Taking a break from the burgeoning demands of his budding career, Mashapa Machaba, shares his life story, his brand new single and why he has a lot to be thankful for with Jozi Gist. By Adelani Ogunrinade (jnr.)
The streets of Greenway road, Greenside was buzzing with activity leading into the weekend -people laughing, the restaurants, cafes and the bars on the strip was filing up as car guards supervised the flash of cars trying to park.
In a small restaurant called Thai Café, I had just concluded a business meeting. Next up on my to-do list was an interview with an old pal and superstar, Mashapa ‘MJ’ Machaba.
In recent weeks, the news had been circulating on social media platforms that the talented musician had a new single out – and apparently, it was scorching hot!
When ‘MJ’ arrives for our interview; he steps out of a silver 5 series BMW with Versace shades over his eyes. With swagger and style comparable to music mogul Sean ‘P.diddy’ Combs, Mashapa was looking characteristically fresh-to-death. His hair was well cut and shaped with waves at the top. He was dressed in a long t-shirt with zips on both sides, stretchy black jeans and attention-grabbing Nike Air Max shoes on his feet. A gold chain dangled around his neck as he approached the Thai Café. From the swag in the way he walks, Mashapa’s confidence can easily be mistaken for arrogance.
After giving him dap and trading a few jokes, our interview was due to start. When he orders a chicken and cashew nut stir-fry, I ask for his alcohol preference in celebration of his upcoming birthday.”I don’t drink alcohol,” he says. This revelation signaled a strong reluctance to embrace the drugs and drinking culture associated with celebrity lifestyle. I jokingly ask him if his unwillingness to consume alcohol is perhaps an indication that he is retiring from music to become a pastor. “That wouldn’t be a bad idea, I have a lot to thank God for in life,” he says with a laugh.
While waiting for his order to arrive, I saw the opportunity to finally listen to his new single. We inform our waitress that we would be back and walk to Mashapa’s silver BMW 5 series parked a few metres away from the restaurant to hear it.
Judging from his flashy image, I made the inaccurate assumption that the subject matter of his new song was likely to revolve around money, women and clothes. As the music blasted through the speakers, I listened to his lyrics closely. Through the Alvaro Serafim produced banger titled,”Mbonge”, the baby faced wordsmith demonstrated why a book should never be judged by its cover; the song happens to be an inspirational anthem that talks about praising God for unrealized blessings.
“Making music is a gift from God and “Mbonge” (which means thank him) is very inspired by me being a spiritual person,” he explains.
Overflowing with passion, honesty, and optimism, “Mbonge” is heartfelt and intensely personal. The velvety-voiced rapper adds a refreshing dose of charm and musicianship to the song. The track is not only evidence of Mashapa’s spiritual growth but also confirmation that the founder of Positive Influence Media has evolved from just another aspiring hip-hop artist to a distinguished man who is single-minded about changing the world.
“I must admit, my music has transformed from just being about me and what I am wearing to songs that can change people’s lives and at the same time entertain them. Mainstream music has a certain conversation. The conversation is mainly very sexual and glorifies drugs, alcohol etc. As much as I love hip-hop music, I feel like it’s going very far away from my beliefs and the values I stand for,” he observes.
After the brief listening session, we walk back to the Thai restaurant. On our way back, a female fan notices Mashapa.He stopped to pose after obliging her request for a selfie. She pulls out her camera phone to snap a picture. It was interesting to watch how his enviable charisma shone through as he interacted with his fan.
Back at the restaurant, Mashapa eased onto a sofa, while enjoying his chicken and cashew-nut stir fry. Our conversation continues with a discussion of his background, musical journey so far and the moment he realized he had a passion for the entertainment industry.
Born in Bushbuckridge, Mashapa was brought up within the foundations of faith and was sent to a Missionary school called Kings School in a small town called White River. As early as primary school, Mashapa began writing songs and entering local talent shows
“I started writing songs in primary school. It was R’n’B influenced because I grew up with my older sister playing that music genre. This is the reason you would hear an influence of R’n’B in my music today,” Mashapa reveals.
“I have been building my career since I was a little boy. I grew up watching YoTV kids on SABC back in the days. I wanted to be one of them and People believed I had the potential to become a great presenter because I was talking about it all the time. I made sure I enquired about how to get a similar role. A cousin that lived in Johannesburg helped me find an agent. My big break came in 1998.It was a stage play. The main guest on the day was Nelson Mandela, which was amazing for me. It was such a big paycheck for me. I started growing from there and getting more auditions. I had to move to Johannesburg because of all the work,” Mashapa recalls.
