WHEN he started out it was a matter of singing and wooing all the girls that thought he was the best thing since chocolate
Back then money was not an issue but a convenience to get by. Artists sang for the love of it and if they got paid, then Hallelujah.
But, when the rose-coloured glasses finally cleared, Doc Shebeleza and other artists began to focus their craft, fine-tuning it to churn out one monster hit after another. The kwaito generation had landed.
Now that the fun and games have ground to a halt, making way for responsible artists, the responsibility that was thrust upon their shoulders, living large like superstars, taking care of the families, driving amagusheshe and fitting in with the public's image or fantasy as a star, has become synonymous with ploughing back into the communities.
Shebeleza has come a long way from those naive days. Not only II has he kept going in a dog-eat-dog industry for close to 20 years, but he has successful groups to his credit that he has produced.
The next level has been giving back to the communities, recognising the problem of child-headed families and making sure that they are not neglected.
To achieve this mammoth task, he has brought many generous artists under the umbrella of African Musicians and Artists Against HIV and Aids (Amaha).
"We have distributed clothes and food to six provinces (including) KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Limpopo, North West and Free State. The offering included giving wheelchairs (that were needed) to child-headed families, orphanages and NGOs taking care of the poor. As for the aged and the disabled, they were not forgotten as they were included in the donation," Shebeleza says.
"During our tours when we handed out food for six months, an old lady told us that the food will get spoilt because her house was leaking badly.
That's when we hit on the idea of building houses for the poorest of the poor. We have since built more than 25 houses in two months, which we are doing to complement what the government is doing.
He says that they are handing over 12 houses in Piet Retief. He insists that they have been partnering with the Mpumalanga provincial government.
"Premier David Mabuza was so excited to be involved in an endeavour of this nature. We are hoping that the deputy president will do the honours of handing over. We were blessed in that when we first launched the project, President Jacob Zuma and Nomvula Mokonyane, the Gauteng premier, were part of the project.
"We cannot forget the partners, including the SABC, Sowetan and Sunday World, the contractors who have contributed a lot towards the realisation of the dream. This is just the beginning. We are hoping to build 50 houses per province in three years to assist the government in offering shelter to our people.
"People must treasure their RDPs and stop comparing themselves to those owning mansions. Let them be grateful for what they receive and build from there.
"Equally sad and retarding progress is the selling of houses. If we find such cases, we will expose them to the full might of the law.
"Concerts contribute a lot and we salute and honour musicians for doing these for nothing. We always call upon them and although they know it's for nothing, they come to the party.
"On December 26 we are hosting an annual festival at Florida Lake on the West Rand. The next one takes place on December 31, where kwaito and hip-hop DJs will run with the programme."
Kwaito star gives back to community
WHEN he started out it was a matter of singing and wooing all the girls that thought he was the best thing since chocolate
Back then money was not an issue but a convenience to get by. Artists sang for the love of it and if they got paid, then Hallelujah.
But, when the rose-coloured glasses finally cleared, Doc Shebeleza and other artists began to focus their craft, fine-tuning it to churn out one monster hit after another. The kwaito generation had landed.
Now that the fun and games have ground to a halt, making way for responsible artists, the responsibility that was thrust upon their shoulders, living large like superstars, taking care of the families, driving amagusheshe and fitting in with the public's image or fantasy as a star, has become synonymous with ploughing back into the communities.
Shebeleza has come a long way from those naive days. Not only II has he kept going in a dog-eat-dog industry for close to 20 years, but he has successful groups to his credit that he has produced.
The next level has been giving back to the communities, recognising the problem of child-headed families and making sure that they are not neglected.
To achieve this mammoth task, he has brought many generous artists under the umbrella of African Musicians and Artists Against HIV and Aids (Amaha).
"We have distributed clothes and food to six provinces (including) KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Limpopo, North West and Free State. The offering included giving wheelchairs (that were needed) to child-headed families, orphanages and NGOs taking care of the poor. As for the aged and the disabled, they were not forgotten as they were included in the donation," Shebeleza says.
"During our tours when we handed out food for six months, an old lady told us that the food will get spoilt because her house was leaking badly.
That's when we hit on the idea of building houses for the poorest of the poor. We have since built more than 25 houses in two months, which we are doing to complement what the government is doing.
He says that they are handing over 12 houses in Piet Retief. He insists that they have been partnering with the Mpumalanga provincial government.
"Premier David Mabuza was so excited to be involved in an endeavour of this nature. We are hoping that the deputy president will do the honours of handing over. We were blessed in that when we first launched the project, President Jacob Zuma and Nomvula Mokonyane, the Gauteng premier, were part of the project.
"We cannot forget the partners, including the SABC, Sowetan and Sunday World, the contractors who have contributed a lot towards the realisation of the dream. This is just the beginning. We are hoping to build 50 houses per province in three years to assist the government in offering shelter to our people.
"People must treasure their RDPs and stop comparing themselves to those owning mansions. Let them be grateful for what they receive and build from there.
"Equally sad and retarding progress is the selling of houses. If we find such cases, we will expose them to the full might of the law.
"Concerts contribute a lot and we salute and honour musicians for doing these for nothing. We always call upon them and although they know it's for nothing, they come to the party.
"On December 26 we are hosting an annual festival at Florida Lake on the West Rand. The next one takes place on December 31, where kwaito and hip-hop DJs will run with the programme."
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