Oswald is a rising star

Oswald Mthombeni is a young and talented singer who describes himself as an “all-genre singer” and has been mesmerising many music lovers in the Elim area.

A resident of N'waxinyamani village, this 23-year-old singer resides in the village that produced the legendary Xitsonga musician Samson Mthombeni and the "Kuhluvukili ka Z" hit maker, the late Obed Ngobeni.

“Music runs in my veins, I come from the home of legends,” he said. “So, it was not difficult for me to follow my music career because I grew up surrounded by people who spoke so well about the great musicians who came from our village, and that was motivation for me.”

Oswald recently released his hit song, A hi helelangi, a tribute to the late Khombo Shirimani. “The song reached 2 900 downloads in a short space of time and became popular on local radio stations,” he said. “It also caught the attention of producer Vutlhari Baloyi at Cash Music Production. He signed me for his recording stable.”

Oswald's journey was not smooth at all. He was a joke to many people who did not believe his talent in the village. He added that he had to endure ridicule at school, where fellow pupils jeered at him and called him a fake. “In 2015, mockers started to take me seriously, because I worked with Innocent Maringa on my first album. I then had producer Deejay Ntshembho when I released my second album. I had by then established myself as a songwriter as well.”

He released his third album, entitled Mary Jay, which was also produced by Deejay Ntshembho. His hit single, which was released in November 2018, had garnered him more respect from his fans. It is named Sesi loyi u na mona.

"I stated writing songs when I was in Grade 4 in 2005, because I had been inspired by Dr Thomas Chauke,” he said.

He matriculated at Masiza High School at N’waxinyamani village in 2015 and went to further his education at Capricorn TVET College in Polokwane. He is currently a student at Unisa. He hopes to release an album soon with Cash Music Production.

Entertainment - Date: 27 January 2019

Tshifhiwa Mukwevho

Tshifhiwa Given Mukwevho was born in 1984 in Madombidzha village, not far from Louis Trichardt in the Limpopo Province. After submitting articles for roughly a year for Limpopo Mirror's youth supplement, Makoya, he started writing for the main newspaper. He is a prolific writer who published his first book, titled A Traumatic Revenge in 2011. It focusses on life on the street and how to survive amidst poverty. His second book titled The Violent Gestures of Life was published in 2014.

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