Rap artiste Nkhabu looks ahead with hope
BOKANG MAKHOA
MASERU – Rap artiste Polediso Nkhabu also known as Cee jay Da Mafia is an undergrad student with the Limkokwing University of Creative Technology. Born in 1992 in Kolonyama, Leribe, Nkhabu got into the music industry at the tender age of 16 while still in high school.
She always believed that writing about her pain or happiness would be the easiest thing to do to tell people how she felt. “Doing music is not cheap. I started by writing my feeling down and later turned them into a song,” she notes.
Nkhabu, who did her high school level at Reakantse Intermediate in the Northern Cape in an south Africa, says there was a guy who inspired her to pursue her talent in music fully.
“His name was Killer Dee. He is a rapper. He used to sell his event tickets to us and I must say he was dope,” she reminiscences. “I think I started writing music because the guy is the one who helped me a lot in writing.”
Nkhabu describes her music as a turn up music which she started in 2010 and became more focused in the industry in the year 2012 with the support she got from the group called Beat Killers.
“I mostly do rap music but I always make sure I deliver songs that make people dance and go with the flow especially when I perform on stage,” says the final year LUCT student.
She says one artiste she looks up to Willow Kat, a local Sesotho rapper and wishes to work on collaboration with. Although she thinks Willow Kat is not yet popular she agrees he is good. “I have been listening to his songs a lot.”
Da Mafia said she would like to encourage all her fans to continue and support her music because she is yet to give more. Nkhabu says she is also open for support in the form of opinions may telling her what would make for a nice song or things like that.
“I have an open mind to impress my fans. If they need me to sing love songs, or reggae music, I will do that because I don’t have rules when it comes to music.” Da Mafia is also a soccer star player and wants to see herself far with soccer. She says however her passion is more on music.
She does perform in school events with her most unforgettable performance begin when she was at Victoria Poolside where Limkokwing held a fresher’s ball for students. She has a favorite song called Black Kid.
The song is a very strong message that talks about her a as a black kid. The song inspires her a lot because it says even though she is black, she can still make it.
She says her favorite international artiste that inspires her most is Nasty C. Even though music is not given too much attention in the country, Nkhabu says she is still positive about her music believing she has a chance of going far.
“It’s about your choices, what do you want where do you want to see yourself. I wouldn’t say it’s a curse that I was born in Lesotho, I wouldn’t blame my parents why wasn’t I born in a country where music is given more attention. I believe it’s all about yourself, what are you doing with the situation.”
Nkhabu who says she believes very much in the power of social media, adds that one day she would fly high like Nasty C.
Not oblivious of the fact that local artistes are not ken serious, Da Mafia says she is not going to end up here. She indicates that to make it in life, artistes shouldn’t make rap music about girls, money and weed only or think its only things that can inspire rap music.
“I believe that a good song it’s a song that has a good story behind. Telling the truth or a story through your song is the only way to make a song to be tasty,” Da Mafia opines.
Her fans should expect more from her and good news is that this year march she is going international to perform in Bloemfontein where she believes that event would help her make a major break-through.
“I have seen lot of people from small countries than Lesotho make it out of the hood. I believe am going to make it, because I believe in myself,” she concluded.