Meet iHope: The TikTok creator uniting the diverse people of SA

When 23-year-old Thami Hopewell Nkambule takes a Sunday walk through the streets of Pretoria, even Afrikaans ooms taking out the trash stop to ask if he is the funny guy from TikTok.

Nkambule, also known as iHope, has more than 330 000 followers on TikTok, with more than five million likes, and counting.

@ihopeofficial69 monkey up his sleeve sounds valid:thinking_face: #tiktoksa #viral #meme #snaaks #fknarmy #ihopenation ♬ original sound – iHope Official

His social media journey started at the beginning of lockdown in 2020, when he posted Afrikaans videos, with smart puns and plays on words about the everyday struggles of a typical South African.

His online name, iHope, was inspired by his middle name and his mission to unite a diverse nation.

Nkambule describes himself as a failed artist turned content creator.

“After school, I wanted to become an artist, a rapper,” he said.

Only now does he realise his first TikTok video was a rip-off rap in Afrikaans, which went viral, reaching 60 000 views.

(According to thetechwire.com, a video must get 300-500 views within half an hour of posting to be considered viral on TikTok).

Since then, Nkambule has posted more than 580 videos.

“The rap was something silly, like ‘jou ma se g, katte klap jou plat’ [your mother’s a*hole, cats slap you flat],” he recalled.

He said when he initially signed up on TikTok it was to boost his music career.

“I am a failed rapper. The content creator was just a side job and now it is the main job, which is weird,” he said. Yet he was adamant he wanted to rap.

Nkambule was born and bred in Pretoria, where he lived with his mother Selena in a Wendy house, while she worked as a live-in domestic.

Nkambule grew up Afrikaans and matriculated in 2017.

“I speak, English, Afrikaans and a little bit of Zulu,” he said. He is grateful for Afrikaans because it has opened a lot of doors for him.

“But I want to go find my roots. I get a lot of hate about that.”

Nkambule has come under fire for his content.

“They say, you think you talk Afrikaans but you will never be white, and black people tell me I must think I’m better than them because I’m Afrikaans and hang out with white people,” he said.

Nkambule said that is what his ideal hope nation is all about. “It’s diverse people united. I don’t feel like I have a place in South Africa, so that’s why I created it,” he said.

Nkambule said he felt a bit cheated because he wasn’t fluent in his culture or language.

“But there are many others like me who feel they don’t fit,” Nkambule said.

He said he gets his fair share of haters. “But because I don’t focus on it, its minimum. I don’t have time to defend myself the whole time,” he said.

Nkambule said his biggest fan is his mother, who was also played the role of father.

“My mother is very proud of me, she always asks me to send her my videos. Sometimes, she asks for data to watch my videos online,” he said.

“My mother did everything in her power to raise me and she did it well.”

Nkambule said the De Clercq’s, the family his mother worked for, were like his Afrikaans fairy godparents and he still visits them. They attend school events together.

Despite his success on the social media platform, Nkambule has been longing for more.

“It is still a work in progress,” he added.

His favourite artist is rapper Eminem. “The fact that he also made it big despite his circumstance.

“He was told he was never going to make it as a rapper because he was white, and people tell me I’m a black person in a white market.”

Nkambule said he was looking forward to releasing an album and wanted to grow a following on YouTube with his music and content.

“I started rapping in 2018 but started writing rhymes at the age of 10 years old,” he said.

Nkambule has written three albums about his mission with iHope nation.

“It speaks about the internal conflict inside. I want to explore my culture and ancestors. It’s like I’m longing to find where I belong,” he said.

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– marizkac@citizen.co.za