After her second and last project she released in 2012, titled Rebirth, singer and songwriter Nothende Madumo took a break from the mainstream music scene following what she called exploitation and blacklisting. Fondly known as Blak Olive, Nothende returns older, calmer and wiser with her new project, The Interlude.

A CALLING

During her time away from the mainstream, Nothende has been working on her hair business. "I run a hair-healing business and make hair products and treatments,' she said. She also cooks at retreats. "I am also a vocal and performance coach and creative consultant and sometimes I MC at events and host events. I do what I can with what I have,' she added. Although she has not been in the limelight, she never stopped making music. "I never left or stopped making music. I just hadn't released anything in a long time. Music is a calling, there's no escaping it," the songstress said. 

BLACKLISTED

Last year, she opened up about how the music industry had "blacklisted her' and she was not getting many bookings. The I Wanna Love You singer said DJ Sikhululo Maliwa, also known as Lulo Café, failed to pay her for the hit released in 2011, produced by Sipho "Psyfo' Ngwenya, yet it was still being played at radio stations across the county. "We recorded it that night; the song was out,and it became the first single in Lulo's album," she said, adding that what was once a happy song, gradually became unbearable to listen to. "It got to a point when I didn't want to hear the song and it's not a nice thing to say . I faced so many degrees of exploitation and sabotage and a lot of things when it came to that song,' she said. "It challenged a lot of things and how I related to my peers in the industry. It made me lose trust in a lot of people and made me pull back.' She said she later learnt that her song had also been removed from a particular radio station. "It's little things that reminded me how quickly things changed and being blacklisted is a real thing. It just made me not trust anyone; it made it difficult for me to fight,' she said. But she has moved on and no longer dwelling in the past. " I have learned to let things unfold as they should and trust in the process,' she told ZiMoja.

NEW MUSIC

Her new nine-track album titled The Interlude is a soul-soothing, easy-flowing project that explores the subject of transformation through poetry, hip-hop, reggae, jazz, R&B and music. Born into a creative family in Mafikeng, North West, Nothende began writing songs at 11 years old and would keenly form a series of girl groups in her teen years. At 19 years old, she released her first official single titled "Ooh', featuring Khuli Chana of Morafe. She has worked with the late Prokid, HHP, Kabomo, RJ Benjamin, Wanda Baloyi and Maxhoba, as well as American singer Frank McComb, to name a few.