Two friends are helping artists from the West Rand to get noticed and show off their talents through a podcast.
Ronewa Dongola and Jennifer Khoza, both aged 20, started a podcast called Westend Talk Show a few months into the pandemic. The show is about promoting local, hardworking artists and growing the first music community on the West Rand.
According to Ronewa, “We decided to create this platform because as artists we never had one that promoted local artists and elevated them,” he said.
They want to create awareness about the talent among community members by supporting and inspiring one another, and be exposed to the right audiences.
He explained that many artists wish to make their communities a better place through the work they do.
“We want to provide inspiration, motivation and information to people so they can feel empowered to do the things they are truly capable of without any limitations. We believe that people who are motivated and inspired can become unstoppable, which is what Westend is about – people empowering people to become unstoppable.”
Through the podcast they cover a wide range of topics ranging from self-love, investments, strategies on becoming an influencer, to the more serious such as domestic violence.
“We would like to achieve what has never been done before – to create an artistic community in the West Rand that will go worldwide.”
He explained that the music community will consist of musicians, influencers, writers, actors, performers, poets, dancers, singers, photographers, presenters, youtubers, vloggers, bloggers, fashionistas, models, painters, videographers and directors.
“When all is said and done, we would like to give back to people in need, like the homeless on the West Rand, and support orphanages like the one at eThembeni in Johannesburg.”
According to Ronewa, there is a lot of talent on the West Rand. Especially due to the high unemployment rate many people are forced to rely on their capabilities to make a living, and it has become a matter of life and death that these artists’ talents are recognised.
“You can tell that the talent is more than a hobby by how highly motivated artists are. It’s just a matter of time before the truly grinding artists are recognised for their talents, and Westend can be seen as a catalyst in this equation.”
Ronewa, Jennifer and their newest presenter, Khartel Gustavo stream on Sundays at 5pm on YouTube under Westend production and on Instagram under Wes.tend.
In their latest episode they had Yaizo92 as their guest, and they look forward to having more guests on like Teddy flows, DopeFiend, PJ productions and many more.