Off the back of completing matric, viral sensation turned musician Mfana Kah Gogo, real name Sipho Mbonambi, has released his debut album “Inzalo Ka Sikabopha”.
He grew up in eMangangeni, KwaZulu-Natal, under the guidance of his grandmother, hence the stage name “Mfana ka Gogo”.
He fell in love with amapiano during its rise and began gaining popularity on social media with his catchy videos.
Soon after, record labels were swarming to sign up the young talented artist but Sony Music Africa sealed the deal.
Shortly after releasing the album, the young artist was involved in a car accident along with his team in Durban.
“It has been really tough because this is the second accident to happen. At first I was afraid. I was staying in the house and was afraid of getting into a car after seeing how injured the people I was with were but little by little they are recovering,” he told TshisaLIVE.
When IOL Entertainment spoke to him, the “Jabula” hitmaker was in high spirits and focused more on his new music and not his recent stint in hospital.
Over a year ago, he was just another unknown artist trying to break into the industry. And now he is among the freshest faces on the scene.
“I try to be myself and not change because sometimes you see people, even old people celebrating you, it’s easy to let it get to your head and you tell yourself you're big. It’s how I deal with the new things happening in my life, being humble,” he said.
During his final year in matric, he released the single “Umoya”, which follows in the suit of his motivational music.
He called the single “Umoya” as a motivational message to himself, encouraging people to self-introspect and be assured that hardships always pass.
“I wrote that song during a difficult time, when I was doing my finals in matric and there were a lot of things going on. I was doing gigs in Joburg and would come back to school in Durban, I haven't slept, I’m writing an exam.
“I saw that many of us are going through different things; others are coming from homes that aren’t okay, and you want to pass at school and you are fighting to do and get distracted.
“I made the song for learners and anyone going through a difficult time, (to show) that everything that you are going through one day you will tell a story of how you overcame it all,” he shared.
Gogo shared that he found it important to release music that was motivational to his peers, as he found that people who were going through various difficulties were able to relate to his music, which in turn motivated him.
The “Moya” hitmaker has taken a gap year to focus on pushing his music but has plans to return to his studies next year. However, don’t expect him to venture into anything music related as he plans to branch out.
Being in the limelight comes with a lot of pressure from friends, family and the industry itself. Gogo is fortunate to have established artists like award-winning hip hop artist Cassper Nyovest and hip hop turned amapiano pioneers Major League DJz, advising him.
“They taught me a lot about various things such as paperwork, not to take it lightly and understand exactly what is going on, and not find myself in situations where I find myself having signed to only receive zero percent and in an unpleasant situation.”
His album “Inzalo Ka Sikabopha” features a host of local artists and DJs such as Lebo Muziq, Priddy Dj, Big John, Fezeka Dlamini, Major League and DJ Kariri.
His single “Mama”, featuring talented newcomer Nomfundo Moh, is already a fan favourite and is steadily climbing the charts.