After the death of her son, singer Sekgametsi “Kgami”
Leboau, 43, hit rock bottom. But when popular music producer Oratile Mokwena
aka Dj Ora, reached out to her she was able to make a comeback.
“When I stood up to receive the Motheo Community
Awards (MCA), for song of the year 2013, it was
a surreal and emotional moment for me.”
That moment took her back to 2010 when she was removed
from stage by a presenter who was emceeing at a soccer event where she performed
her first Khelobedu song. “He said that my singing was too slow and that the
people did not understand the Khelobedu language, so I was wasting their time.
I was so disheartened after that performance. My late son, Lesley, told me not
worry and that one day the music industry would recognise me and my music.”
says Kgami.
Her love for music and traditional dance was what made
her choose to drop out of school in standard seven and move to the city to try and
make it as a musician. So without warning she ran away from home and moved to
Diepsloot, Johannesburg.
BIG BREAK
In February 1993, at age 23, she heard about auditions
for back- up singers and dancers at the late Peter Tanats’s house. While she was
chatting and laughing, Peter heard her being noisy and asked who the loud girl
was, she was hesitant to step forward as she thought she was in trouble. It
turned out that he loved the sound of her voice.
Without any audition, she became one of his vocalists
and dancers. That’s when her career in the entertainment industry began.
After a year of singing for Peter she saw another
opportunity, “I heard that Panny Panny needed back- up vocalists, so I
auditioned and got the job. While working with Penny, I lived the life of the
rich and famous. We toured the whole of Africa, staying in lavish hotels, being
treated like VIPs,” she says.
After seven years of working with Panny, Kgami felt
that she needed a break from the music industry. In 1999 she opened Mecosta
Hair Salon, and a record label, Mosekedi Records the following year.
Since she did not have any business experience, none
of her businesses did well so she had to close them down. “I was sad,
especially about the recording label because I had a dream of recording other
artists who sang in local languages that are not given much attention or
appreciation.”
SMOOTH SAILING
In 2002 she went back to music fulltime, she started
working as a session musician and songwriter for other artists, such as Tebza
Maluleke. She went back into studio under the management of Afro singer Kgosi Phiri and producer Harold Tau and recorded the album Xiluva Xanga, which means rose of my heart,
the album did extremely well.
It was in August 2011 when she received news that her
son, Lesley, 24, had been in a car accident. “I lost my mind. From that time
until the end of the funeral I was not myself, I was devastated. I have a younger son, Kingsley who is 23 now.
There is no pain like that of losing a child.”
A PAINFUL TIME
After her son’s death she was broke. “I was sharing a
flat in Hillbrow with some lady who had to cover my rent for a couple of
months.”
Kgami says she struggled, but in what she calls a VIP
way. “I would always dress well and carry my iPhone, even though I couldn’t
afford to buy airtime to even send an sms.”
During that time, that is when Ora called to pass on
his condolences because he couldn’t attend Lesley’s funeral. He asked what he
could do for her, “I told him I had no food in my house, and that I had also
been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and didn’t have money to buy tablets. He
asked for my banking details and deposited R3000 into my account. He said he
didn’t want me to pay it back.”
HEALING PROCESS
“He is like a brother to me, the way he treated me
after Lesley’s death really confirmed that for me. After calling and checking
up on her a couple of times, he said he wants her to sing again,” says Kgami. “I
thought he was crazy because I felt I was in no state to do that, I eventually
gave in.” She told Ora that she wanted to do Mosothoweshu. “ We recorded the song late in 2011 and released it
in mid 2012. It has become a huge hit across Africa.”
Recording it was part of her healing process. She is now
signed to a record label and is making money again, but still stays in Berea. Kgami
says that at the moment she chooses to live within her means. She doesn’t want
to be one of those artists who buy big cars and rent big houses when they are
doing well, then later go back to living at home or in a back room because they
cannot afford the lifestyle anymore.
“I am content where I am and the best thing is that
the kind of music I want to sing is being accepted at last. Nothing can be
better than that.”
No comments:
Post a Comment