South African presenter, rapper, writer and street culture aficionado Siyabonga ‘Scoop Makhathini’ Ngwekazi, recently joined Midday Joy with Unathi to share his love for the African continent and what he has learned from his travels around the continent.
Listen to the full conversation here:
Love for the African continent
Ngwekazi spoke about his love for Africa and talked about his first trip outside of South Africa to Mozambique. He described the people of the country as free, passionate and loving. Before the lockdown, he embarked on a spiritual trip to Ethiopia, an experience he says was the genesis of his current awakening that has drastically influenced his diet.
“It was the first spiritual awakening I got after a long time. It was the first one that led me to where I am now. This was when I started talking about changing my diet. Anyone that likes having a night out knows that the following morning it’s your bacon, your sausage and your eggs. It was my first step, walking into the door of the house I am literary living now.” he said.
Ngwekazi also shared some of his favourite artists from the African continent naming Angelique Kidjo, Ismael Lo, and Fally Ipupa, as artists that have fascinated him over the years.
Brotherhood
He is part of a brotherhood circle with Black Coffee, Laduma Ngxokolo and Nelson Makomo who are all pioneers in the own fields, and are breaking new ground as South African creatives.
Last year they embarked on a knowledge-seeking trip across South Africa; amongst the stops they made, they had a chance to meet the late shaman Credo Mutwa at his home in Graaff-Reinet a few months before his passing. Speaking to Unathi he spoke about what he has learned from the brotherhood.
“I learned and saw how to take my talent as rough as it is, and polish it to something that could be commercially viable, not just for me but for everyone coming after me. That is what they really taught me.”
