POLOKWANE – The 22-year-old hails from Ga-Matlala and he continuously wows people with his vocal abilities and his guitar playing skills. He has been actively singing since 2013 and has no interest in stopping, even as he pursues a degree in teaching through Unisa.
“I was taught how to play the guitar by a guy from Chicago, America in 2013 and I fell in love with the instrument. He wasn’t in South Africa for too long so I was taught the basics and I had to take over from where he left off to develop my abilities,” he explained.
Matlala competed in the 2014 Star Search talent show at Meropa Casino and even though he managed to make an impact, people find it difficult to adjust to his sound as his singing has a country influence.
“I love to sing love songs but I am not ready to write my own music yet. For now I sing cover versions of songs, giving them my own twist,” he added. He currently performs at weddings, parties and matric dances but added his dream is to attend music school to hone his talent.
In pursuit of his dreams, he has had to face and overcome several challenges along the way. Finances, he explained, are never easy to maneuver around and it has limited the number of gigs he can take because of the cost that comes with it. The limitations he faces have become his motivation because he plans to give back to the community once he realises his own dreams. “I would like to give back to my community by teaching music to the talented children in my village. There is lots of talent, the opportunities for them to develop it are just limited.”
