Rapper Khuli Chana said his entrepreneurial journey began because of the rejection he received in the industry. Picture:khulichana01/Instagram
“My entrepreneurship journey started by default, it was inspired by rejection. After being rejected by all major labels, from Sony, EMI at the time… I had to go independent, that’s when I dropped Motswakoriginator,” said Khuli Chana.
“I did that [Motswakoriginator] independently, I had to jump. I didn’t really have much of a plan. I’m not a born entrepreneur; it’s just something I had to do. I figured I needed to be heard, I have an amazing product, I only had to start-so just start,” averred Khuli, whose real name is Khulane Morule.
Motswakoriginator is Khuli’s debut album that he released in 2011.
He was speaking in his hometown in Mahikeng where the Township Entrepreneurs Alliance (TEA) hosted one its events in partnership with Nedbank.
Founded by entrepreneur Bulelani Balabala, TEA focuses on empowering township based companies and entrepreneurs with knowledge sharing, skills development, enterprise development and access to market.
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“I look back at where we started and how big we’ve become. The Khuli Chana foundation, the studio-that was inspired by Maftwon Heights. Maftwon Heights, after the success of Motswakoriginator my first album, I wanted to create something that could be bigger than myself,” he said.
In 2022 Khuli established the Khuli Chana Foundation which alleviates problems found in the educational system.
The Tswa Daar rapper launched the Khuli Chana Studios in the same year, which is for young creatives.
“The studio is a playground for creatives, from TV production, podcasting, music production, live-streaming, band rehearsals space by sounds of GP. It is a well of opportunities for all creatives,” he said in an interview at the time of launching.
It has been an interesting past few years for the rapper who is married to DJ, Lamiez Holworthy.
Last year he graduated with an Honours degree in Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the South African film school, AFDA, the School for the Creative Economy.
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Khuli comes from the same place as HHP in Mahikeng, but the latter came into the industry earlier than Morafe, a rap trio from Mahikeng which Khuli is a member of. Because of this, HHP opened some doors for the talented guys from his neighbourhood.
“I’ll always put an emphasis on Jabulani (HHP) and his work. There was a show called Castle Loud, he had just dropped an new album and we had a collab with him on that and he was booked to do a live tv show performance and he insisted on performing with us,” said Khuli.
Despite the show’s producers wanting HHP to perform a single from the album that was already getting played on radio, he insisted on performing the song that featured Khuli’s group, Morafe.
“That was the very moment that changed everything for us because the whole nation got to see us for the first time. I know exactly what that moment does for an entrepreneur or a musician.”
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