Patience pays for Bekezela

By The Standard | Feb. 16, 2020

Hard times and difficult situations did not deter Bulawayo artiste Bothwell Nkomo, popularly known as Bekezela (pictured right), from pursuing his music career until the day he landed himself a recording deal with Muthaland Entertainment in South Africa.

the style interview:with Sharon Sibindi

The recording company has produced works of celebrated artistes including Ntando, Vusi Nova and Nathi, to name a few.

The Gwanda-born multi-award winner believes whatever he touches musically turns to gold and says his gift is God-given.

Standard Style reporter Sharon Sibindi (SS) caught up with Nkomo (BN), who spoke about his experiences in the arts industry.

Below are excerpts from the interview.

SS: Who actually is Bekezela and how did it start for you?

BN: Bekezela is an introvert. My birth name is Bothwell Nkomo and Bekezela is the name that was coined after my hit song Bekezela. Bothwell is an introverted character, second born in a family of three — two boys and one girl.

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I am more of a reserved type of person. I love my space, I like to be alone most of the time when all is set and done. However, Bekezela is a newly-discovered persona who is unapologetic and is straightforward and a fighter who wants to get things done and does things for himself. I believe in achieving things, I am a celebrated artiste and very loved artiste and energetic performer. I love helping and grooming others.

How it started for me, I went to Hifa [Harare International Festival of the Arts], this was after completing my diploma in Creative Arts Communications and Multimedia with Amakhosi Performing Arts Academy.

So, I had the opportunity to go to Harare and attend Hifa and there, I saw performances that blew my mind. That day I made a vow that this is the line of work I want to do and even when I got back to Bulawayo, it was hard for me to stay because what I had envisioned and the resources that I needed were in South Africa.

I then got into the bus and followed the sound of music all the way to South Africa and 11 years later, here I am coming back home as a multi-award winning artiste, having bagged my recent accolade, which is the coveted South Africa Music Award, for my contribution to Candy Tsamandebele’s album or title track that was called Hupenyu Unenge Viri featuring Bekezela which took the Best Traditional Jazz gong at the South Africa Music Awards in 2019.

So, looking back and seeing that Oh my God here I am, and the accolades that I already have ekhaya [home], I am a two-time SkyzMetro FM winner for Best Afro-soul Song for Bekezela and Amanzi and also winning the Roil Bulawayo Arts Award Song of the Year and Outstanding Ambassador based in South Africa. When I look back, the journey has come full circle and today I am standing on the soils where I actually started.

SS: How many albums do you have so far?

BN: I would like to call it different renditions of the album Bekezela. I have about six renditions of that before coming finally to one that was eventually titled Bekezela when I rebranded to become Bekezela myself.

I got to South Africa, looked for a studio and found a producer and started recording. I didn’t even know the networks and I was learning so I didn’t have anyone really mentoring me or holding me by the hand. I would meet great artistes like Ringo, for instance, when I presented my six-track album and he said “no, but you are robbing the people because you have to sell it at a standard of R100”, which means each song is R10 and how can you sell it for R100 and the album has six tracks?

So, I went back to the studio and added the four tracks. I met the likes of Themba Mkhize and said I should improve here and there. I started growing and in 2011, I wrote the song Ibekezela, which I felt was going to be a hit and even after doing it, it grew underground and was picked up by stations like iKwekwezi FM and pushed by guys like Stanley Khoza and I went on performing it, marketing it and it did grow underground up to a point where it would be played in taxis and other radio stations like Ligwalagala FM picking it up.

However, it was not really easy for me to break into the secular market and so I was always on the parallel market. I couldn’t jump over because I didn’t have any connections. It’s a game of networks, in 2016 I decided to take a break.

It was a spiritual decision, consultation that I did with God. I said look, if you really want me in the game, you will find a way for me to come back, but for now I have to fend for my family, let me go and look for a job. I hung my guitar and worked in a restaurant called News Café at Sandton was for a year and towards the end of that year, it was a very busy year that I did not do anything as I was at work doing double shifts.

I didn’t even have time to rest, I was just running on the tables and I was getting the hang of it. Now I was able to make money, pay my rent, send food and money home. I then got a call from Muthaland Entertainment and they said: “We want to work with you, we want to give you an opportunity to re-record iBekezela”. They had heard it somewhere in Tembisa and saw the reaction of the crowd and they were like this is a great song.

So, I said to them, on condition that I actually do a full album, so that is how we ended having a full album. Some of the songs I re-did from the previous album Udumo include Obabakazi and Mphendule.

I had access to high quality studios, access to finance, use the musicians that were also used by Vusi Nova and Ntando to do the full album.

