN as a solo artist. I paused when I started on The Queen and extended my family but after the show ended, I felt this would be a good time to get back into it. I'm close to home and doing what I love. Not that I don't like acting, but I just haven't figured out how to marry the two."
FACING HER OWN REALITY AND IGNORING CRITICS
She is currently working on an EP that will drop soon. "I came in claiming to be a Queen, now I'm living it. I am working with great talent, but I'll drop names closer to when the EP is ready." Her first single is titled Welcome the Qgom Queen featuring King Cava. "The single was produced by Sphectra. It will be out on the 28th of this month. It is hot, and I am sure people are going to love it," she said. Asked when she is planning on moving back to Jozi. "I'll come to Johannesburg obviously because I can't run from my calling, which is acting but until then let's welcome the queen of Gqom music,' she added.
