Redefining the future. © BIG BANG MAG 2020 Still we Rise AUGUST 2020 NEW ERA FOR THE YOUTH Rey Oceans 01 B orn and raised in Newcastle by an African black queen whose biggest strength is her disability and her greatest achievement was never letting the streets raise her son but her single handily, as the matriarch Oceans has been passionate about music from an early age, in 2016, he decided to give himself the name Rey Oceans. Rey meaning king , a leader , problem solver , and a lover and Oceans as we all know resembles many things but to him what stood out was the magnitude the word ocean conveys and as peaceful as it may seem it can also be dangerous. “ Nothing is as dangerous as the ocean so I feel like the word oceans describes my personality because as peaceful as I am I can get a little dangerous and the rest of y’all are going to have to listen to my interviews to keep understanding the name more ”. Nkosenhle Dube 02 When it came to Imitation, he didn't have much to say about it but he is heavy on being himself through out his journey. “One thing I know is staying true to yourself always inspires the next generation to know that they can be themselves and make it”. The experience in this industry is crazy, he shared his contact details for his day one fans to interact with him and to also share ideas, A lot of people thought he did it for marketing purposes or popularity but it was for his heart to be at peace when it came to the creativity process and also wanting to know individuals in his hometown because his Facebook friends are mostly from Newcastle so it was a way for him to know them personally and being able to find what the real problem is that stops everyone from living their dreams and also to be free, he got all the answers he needed now he is cooking up a storm in the Oceans to help a few host events where they can also participate not just as attendees but headliners Oceans was blessed big time when Rowlene who is signed to Tall Racks Records which is led by the coolest kid in Africa Nasty C, he states that it was crazy too, it made him happy for some time, if he was to rate his excitement level, he would give it a solid 9.5 +5 % especially when she watched his Instagram live. “Hip - hop is a clearly defined culture but I am making it work for me. I set my own rules to follow, whatever they say about hip - hop its their definition, not mine .” More is definitely coming from Oceans,” things are easy when we are working together emphasis on the word “together ”. King Tune 03 The motivation behind God Given EP which features (Rey Oceans) was to let people hear and understand who they are musically, they are not just rappers but Musicians their music is diverse there is (3) different genres in their project. With this project they wanted everybody to find, be comfortable, love and embrace who they are and shine in their own lane. There is a lot more work coming from the both artists as TuneOceans “What makes it hard is I found Hip Hop before I had hair but I loved hair before I found hip hop Sure I could live without hair but i don't think I can live without hip hop”. Mfundo Mbhele New castle artist Tune chose the music path so that he could express himself. He found the “King” in music, he has always killed cyphers and rap battles so he always knew that he a was King in his Tunes. To him hip - hop means express yourself however you want to with no boundaries. Music has always been his go - to fun activity including fashion also dancing. To him the entertainment industry is a platform to change people's paradigm, “hip hop is my confidence”. Chantel 04 Chantel is a 25 year old lady who is a daughter amongst two brothers and still grateful to have both parents in her life. She resides in the capital city of the North West in Mahikeng . She completed her higher education at Mahikeng High School in 2013 , she later then followed her dream and passion for cooking in becoming a qualified Professional Chef at the culinary school of Mahikeng ( Mahikeng Hotel School). She is also a Runway/Catalogue model, she is freelancing when it comes to her modelling career. Her hardworking spirit landed her a position of being a brand ambassador for Rusternburg Fashion week and also the face of DATZMCKAY designs, she often works with Miss Teen and Miss Pretoria West in a Non - profit organization that's into charity work which is currently sponsored by ElizAlfre Dikatso Segalwe 05 Her biggest achievement she got to achieve in her life was never materialistic at any point, it was never about getting the next job or anything, there are so many ways in which people define success/achievements for themselves but hers was simply to be able to impact other people's lives through charity work, changing people's lives and being there for the needy. “it touches my heart and soul in the deepest way imaginable ”. Greater things never come from comfort zones. Chantel’s mother has a huge impact in her life, she is her pillar of strength, she motivates her to always do better and she is always there every step of the way . “She is the need to achieve and empower myself has always been my number one priority” “If I were to describe how my journey of being a model and a chef, I would gladly smile and say it's a very exciting route to take but only needs a person with a thick skin, because being a model in this industry can either break you or build you, so a person just needs to be confident enough