Kwesta conquers fear by tapping into acting

Rapper Kwesta initially turned down revered filmmaker Mandla N, before grabbing with both hands his breakout acting role in Piano Love.

That's because the thought of switching from lyrical wordplay to flexing his acting muscle petrified him – although he admits at the back of his mind, he has always danced with the idea.

Real name Senzo Vilakazi, Kwetsa is set to share the screen with dancer Bontle Modiselle in the highly anticipated Netflix film.

“The idea of acting has always been there. I’d always tell my friends, ‘Yazi one day, I’d like to try out acting’, but it wasn’t something I’d follow through,” he said. 

“I’d often say I'll produce a funny movie and just act in it for the fun of it, not in a serious way, because I respect the art and the craft immensely and I wouldn’t want to disrespect it. This is why I initially said 'no' to Mandla when he called and told me about the script and the idea of me playing lead in his film."

So, how did Mandla N change his mind?

“Mandla then called me again, about two or three days later, and asked if I could come to his office. I went there. He painted a picture of the film's plot and how he couldn’t find someone who raps in life and can embody this character way better than me," he said. 

“He told me that I represent people from the hood very well as a musician, and he’d like me to translate all of that on screen. I could see how passionate and excited he was, I eventually said, ‘Yes’ to the idea of acting.”

Known for his mega hits Ngud' and Spirit, he says while his acting journey has been nerve-wrecking, for the most part, it has been exhilarating. 

“I remember being very nervous for our first reading. We sat at a huge circular table as the cast with our scripts in front of us. I chose to be honest with everyone and told them I was scared and I didn’t know what I was doing,” he laughed.

“I didn’t want to carry a façade that I’m Kwesta and I’ve got this, because truthfully, I didn’t. I told them I was going to need them to help guide me and they were kind enough to pull through for me.

“I was taught how to act with my eyes and the use of hand gestures as well as body language. I had to act with emotion at times. After 17 years of being in the entertainment industry, this is something new. For quite a while I felt that everything I was doing was the same hence this feeling is different. I feel like a kid in a candy store. I must say being on set was one of the best experiences of my life.”

Kwesta remains tight-lipped about the plot of the film coming out on August 23.

“If you’re just basing your conclusions from the poster, you’ll be shocked. There’s a lot of twists and turns. You just have to watch and see what happens,” he said. 

“The movie is very relatable and music-based. It shows how amapiano has put everything together in terms of the industry. My character isn’t a typical piano guy but shares similarities with who I am as a musician. 

“It’s not necessarily a romantic movie; it has elements of it but the narrative is completely different from what people think. We wanted to capture the culture of the hood through elements of kwaito and amapaino.”