After spending his early childhood in White River, the multi-talented superstar had another reason to move to Johannesburg. In his early teenage years, Mashapa wowed crowds with his foot balling skills. “I had a passion for sports growing up. I grew up loving soccer and I wanted to be a soccer player. I enrolled in a school that focused on soccer in Johannesburg. People were in awe of my talent and it played a big role in how confident I am today. I managed to travel the world with soccer; I played in Turkey for a year, came back then played in the United States on a soccer scholarship – it was called Lindsay Wilson College in Kentucky,” he recollects.
Mashapa dribbled and dazzled on soccer fields but had his dream dashed at its most crucial moment by shady agents and dirty politics in football.”Things just did not work out as planned with my soccer career. I almost gave up on life as a result because I really wanted to become a soccer player. I sunk into a depression but God just somehow revived me and kept me going” he disclosed.
“In the end it was all about the music. As years went by, I realized that music was my biggest passion and my biggest joy. I started doing a lot of songs and collaborations with a lot of artists,” the stylish star said.
Mashapa first burst on the South-African music scene in 2006, when he featured on Danny K’s up-tempo party song, ”hey shorty.”I ask him to take me back memory lane and chronicle how the collaboration happened. He says “At the time Danny K was going to shoot a video for one of his songs off his album that was recorded in the U.K. and he needed a rapper. I happened to meet him at a dance studio with an ex-girlfriend of mine and we just got along instantly. To my amazement, he wanted me to feature on the song and shoot a video with him immediately. Things moved quickly and before we knew it, we were doing performances on a show called “strictly come dancing “on SABC 2.It was a big platform for me at the time. My friends and family were so excited for me”
Since then, Mashapa has been part of a dynamic music duo called Family Bizniz with his little brother, DJ Goodkidd aka Lincoln Machaba. His face lights up as he talks about his younger brother which is a clue into the close-knit family he grew up in. I ask him what the most difficult moment in his musical journey so far has been.Mashapa becomes quiet and thoughtful. He took a dramatic gulp of his orange juice to signify that the story he is about to share with me still hurts. Early in his career, he lost his main producer and friend to a violent murder in the townships. “D-man was stabbed to death in Alexandra. He was a producer I believed in. He would have been taken the world by storm if he was still alive today. He was so far ahead of his time and the music we were making was major. He produced songs that launched the careers of the likes of Buffalo soldier. When he passed on, I was shattered”
When stopped in midsentence, Mashapa signals to the waitress that he would like a glass of water with blocks of ice. As our conversation continues, we discuss his plans to capture hearts with gospel hip-hop. “I feel like gospel music is at a stage it is going to transform,” he says, “I feel like hip-hop is for the youth but people are growing up and they need something real that will influence their lives and children. People want to know how to deal with life pressures and different situations. Therefore, I feel like it is my job to make inspirational and gospel hip hop more popular.”
His mannerism is pure bad-boy swagger. And yet, he still aspires to glorify God in his music so I ask him if this will lead to critics judging him as inauthentic. “Critics will always be there but what is important is staying real to myself and utilizing the gift God gave me to impact society,” he candidly points out.
“When people see that gospel artists look good, they look like stars and they on stage killing it. People would pay more attention to the music,” he added.
“Gospel hip-hop can’t just stay in the churches; Jesus for example was everywhere impacting people. I want my music to be played in the most unlikely places; I would be talking about God and because the beat is so catchy and bouncy, even night clubs are forced to play it.”
Even as his celebrity has grown, what makes Mashapa special – outside the music – is that he does not exhibit the pretentiousness often associated with stars. He is unapologetically himself – real.
Mashapa has come a long way from his humble beginnings: “Coming from Bushbuckridge to how I am living now is a big change. I look at my photos as a baby, standing next to an Umkhukhu (a shack.) to living in a big house. I realize that God has been good. I am really celebrating my feeling of gratitude to him through my music,” he reflects as our interview draws to a close.
Like every great man, Mashapa lives by the principles that success in life is not measured by how high we go up but how many times we bounce back when we fall down. It is this ‘bouncing back’ mentality that has stood him in good stead through several road blocks along his path to ultimate success. With a new lease on life and the release of a hot hit single, Mashapa Machaba certainly has a lot to be thankful for.