Winchester hip-hop artist Mfundo Mbhele (21) is reaching for the stars
“I was influenced by the sounds of hip-hop and house music, as those were the genres I grew up listening to."
Hip-hop artist Mfundo Mbhele (21), known as King-Tunes, moved to the city with his mother in pursuit of greater things and a better life.
The CHRONICLE caught up with him at their new home in Winchester Hills.
King-Tunes was born in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, and described his childhood years as a wonderful experience.
“Being raised in Newcastle was amazing because it is a small town where everyone knows each other. I had an awesome childhood where every adult in the area was like your parent. “Things changed when I came to Johannesburg, where everyone was a just a total stranger,” he said.
Discovering his talent
It was during his primary school years that King-Tunes discovered his talent for making music.
“I was influenced by the sounds of hip-hop and house music, as those were the genres I grew up listening to.
“In my high school years, my love for music was fueled by regular ciphers and rap battles that took place in the schoolyard.”
When they moved to the city in 2014, he had to find a new school to pursue his studies at.
“My mother did not understand why I wanted to practise music. But this is my passion.”
Reaching for the stars
In 2017 King-Tunes released his first song titled None on Me, which featured his future band partner Rey Oceans.
Following the success of the song, the pair decided to form their band and named it TuneOceans.
“None on Me was my first song I released and I am extremely proud of it. “A couple of songs followed, which made me gain prominence in the industry and on social media,” he said.
King-Tunes is also interested in other art forms, such as dancing, drawing, photography, event organising and designing clothes.
He describes himself as the future and said his fans know it too.
King-Tunes is also regularly the headline act at the Summer Festival, one of the biggest events in Newcastle.
“I shared the stage with the likes of Nasty C, A-Reece, Kid X and Moonchild. I also worked with DJ Nastor, the winner of 1’s and 2’s on SABC1.
“The support in the industry has been so overwhelming. I am working on a couple of projects and I cannot wait to showcase them to all my fans,” said King-Tunes.
Their recent EP, TuneOceans God Given, dropped om June 30 is sitting on 17 000 streams across all digital platforms.
