Rather late than never, says Mbevhana

A 59-year-old artist has debunked the notion that only young and energetic people are destined to make it in the music industry. The soft-spoken and shy-looking Nkanukeni Mbevhana from Khubvi Village outside Thohoyandou has just released an inspiring and educative album, titled Ndia takala.

The album comprises five tracks, including Ndi a takala, Ngozwini and Zwi do lifhiwa – songs that drive music lovers crazy for more. Ngozwini, which means ‘the cradle’, deals with the pros and cons of life in rural areas in particular and the country at large. It also conveys the message that, whatever one does on earth, they will be held accountable before God when they die.

Mbevhana’s music journey really started in 1978 when he was still a teenager.

“Since I was about five years old, I have always known that I would one day make it in the music industry. But poverty was always in the way of this dream. In 1978, I made my own guitar from scrap metal, curved wood and strings to create sound. I taught myself how to play it,” he recalled. “But one day, in 1980, my father saw me strumming my self-made guitar while singing along to the music I played, and he destroyed it, saying that my lyrics were so deep, they might influence me to commit suicide.”

Mbevhana was so dejected that he decided to quit this dream and rather focus on his education. After completing his studies at a local technical college, he opened his own upholstery business in Khubvi Village. What astonished all and sundry was when he single-handedly built his own recording studio at his home.

“I realised that, as a poor man, I would never have the money to go to a studio and record my album, so I decided to build my own.” This didn’t happen overnight, though. It took him nearly six years to build the studio and obtain the music equipment.

When this newspaper’s correspondent asked him why having the album released was so important to him, even at such a late stage in his life, rather than preparing for his retirement, he said that he wanted to prove to the whole world that where there was a will, there was always a way.

“Age is just a number, my brother,” the correspondent was told. “I’m still going to release many, many albums in the future. I’m also calling on everyone with a zeal to succeed to never give up. In life, it is better late than never.”

Entertainment - Date: 07 August 2021

Maanda Bele

Maanda  Bele, born and raised in Nzhelele Siloam, studied journalism at the Tshwane University of Technology.

He is passionate about current news and international affairs.

He worked as part of the Zoutnet team as an intern in 2017.

He is currently a freelance journalist specialising in news from the Vhembe district.

Email: [email protected]