and be able to withstand rejection. I would also like to highlight the fact that models should do their research before signing into agency contracts and be manipulated ”. being a chef is very exciting and soothing because the kitchen helps her refocus and penetrate deep into her thoughts, it gives her the pleasure to explore more, travel more and it also broadens her horizon. She has grown to be a very humble, modest and down to earth soul, who strives to always help people. She was raised in a Christian principled family. Growing up was very sporty and fun for her, she has always loved netball and athletics and eventually became captain back in high school. What got her to realize her passion for cooking was her curiosity in the kitchen when she was still in high school, “I would always be keen to try new things and challenge myself in either baking or cooking” , she found herself at peace in the kitchen, the kitchen is her happy place. In terms of modelling she has always loved it from a distance because she was a bit shy and introverted growing up, but people would just approach her and say she looks like a model (which she does) and that gave her the confidence to try it out. So in a nutshell she knew that she wanted to be both a Model and a Professional Chef, she just had to make it happen Keahrra 06 Keahrra Howard Born in August 19,1999 in a small town called Moultrie, Georgia (USA). She started singing and writing songs at a very young age. “I remember always walking around the house humming to myself and always asking family members and friends could I sing for them”. The very first time she ever sang for an audience was at the age of eight at a church event she attended called "Mother Easter." That is ironic because it was actually on Easter Day that she had to perform. All the other kids that attended at her church wanted to say speeches, but she was the only one who wanted to sing. “I remember at the end of my performance watching everyone stand in ovation. At that moment she knew exactly what she wanted to be. At the end of the ceremony that day she told her mother that she wanted to become a singer. Ever since then her mother would take her to auditions. “I would audition for acting and modelling schools. It's crazy because I would exceed every audition, but not have the money or funds to attend these particular schools”. As everyone else in life she has endured Life struggles honestly they pushed her to achieve her dreams . Watching her mother struggle as a single parent it turned her into a ambitious young lady. There were times where they struggled to buy groceries, keep the lights and water on, or even have a decent amount of clothes to wear. Her mother sacrificed a lot and went to college to become a nurse so that she could pave the way for a better life for keahrra and her little sister Even though those times are now far gone, she still pushes to the limit so that she never has to worry about them suffering again. 07 “I have faced many struggles when it comes to me chasing my dreams. Being an Artist is a lot more than just writing a song or recording on a daily. There is a lot of hard work and dedication involved. There are many mistakes made, heartbreaks from the numbers and there are many people who will try to sell you dreams. Being an Artist you really have to be focused. You have to know what you want, and be on your Ps and Qs at all times”. She would like to change the sound in the music industry. She feel as if a lot of artists rap and sing about the same things. There's no originality in the game anymore, especially when it comes to lyrics. There are a few artists who have a different vibe and they are succeeding in their own lane. For example: Sheensea , Jada Kingdom, Stalk Ashley, Jesse Reyez , Mulatto, Rubi Rose and many more. Those are new female artists that she currently listen to and they each have something different about them. “I want to be that Artist that comes off with a different vibe, different sound, and a different style of writing so that when people hear my music they know that I wrote the song just as well as I sing it”. She feels as if her voice and style of writing is already unique and it will take her very far. NiceDeRapper 08 NiceDeRapper Age (23) born and bred in a small town in Mpumalanga called Leandra in Gets Sebande region, She started rapping at (13) back then she used to roll with the name “Barbie” she was also part of a crew called YSE which was one of the most famous rap crew in her hood “I've always loved being on the stage whether it be acting, poetry or rapping just being in front of people gave me such joy”. Not being the most popular kid in school gave her a chance to work on her art and it also gave her a chance to work on figuring out who she really is as an artist. A fter tertiary she really didn't see herself doing anything else but music and that's when she started taking her art seriously In 2017 she opened a show for Zakwe and Tsotsi by nature in Witbank, which was a great experience. Later on that year she entered a rap competition that Old mutual had hosted called OMGWAP17. which she had battle against Mcee’s in all the Universities in the country. She was the only female MCee in the top (10), top (5) and top (3), for the finals she flew to University of Cape Town where she shared a stage with the likes of Kwesta , Amanda Black, Pro verb, K.O and many more. Palesa Ditshego 09 She came second and it was the