My background moulded me - Solly Mahlangu

ONALENNA MODIKWA
Staff Writer | Saturday May 25, 2013 00:00

 

Having been born out of a rape incident that his mother went through at the age of 14, Mahlangu says he never saw his biological father and at the age of 20 he had the desire to see his father. 'I made efforts to locate him but it was all futile. I consoled myself with the fact that God is a father to the fatherless,' he says. However he says this does not empower men to run away from their responsibilities. He was raised by his grandmother in a dysfunctional family setup that was characterised by a group of children who had no fathers.He had a belief that he has a call to change that, hence he made a decision to look after his close-knit family actively by playing the role of a father.

'My background baked me and motivated me to become a responsible father. I love God, my wife and my children and I have created a safe haven for them at home,' he adds.Mahlangu has been married to Nomkosi for 20 years ago and has three children Thando, Amani and Asante. In light of the high divorce rate that is also common among the Christian community, Mahlangu elaborates that 'divorce' simply translates to a dying vision where the couple no longer have the same vision. 'What breaks up couples is that they do not discuss their visions before marriage. 'Before we got married, we discussed our vision and what we wanted to achieve and we supported each other towards that. Having a common vision is a principle in all operations,' he added.Mahlangu has been singing gospel for 30 years now but had his break some five years ago after the fall of a legendary voice Vuyo Mokwena.

'I grew up with Mokwena and I had to send him off. I was asked to sing at his memorial service and that is when everything began to explode,' he says.He says that he has never done any music apart from gospel, that he does in different aspects to accommodate as many languages as possible. In 2008 he released the Obrigado album that became a hit and made him a household name from the onset.''The more I travelled around the world the more Obrigado became like a national anthem,' he chuckles. His latest album is called Mwamba Mwamba and his aim is to incorporate all languages in his music and create a fusion that will be enjoyed across the continent.

He adds that whenever he comes to Botswana he looks for possibilities of partnerships with local musicians and recently had an opportunity to watch Vee performing and they even had dinner together. 'I believe an opportunity will arise from such interactions,' he says.Mahlangu is very impressed with the overwhelming support from Batswana and what he sees as the positive response he received during his visit to Selebi-Phikwe. Though he appreciates the talent among Batswana, the fact that there are no major record labels here caught his attention and wondered how local artists manage.'It takes people of the nation to foster change. As such it will take musicians to voice it out and visit neighbouring countries to learn how it is done and bring it to the attentions of those in authority to invite those internationally recognised record labels to set up infrastructures in Botswana,' he added.

He observed that foreign musicians do not have the soul and interest of the nation at heart than the local ones who would advocate for change. Mahlangu is an award winning gospel musician who scooped four awards both in South Africa and United Kingdom and also received the best male gospel artist award in Africa.He advises aspiring musicians that the music industry has challenges that one has to overcome.'One has to go through hurdles and there are certain doors that one cannot easily open. It is always better to be ready and have no opportunity than to have an opportunity and not be ready. 'The biggest mistake that musicians commit is that they point to an opportunity at a distance while the opportunity they are looking for is in them. 'For the past 27 years I went through moulding, quality and presentation to match the quality that was already in the market,' he advises.