The young man from Tsholotsho believes entrepreneurship is a better way to go than having a day job. “For me the only way was to venture into music,” said Sibanda, who first worked as a veterinary assistant when he arrived in South Africa in 2008.
Now an established house musician, known as DJ Mapressa, Sibanda is also a producer and businessman of note.
“After I made sure that my talent and passion lay in music, the next thing was to find a niche market, which as a young person had to be the youth. I had to find out what kind of music they enjoyed most. My own musical taste, House, became the answer I needed. “
Mapressa announced his arrival in the music industry in 2010 with an album entitled “Okumdala Lokhu (The Octogenarian)”, which catapulted him to instant stardom in Johannesburg, where House music is very popular.
“The initial aim was to correct the widely-held notion that Tsholotsho only produced cattle thieves, rapists and illiterate people. I was tired of the stereotypes created by the few bad apples that had resulted in people painting a bad picture of my home area. I knew this would not come from just sitting down and mourning. I had to do something positive first and then proclaim my place of origin,” explained the hit-maker.
“The phenomenal response I received from people who bought my debut album, the many invitations I received to perform at various places and the large crowds that came to watch me proved that I was in the right track and inspired me to increase the speed.” Mapressa said his rise to fame was also a challenge for other people from his home area to also do something good that would show the world that the remote district, in Matabeleland North, was not all about bad things.
“I had realised that if all good people sit and do nothing, bad ones would grab the limelight,” said the musician.
It was after the release of his second album “Badidwa Yis’gubhu” in 2011, that the disco star decided to take a shot at business. The result was his launch of Tshola-see Records and Siyashesha-tainment.
His first project was his own production, a 10-track album titled “Isikhwama Segintsa” and release early this year. The company has since signed four other Zimbabwean artists based in the neighbouring country.
“We are involved in discovering, nurturing and bringing to the fore new and youthful artists, while also lending a helping hand to old artists that have found the going tough due to unavailability of proper marketing of their work,” said the singer. “All our signed artists get a chance to go to a studio that I have shares in, where we pay for the whole project, market them and arrange shows for them. We also help stock their music with selected music dealers here in South Africa.”
Some of the artists who have benefited from the label are disco singer, Petty Cash, Maskandi group, Sibane Sinamandla and gospel group, Isiphephelo Sabangcwele.
Petty Cash is already flying high with her debut dance album, Top Class (Siyaligidisa), a six-track offering that has made waves in Johannesburg barely a week after release. The other two groups will be releasing their albums at the end of this month with a joint launch. Mapressa, who has also opened an all-female dance group, Siya-shesha Galz, is a shareholder at Black Dash Studio.
“I am very happy with what I have achieved in the last few years and my only regret is that I should have started a bit earlier, but it’s never too late for those who have focus, determination and direction because eventually, they will get there,” added the young businessman. “To me, you have to do things because you feel them, you have the passion and big plans. Trying to imitate other people will only you a short distance because you will just be acting and not real.”
In the long run, he wishes to open a branch for his stable back home and extend his talent search to schools in the western region.
“Matabeleland has amazing talent and the best we can do is land a helping hand and make sure it is exposed to the biggest market. Very soon, Zimbabwe will be counted among the international giants and that is not just a joke. We just need to pull together regardless of our race tribe or religion.”
Post published in: News