Boithabelo Ndlovu, born on 18 May 2003 at Nkulumane clinic is a young man who ventured into the arts and entertainment industry in 2019 soon after completing his Ordinary level of education. He is popularly known as Basotho in the arts circles where he is a shinning Afro fusion musician, actor, presenter and an aspiring filmmaker. He has always wanted to be a soccer player and never dreamt about being an artist until what he describes as a calling led him to the arts industry where so far he has demonstrated incredible talent and a high level of passion and excellence in what he does. “l always wanted to play soccer but l guess the calling came to the surface”, says Basotho who indicates that by then he was very much passionate and largely involved in football than anything else.
Basotho did his primary and part of secondary level of education in South Africa, at Basa Tutorial Institute and at New Model private college before moving to Zimbabwe for his form 3 at Cyrene Boys High school where he completed his ordinary level of education. While in South Africa Basotho was one of the members of a group called 6 Men Khathaza, a group of dancers.
He reveals that his role model is “Imboni Uzwi lezwe “, founder of the Revelation Spiritual Home and Trillion Cart Investments. He also mentions his parents as playing a huge role in his success as a creative and is grateful to be surrounded by so much love that always uplift and encourage him to continue perfecting his works. He is thankful for the support he gets from his parents as they also believe that this is his calling, and the best they can do is to be there for him to ensure that his dreams surely come to fruition.
As a story teller, who expresses this technique through music, Basotho has released two video tracks, Impumelelo and Wangala. He describes Impumelelo song as a cry, a song of prayer where he is asking God for mercy, as black people often get things after a long struggle, very hard, he says that good things do not come to black people in a silver platter as compared to other races, such as white people. He gives an example on how in other races such as Indians where to them when a child weds, this is considered normal unlike among black people where it is considered highly as a blessing and a big achievement.
To further explain Impumelelo, which he describes as a very spiritual song, Basotho says that there are things that are supposed to come to them as black people, normally and naturally but they are not, partly because they know that when one weds or buys a house this is regarded as an achievement yet in other races these are some of the things that are considered normal. “In a white man’s world, you have to get a car, have a house, wed, while in our world we struggle to get these”. He also gives an example of how as black artists their songs are heavily loaded with a cry for help from God where some of them are orphans, suffering and they wish for good things in life.
His Wangala track is a day-to-day story that talks about how as men they get rejected by women because they are broke, this is a track that he started working on in 2021 during the period he refers to as having a lot of polo vehicles on the roads and ladies would get attracted and be in relationships with polo drivers, he released it in 2024.
Basotho describes how his works in the arts industry are as a result of a calling from God, ‘I am a spiritually rooted person who strongly believes that the gift that I have was passed down to me by those that came before me and here I am referring to my ancestors, I am doing what I love and I enjoy reaching out and touching people’s souls through my music that conveys purposive messages to an actively involved audience”. He defines his music as unique, one that stands out as extraordinary, “I don’t copy or get inspiration from other musicians l do what comes to me at that particular time, of course being led by the spirit”, says Basotho when asked about which musician inspires his works and how unique his style is.
Currently his music targets young people like him and he looks forward to expand his fanbase to also cater for all age groups. He is thankful for the support he receives from his followers who always give him more energy and wisdom to continue producing hits. “I get awesome responses from my fans, they love what I do, so far so good, I am happy, l can’t complain as all is going on well and I am growing day by day”.
Basotho has performed in several places that include Filabusi where he had the priviledge to do so together with Big Nuz, a South African Kwaito group from Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, founded in 2002. He has also executed his skill at the Pheonix Shisanyama in Gwanda alongside Master Kg, a South African musician and producer. He has also amazed fans at the Gold Reef bar in Mawabeni among other places.
Basotho has collaborated with Madlela Skhobokhobo, his father who is a Bulawayo based director, writer, producer, musician, actor and a Disc Jockey, spinning the decks at Skyz Metro FM radio station. Together they have released 3 tracks, Ama International, Umona and Hamba.
As an upcoming actor and presenter, Basotho together with his friend Qhawe Phiri are working on a creative industry hub that consists of marketing and production departments, they refer to their brand as Catalyst Studios. They have already created “10 Minutes of Fame”, readily available on YouTube, “Ladies and gentlemen, we are pleased to present “10 Minutes of Fame,” a new show dedicated to showcasing the diverse talents within our community. From musicians and content creators to entrepreneurs, actors, and radio presenters, we offer a platform for individuals to share their stories and expertise. Tune in and enjoy https://youtu.be/QZ0_hCeVc”. They have several short stories that they are working on and Basotho assures the public that these will be available online soon.
Basotho deeply explains that one of the main challenges that he faces in the arts industry is that of being labelled as a priviledged young man because his father is also in the industry and it is difficult for people to relate to him without his father in the picture. “The biggest problem that I face is that of being put under the notion that you are Madlela’s son, it’s hard for people to listen to me as a creative, as an individual, without involving my father, I tend to be viewed as someone with privileges because my father is well established in the industry. I wish that people listen to me, without mentioning or referring to my father, I want them to listen to my sound, get my angle of creativity, relate to it and totally divorce it from the works of my father and his influence, by attaching my works to those for Madlela people are killing my craft because I want people to hear me for who I am not in relation to my father”.
Basotho says that challenges will always be there and they must be overcome otherwise he will not be able to continue with his passion. “We cannot say that just because there are challenges in life we must stop, no, we just need to persevere, there is no need to stop pursuing what we love, we must keep pushing”. “I do not allow challenges to negatively affect my work because if I do so, nothing will work out for good for me, I must continue releasing music, if they have not yet heard me, I am hopeful that one day they will”.
Basotho intends to pursue studies in film and television production as he states that he needs to be a fully qualified creative in the area. He also looks forward to working with Saintfloew, a Harare based Hip hop music star whom he describes as a “Chibaba” as he says he likes his vibe, he also mentions Tammy Moyo, a Zimbabwean singer, songwriter and guitarist, as another musician he wishes to collaborate with among others.
Some of his future plans involve breaking the cycle, getting more recognition not only locally but internationally, he looks forward to marketing and promoting his music and take it to a higher level from where the legendary musicians (he mentions Lovemore Majaivana) left. “I need to accomplish what Lovemore Majaivana and Calvin couldn’t do, they were fighting but they couldn’t accomplish it, this is the struggle I am involved in, that of breaking the cycle”, concludes Basotho.
SHINE BRIGHT BASOTHO