Mbongeni Moyo (19) is Dinwiddie’s upcoming hip-hop artist with great plans for the entertainment industry.
“I was introduced to music by my brother, Bekezela Khumalo (also known as Afrostone), in 2006,” said Khumalo.
“I was in Grade Six at Phumelela Public School, in Katlehong, and as young as I was it wasn’t hard for me to pen lines, as I loved poetry and was taking part in it at school.
“We were both in school during the birth of our music careers and didn’t take it seriously, but we didn’t give up on our dream of being artists.
“Through perseverance and determination we released our first single, titled Drop the World, in March 2011.”
Moyo, whose stage name is Deep Flamez, also told GCN that their single was well received by listeners.
“The single was produced by Quintessential and although its success motivated us, we knew we had to finish school,” he explained.
“After the release of the single we both decided to explore the solo platform, which worked well as we were able to discover our individual identities as artists.
“The experience I gained from the single, together with the decision to take a break, enabled me to find myself and mature as an artist, and also to finish school.
“I matriculated last year, at Katlehong’s Alafang High School; in the same year I managed to make it to the 15th round of the Battle Zone competition that was also held in Katlehong.”
Moyo said he had to battle artists from all over Gauteng in the competition.
“I learnt a lot from the competition and, importantly, I learnt that hip-hop is not about battle, because battle is not big on content and music is predominantly about the content and message,” he said.
“I stopped battling, because it wasn’t building me.
“I also learnt a lot from an open mic session I was invited to at a Zimbabwean radio station, Starfm, in 2013.
“In the same year I met two aspiring gospel hip-hop artists, Terance and Trevor Sibanda, at the Dunamis Family International Church, and we started working together.
“Together we released one single, Night Skies, in January this year and, because Terance is a producer, as well, he produced the single.
“We are still working together and hoping to release more music.”
In recent news, Moyo is set to release his first single as a solo artist.
“I will be dropping it this Saturday, at a club in Randfontein,” he said.
“It is titled Gett’n Rich and once it is released people can find it on Sound Cloud.
“I am also working on my first album, which will be focused on my life journey and the things happening in my community.
“I am hoping to work with local, Zimbabwean and Swaziland artists and, if all goes well, the album should be ready by next year.
“Furthermore, I plan to register at Wits University and to study law, because even though I love music I also believe that education is important.”
To book Deep Flamez, send him an email to DeepFlamez@gmail.com.
You might also be interested in:
Young rapper has sights set on hip-hop fame