biggest achievement of her career. The next day she was invited to her first national radio interview at Ukhozi FM which was a blast, fast forward 2018 she was featured in a Gqom song called Myeke which was aired on MTVBase , Channel O and on most radio stations, that alone gave her an idea on starting her own movement. In 2019 she worked on a promotional summer song for SABC1 which started broadcasting December 2019 till February 2020. Throughout her journey her inspiration came from the passing of her father which occurred when she was still at a tender age, she would write poems about him till the day she heard a song that was made by rappers in her hood did it really touched her, she then decided to up her poetry a bit and that's how she started rapping, the word play and how they conveyed stories blew her mind away, the hooks were so catchy and the message was too deep she couldn't ignore the desire to do exactly what they were doing or even do better Her biggest supporters are her family members they takes videos whenever they see her on Television and they are very proud of her success which also makes her very proud of all that she does. 10 She has been to YoTV and she states that she was nervous but sure that she would do just fine. Her first time she was called for Furry land and she had to read a kiddies book, which was fun. Then the second time she was a guest presenter at YOTV Live, she was a natural and she hardly made mistakes. R ight there she knew that she was made for the entertainment industry, “I will never forget the experience and how supportive everyone was. When I got to the YOTV studio I literally almost ran away because it kicked in that I was going live, no rehearsal no time to learn the script nothing but on the other side I was positive and I knew I can do it and I did”. She has had her fair share of c razy DM’s one guy sent her a text on Facebook and he was basically confessing his undying love for her and her art that was cute the freaky part was she kept on seeing his face in every event she went to, but yeah she thinks he was the craziest and realest She also had a secret admirer who kept on calling to check on her progress and he would send through people's numbers who work in her industry for studio time, till today she still doesn't know who he is. Nice just started a movement called Mpumalanga Musical Movement, with a couple of her associates, Mr White, Plug 808, Smusik , Kay Black, WendiTheMc , Lindo , Kayise Media they have partnered with S.K and his media house who handle their visuals Their vision is to put Mpumalanga on the map, they are working on pushing local artists and also empower them and focus on independency. They launched a foundation called " Ubumbo " where we will be giving essentials to charity homes in Gerd Sibande Nice has been nominated for best up coming artist at the GAMA Awards, to vote for her you have to SMS GAMA315 to 47439 it's only R3. Winning this would mean the world to her, It would be her first award as an independent artist and definitely a pat on the back for all the hard work she has put in. “If I win I know I'll motivate a lot of people so that for me is success”. SleezyVanLeader 11 Kgaogelo Makgaila S leezyVanLeader started to listen to house music at an early age when his brother (Gideon ) won 2 compact discs of house music from a Yfm competition at the age the of 12, at the age of 13 his childhood friend gave him a cassette as a birthday as a present (channel 0 mixed by dj christos ). “I still remember back in secondary schoo l my friend ( DJ six toes) bought a sound system, we used practice each and every day until bookings started to come through”. They used to work on making sure that they deliver the best sounds all the times so that the bookings can keep on coming. “I remember my first gig at Pikies joint it was scary and nerve wrecking but because of the love i pushed to destroy my fear it was awesome. The likes of Dj fresh, Black coffee, Da capo, H ayena , D j Rocco, Julian jabre , Raw artistic and others play a huge part in sleezy’s inspirational list, his skills are similar but authentic and he moves the crowd with the healthy sounds that he mixes at events. The passion and love for his craft is what keeps him going, the way he fell in love with house music is the reason why he dishes out amazing mixes, his supporters believed in him since day one till today. Sleezy’s parents never loved the fact that he wanted to be a dj till the day he had to play a set at a friends party, his cousin ( Thabiso ) called them to come witness their son doing what he loves, his mom was in tears and she was so surprised and amazed. 12 Sleezy states that many Dj’s start their journey and focus on requesting hefty booking fees rather than building their names in the industry, that in his own words is what ends up killing most upcoming dj's talents to the point that they end up quitting before their talent is heard and the other point he raised was based around the fact that most upcoming Dj’s don’t want to work towards taking chances. He states that before jumping into anything draw up a plan and do your research before labelling yourself as a Dj , “patience is key, push your passion money will follow you, believe in yourself first also try to spend time with people who believe in your craft. Never give up easily, make them believe in you believe in you all the time, stick with people who believe in you all the time