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After a difficult three years triggered by a wrongful police shoot-out that saw his whole life flash before his eyes rapper Khuli Chana is back on top of his game. For starters the Motswako hip hop megastar has just designed a limited bottle for Absolut Vodka, following in the footsteps of pop artist Andy Warhol and rocker Lenny Kravitz.“There have been a few people who have done that, Andy Warhol, Lenny Kravitz and now you have Khuli Chana. It’s a big deal for me. The colours are inspired by African designs, rainbow colours. Just after the bottle hit stores, I went to go check it out and it was one of my proudest moments,” Chana points out.

Following a three-year music hiatus, Chana is planning to release his new album One Source in October. His last offering “Lost in Time” scooped Album of the Year at the 2013 South African Music Awards (SAMAs).

“The music is sounding good and I sound like myself. It’s taking me back to 2008 when I was working on my first album. When I had sleepless nights and I was hungry. I am hungry again. I’m back, Chana excitedly teases. 2016 has been a great year. It’s like a rebirth, repositioning and reinvention. I haven’t released an album in the last three years. The past three years there have been a lot of drama with the cops and law. There have also been a lot of fear and mental blocks, having to pick myself up but I had a lot of support, I wasn’t down and out. But I had stuff to deal with.”

All the drama that Chana speaks of is addressed in his documentary “Picking Up the Pieces”, that screened at the Jozi Film Festival earlier this month and will later in the year air on one of the SABC channels.

“I needed to explain to my fans on what really happened. I know they have heard so many stories, but I really needed to communicate to my fans on what happened that night I got shot and what has been happening in the last three years,” Chana explains.

Being at the height of my career in 2013 and having this unfortunate incident that put me in a dark space. It also talks about fatherhood, because I became a father that year.”

Chana is the proud father of baby girl with sweetheart Asanda Maku. — Sowetan.