Tales of Bekezela: Byo song of the year

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WHEN a string of poetic love words came to his mind while busy digging trenches as a casual labourer in South Africa way back in 2011, Bothwell Nkomo dismissed them as the usual signs of home sickness and a longing for his girlfriend back home.

WHEN a string of poetic love words came to his mind while busy digging trenches as a casual labourer in South Africa way back in 2011, Bothwell Nkomo dismissed them as the usual signs of home sickness and a longing for his girlfriend back home.

By Sindiso Dube

Never did it cross his mind that the words would translate into a melody that was going to become one of Bulawayo’s most popular songs, eventually becoming his breakthrough seven years later.

Nkomo went on to record the song in 2011 and titled it Bekezela, which means be patient. The song title eventually became his stage name. Bekezela was crowned Outstanding Song of the Year at the Roil Bulawayo Arts Awards held recently. In December last year, it was awarded Afro-jazz Song of the Year at the inaugural Skyz Metro FM Music Awards.

“Well, I was digging a trench in Sandton on the side of the road. I was missing my girlfriend so much that a melody hit me. As she was far away from me, I started writing a message to her in a song that later became my biggest song. I wanted to assure her that I was working tirelessly for her and would definitely come back. “Bekezela means patience and patience sums up my somewhat long musical journey. One would say it’s coincidental for my breakthrough song to be called Bekezela, but I would say it’s God. I am an artiste who uses music to tell stories of Africa, particularly my life story of hope, faith and patience, to motivate and inspire people,” Nkomo said.

Bekezela was recorded and received little airplay across the Limpopo back then, but that didn’t deter Nkomo from making more music. he produced an album titled uDumo, which he didn’t officially market, but single-handedly sold copies.

Nkomo believes it is God’s timing that his seven-year-old song has all of a sudden become the biggest song in the city marking his ultimate breakthrough.

“I was happy that it (Bekezela) was a song from my heart and I felt good about it. Yes, I recorded other songs, but they didn’t do quite well. I had to be patient and kept working hard. I didn’t predict the future, I didn’t predict how I would be in the limelight, but I just prayed for a breakthrough and God answered,” he said. The song’s visuals were filmed in South Africa and feature TV and radio personality Mbo Mahocs, who hosted this year’s Roil Bulawayo Arts Awards.

“I wanted to tell a Zimbabwean story and Mbo Mahocs fits the profile of a Zimbabwean girl. She has the charm, beauty and stature of a Zimbabwean, particularly a Bulawayo girl. even her spirit and energy are wired differently from South African girls and she delivered,” said Nkomo, who is now signed under Muthaland Entertainment in South Africa.

Nkomo was born in Gwanda and started singing in church at the age of five by memorising his grandmother’s favourite hymns.

He is a graduate of Amakhosi School of performing arts. When the going got tough in 2011, he relocated to South Africa where he took up menial jobs, before he found a job as a cleaner at a hotel in Alexandra township for several years. he then moved to another job as a waiter at News Café in Sandton. He used his salary to record his first demo album in 2011, which included the song Bekezela.