For the average person, slipping on your headphones and playing your favourite music is something we almost take for granted. Few people realise the hours of hard work that goes into producing the many genres of music found on your playlist.
Manqoba Zulu’s (21) passion for music has allowed him to see beyond the lyrics and the beat. The aspirant musician said that he has always been in love with music, rapping specifically, which he started in primary school before falling in love with producing music in once I reached my first year of high school.
He said, “I developed a passion producing in Grade 8, I was in love with mixing music and so I wanted to be an audio engineer.”
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Raised in single-parent home in Freedom Park, with his three siblings under strained circumstances, inspired Zulu to establish his own business. The intrepid producer now owns a record label called One Sound Records which was launched on September 15 in Devland Park.
During the process of establishing the record label, he experienced a few hiccups here and there, but that did not deter him from following his dreams. Zulu said his biggest challenge was getting funds to buy equipment and recalled having to wash taxis and dipping into his school fees to buy a microphone.
“I had to wash taxis to buy some of the equipment for the studio and in 2015, I took my school fees money and bought a mic, then I paid the fees the following year,” he said.
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The record label started functioning in 2017 and signed two local artists, F.M.K and G.S.J. As time went on, he added, Zaude_Diety and Joey to the stable. The pair have high praises for Zulu’s production abilities and Sello ‘G.S.J.
“Working with Manqoba has been great and I have learnt a lot from him. I’ve been to many studios and there is no one I can compare to Manqoba” Jele added.
Zinhle ‘Zaude_Deity’ Shipalana, added that she enjoyed working with Zulu and that the attribute she admires most about him was that he challenged them to move out of their comfort zones without imposing his direction on him. Zulu believes that in a few years, One Sound Records will be a very big and successful record label.
“In five years’ time I see One Sound as Kalawa or ambitious entertainment, it will be a haven for musicians,” he said.
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