On 16 October, Sandton’s Artistry became more than a venue for an album launch. It became a space where audiences could confront the emotions that often remain unspoken, as Spartz transformed personal reflection into a musical experience about loss, connection and the courage to keep living.
Spartz Creates Space for the Emotions We Hide
Grief can be difficult to explain. Love can be difficult to hold onto. And the reality that nothing lasts forever can make even our happiest moments feel fragile.
Rather than turning away from these uncomfortable truths, Spartz leans into them on We Are Everything and Nothing. Her ten-track third album reflects on the relationships that shape us, the memories we carry and the uncertainty that comes with being alive.
The project’s central idea is both intimate and universal: we enter the world with nothing, yet become everything to the people we love. We build relationships, create memories and imagine futures without knowing how much time we have.
For Spartz, that tension becomes the foundation of the music.
Her album launch brought these themes into a live setting, inviting listeners to experience the emotional weight of the songs rather than simply hear them performed. It was a reminder that music can offer something beyond entertainment: a place to process feelings, recognise shared experiences and find comfort in vulnerability.
From Alexandra to a Sound Rooted in Identity
Born in Alexandra, Spartz brings a distinctly South African perspective to her artistry. Her music draws from Black identity, spirituality, heritage, history, language and indigenous traditions, creating a sound that moves between contemporary neo-soul, African jazz and ancestral influences.
That combination gives her work a cultural depth that goes beyond genre. It connects modern musical expression with the histories, beliefs and lived experiences that continue to shape Black life in South Africa.
For a generation navigating identity, relationships, ambition and personal transformation, this kind of storytelling offers space for complexity. It allows spirituality and modernity, tradition and experimentation, and pain and hope to exist together.
Spartz’s evolution has unfolded across several projects. Her 18|25 EP introduced an early chapter in her journey, followed by her 2020 debut album, 21 & Black, which explored the experiences of being young and Black through intimacy, ambition, prayer and spiritual growth.
In 2022, she released AWAKE, a project that earned her a 2023 Metro FM Music Award nomination in the Best Jazz Album category. Collaborations with artists including Themba Ngubane, Bonginkosi Maggz, Marcus Harvey, 013 Choppa and Kabza De Small have further connected her to South Africa‘s diverse musical landscape.
Ten Tracks, One Conversation With Life and Death
We Are Everything and Nothing unfolds across ten tracks, each contributing to the album’s broader meditation on existence, love and loss.
The tracklist moves from Kgang and Ngoma to Ncedani, featuring Buhlebendalo, before confronting mortality directly through A Conversation With Death, featuring Ruvimbo.
Later tracks, including Khala, Alive and Eweni, continue the project’s emotional journey. 19 With Child introduces another deeply human subject, while Baba Wethu – The Lord’s Prayer Reimagined draws on spirituality. The closing track, Please Breathe! Mantra (Freestyle), brings the collection to a reflective conclusion.
The album’s lead single, Ngoma, is a heartfelt tribute to love and Spartz’s husband, with his surname inspiring the song. Its feature on Jazz NXT has also brought attention to the project’s soulful, jazz-inflected sound.
Meanwhile, Buhlebendalo’s appearance on Ncedani adds another distinctive voice to an album built around emotional honesty and musical expression.
Why This Album Matters Beyond the Music
In a culture that often celebrates success, strength and constant forward movement, making room for grief and uncertainty can feel uncomfortable. Spartz takes a different approach, suggesting that acknowledging life’s fragility can deepen our appreciation for the people and experiences we still have.
Her latest work places South African musical heritage at the centre of a contemporary conversation about what it means to be human. It doesn’t offer easy answers to questions about death, love or identity. Instead, it encourages listeners to sit with those questions.
With We Are Everything and Nothing, Spartz turns vulnerability into an artistic statement. The album’s message is ultimately about recognising that our time is limited, our relationships are precious and being alive is something worth paying attention to.
Sometimes, the most powerful music doesn’t help us forget what hurts. It helps us understand why it matters.
Stream / Download: https://paradise.ffm.to/we-are-everything-and-nothing
