A Review of iSandi & RADA’s Collaboration - ‘Joina’
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- 2 min read
Purpose-driven music has a reputation it doesn’t always deserve. Too often the label becomes shorthand for something earnest but underpowered — good intentions carrying the weight that craft should…
‘Joina’, the new single from South African artist iSandi, is a firm reminder that the two are not in competition. Here is a track that knows exactly what it wants to say and has the musical intelligence to say it with conviction.
The subject matter is unflinching. ‘Joina’ addresses substance addiction directly — not as an abstract social ill, but as something that moves through communities, through families, through the people standing right next to you. iSandi’s approach is not to lecture but to reach out, framing collective responsibility and compassion as the only credible response. It is a bold thematic choice, and she carries it without a moment of self-righteousness.
Produced and mixed by Mark Beling — whose fingerprints are all over some of South Africa’s more thoughtful recent output — and mastered at Sterling Sound, the production sits exactly where it needs to. iSandi’s Afro-experimental instincts are present throughout, her sound drawing on the rich harmonic and rhythmic traditions of her homeland while remaining wide open to Western influences. The result is music that occupies its own space comfortably — not easily filed, not easily forgotten.
What strikes most, listening in the context of iSandi’s broader trajectory, is how sure-footed this feels. Since her debut EP Intyatyambo in 2022 - a body of work that introduced her themes of growth and human connection — she has been sharpening something. The stages she has shared with Vusi Mahlasela and Bongeziwe Mabandla speak to a peer group that takes its work seriously, and ‘Joina’ reflects that standard. This is not an artist finding her voice. This is an artist who found it some time ago and is now using it with increasing precision.
The RADA Unearthed context adds another dimension worth noting. As part of a compilation model that returns royalties to community projects, ‘Joina’ exists within an ecosystem that mirrors its own values - music as infrastructure, as investment, as something that gives back. For iSandi, who has spoken openly about believing that music “carries moral weight,” this is not a marketing angle. It is a consistent philosophy made audible.
A music video follows on 11th April, and a new EP is due later in 2026. Both feel worth marking in the calendar. iSandi is building a body of work with genuine substance, and ‘Joina’ is among its most compelling entries yet.
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