I had access to the best mixing and mastering engineers in South Africa. So, my album was actually distributed and it was made available by Musica countrywide and even Botswana there are Musica stores.

After that, we have just been releasing singles. I did a single called Amanzi featuring Ntando which we re-released on Ntando’s album as well. That song Amanzi actually gave me an accolade for Best Afro-Soul song and is loved here in Bulawayo.

SS: Many artistes struggle to come up with another hit, if their breakout project is a big hit. This is because the music critics will always compare the latest attempt with that monster hit. Is it the same with you?

BN: I am a writer, people are not exposed to my album, but you can’t play my album and skip it. Which is the most common and consistent review that comes through almost from everyone who has listened to my album or who has my album.

Actually, Ibekezela is nothing. I have got songs like Imbokodo, Siyashadisa, Imali and Wena Uthandiwe, those are the songs that can drive you up the wall, those are great amazing songs because of the nature of the industry we use a song, a particular song to actually build a brand and actually push and make it out there, make it common.

There are big songs which people are exposed to, and instantly, I did Amanzi way after the album and it scooped an award. I have done collaborations as well — successful collaborations. Wherever I lay my hands, whatever I touch musically, it’s a gift I was given by God, it always turns into gold. It’s just a matter of time before people get to be exposed to the full catalogue of what I have done SS: How is your relationship with the people of Matabeleland? Do you think they appreciate your music the way it is done in South Africa?

BN: I am from Matabeleland and we can’t blame people and say they are not supportive.People in Matabeleland are very hard to please, they are those kind of people who will see you doing great things and say “ah uyazama” [they are trying], but the trying literally means you are awesome, you are great.

So, it’s just a question of being consistent and again for me, it helped to cross the border and get exposed to the fast and high quality media of South Africa because then, everyone became exposed to my craft .

At the end of the day, people fell in love with the song and brand because they thought it was South African. So, the shock that they got was “ngumuntu wakithi” [he is our own].

Now they have started to appreciate because everything is digitised, the era of social media now and people from different parts of the continent now know about Bekezela.

Some of the diasporans have been telling others that “this is a diamond that we have, this is a gem ”. It’s just a matter of time before we come full circle and have everyone really rallying behind Bekezela and making him the kind of super icon that he has to be.

SS: Some have left the country for greener pastures, is it the same with you? How long have you been in South Africa and how did you manage to break even in a foreign land?

BN: I don’t know if South Africa was really the greener pastures or what, but I believe I would hit my biggest success right here at home. By going to South Africa, I followed the sound of music and went there to learn.

So, just take it like a child who went there to a university maybe in the United States and attended Harvard School of Law and came back some eight years later and started practicing at home.

So, this is me who went out there to actually learn, network and grab as much information as I could so that I help people back home on how do we actually improve on our art and how do we actually monetise.

How I made it to the “foreign land”, I was patient and this name Bekezela [Patience] really helped me a lot. I waited and waited for the right moment and success is when the opportunity meets preparedness.

SS: What is in store for this year?

BN: My aim this year is actually to monetise the music business, the craft, have artistes actually afford to build homes and afford to nurture their careers and fund their own projects from their profits.

It’s already happening in South Africa, it’s coming through in Botswana so we are just here next to these two countries and with the exposure that I have in South Africa and how things are done, I am quite certain that we will achieve that by 2021. I will have at least five artistes that people can look up to.

SS: Besides being in the music industry, what is it that your fans don’t know about you which you do and like?

BN: I love cooking. I am a great fan of good food and I am an artiste when it comes to food. I actually think I am the best isitshwala [sadza] cook in the world. I love to cook food from the produce which I grew myself. So, l love farming a lot and where I will be staying and there is space, I plant vegetables, tomatoes, onions and carrots, among others.

So, I find it fascinating to go to the garden, pull out the carrots and start peeling them, slice them, cook and eat what I planted. I love that. I am also a teacher, I love teaching and nurturing, others that’s me besides the music part. I am a great lover as well.

SS: Your parting shot.

BN: I urge all the communities to come out and support shows. That R50 or US$5 means the world to us. It goes a long way in making us achieve the best. Also for us to monetise the industry, we need to cultivate a culture of people who come out of their houses get their camp chairs, come and sit in the lawn and listen to music, buy tickets and pay.

I made a survey on my second show on January 4, I said all those who are coming to a live performance gig for their first time ever in their lives, raise your hands. We were shocked that a good 25% had never attended a show.

So we need to encourage more people to come and attend live shows because once you attend one show, you will need to attend more.