Lloyiso and Sjava are two of the most popular and critically acclaimed artists in South Africa. Lloyiso is a singer-songwriter known for his soulful vocals and his ability to blend genres, while Sjava is a multigenre artist known for his unique performances and his socially conscious lyrics. They were featured on Apple Music’s Home Session campaign in May and we thought these two EPs would make a great listen this Sunday!

Apple Music Home Session: Lloyiso

Apple Music’s Home Session features reimagined signature songs and thoughtful covers and, South African soulful pop singer-songwriter, Lloyiso (real name Loyiso Gijana) released his own stripped-down Home Session. “The process of working on these songs was one of the longest and most soul-searching journeys I’ve ever had to go through,” Lloysio tells Apple Music. “I’ve seen myself grow from just writing from off the top of my head, to the bottom of my heart. I’ve realized that it’s more about me being vulnerable than just writing something to be cool. I feel like I know myself now more than I ever have.”

The Home Session EP, available to stream on Apple Music in Spatial Audio, features three exclusive unplugged tracks from the singer, “What Would I Say” and “Give a Little Kindness”, off his long-anticipated debut EP “Seasons” (2023), and a cover of American rock singer Bruce Hornsby’s weighty classic, ”The Way It Is”. “I selected ‘What I Would Say’ because it was one of those songs that started out with just a piano, and it felt complete even with just the piano before adding anything else. ‘Give A Little Kindness’ was selected because it speaks about freeing yourself from your thoughts and understanding that life is how it is, and you just have to deal with and accept it. Doing this song stripped back gives the listeners more connection to the lyrics, and brings out another emotional side of the song,” he says. “I chose to cover ‘The Way It Is’ because growing up it’s been one of my favourite songs that I’ve always wanted to make my own version of because it relates so much to how the world has evolved and how music has brought people together.”

Apple Music Home Session: Sjava

Apple Music’s Home Session features reimagined signature songs and thoughtful covers and today, South African multi-award-winning, soulful singer-songwriter, Sjava (real name Jabulani Hadebe) releases his own stripped-down Home Session. “Rerecording all these songs gives a different feel to them,” Sjava tells Apple Music. “It’s more personal, it’s more intimate if it’s a stripped-down version than the original track. That’s one thing that was very special about the stripped-down versions, I’ve never done them before like that. I think I’ve really evolved as an artist as well since I did the original songs, especially considering the feedback I get, that’s very encouraging. I feel like I’m on the right track.”

The Home Session EP, available to stream on Apple Music in Spatial Audio, will feature three exclusive unplugged tracks from the singer, “Grounding” and “Amavaka” off his groundbreaking fourth album Isibuko (2023), and a revisited version of “Egoli” (2018), his collaboration with Mlindo The Vocalist.  “‘Amavaka’ is a song that talks about self doubt and not believing in yourself, feeling like you’re not doing great. There was a time where I looked in the mirror and hated myself and felt like, this is the guy that’s ruining my life because things are not happening for me. But things were moving for me, things were happening for me. And I chose this song to pass that message,” he says.   “‘Grounding’ also talks about self-doubt and talks about the pressure that I have from my mother telling me that I have to get married. I have my own reasons why until today, at my age, I’m not married and it talks about that. There are a lot of people that end up making the wrong decisions only to realise that they’re not ready.” “And finally, I chose ‘Egoli’ because it is motivational, it’s one of the songs that I did early before I released my debut album. When I recorded the song I had nothing, I was broke, and it talks about the guy that’s not coming back home, he’s going to Joburg to hustle so that he can build his mother a home. When I recorded this song I didn’t even have a cent, after I recorded it and everything became a success, so I went back home and built my mom a home. It’s a very special song to me.”

Which EP are you listening to first?