FUNK SOUL BROTHER

MBUSO THABETHE

Mbuso T, as he is known to Channel O viewers, takes a seat at the piano and starts playing an old Stevie Wonder tune. He throws back his head and starts to sway like the famous man himself. "I just called, to say, I love you…" he sings, and then breaks off laughing. "Don’t be too impressed," he says, "that's the only song I know how to play." The piano is in a very upmarket Cigar Bar in Johannesburg, and Mbuso looks right at home among the expensive leather chairs, the crystal glasses and the smell of money. With his trademark "Twist" style haircut and his expensive leather shoes, the presenter of Nasty and Rough-Cuts looks like he could be a suave, international businessman. Then he jumps up and shouts, "I want to tell you something, I can sing, man. I can really sing," and you know that this young man's heart is in showbusiness and nowhere else.

Homeboy

Mbuso is a Jozi boy through and through. He was born in Johannesburg in 1977, into a family of two older sisters and a younger brother. "We are all the best of friends," he says. "When I grew up there was always a lot of love going around. I was like, Mom, stop with the love already. That is what made me into the person I am today. Not everyone is fortunate enough to have the experience of a good, loving family, but I am really glad that I was one of them." Mbuso was also fortunate to be offered the opportunity of a very good education. "When I got older my interest in girls started to kick in and my mother decided that it was time for me to go to boarding school. I was sent to Hilton College in the Natal midlands. It was the best time of my life so far," he says without reservation. "I really learned a lot at Hilton. They were very good at extracting the talents of their pupils, and I gained a lot of confidence there that has helped me in my life since then."

Getting A Go On Channel O

"I really thought I was going to be a lawyer," says Mbuso. "I used to watch LA Law and think, cool, that's what I want to do. I got a scholarship to the University of Cape Town to study law, but before I finished matric I had already realised that I was interested in television." In his final year at school Mbuso was asked to put together a Youth Day program for television. "That was when I fell in love with the camera," he says. "From there I was hooked." But it took some time for Mbuso's dreams to start coming true. "I went to hundreds of auditions before I got anywhere. People were always saying that I was too funky or too hip, and I was like, what do you mean?" Then I heard about the Channel O auditions. I didn’t know what the channel was about, but when I arrived and saw all these crazy, funky people, I was like, Yeah, I am home. This is where I want to be! Fortunately they hired me."

Mbuso is thrilled to be part of what he sees as his new family. "Channel O has become far more than just a music channel to me and to the people out there," he says. "I have been there since the start and I have watched it grow and seen how people have responded to the channel. People have fallen in love with Channel O; they look to us for guidance and company and for a sense of belonging, which gives me such satisfaction. I have grown as an individual because of Channel O."

Making Things Happen

"I have very simple beliefs," says Mbuso. "I believe that for every action there is a equal and opposite reaction, so what you put out will return to you. That means that you should do your best to be positive. Marcus Garvey said, 'If you have no confidence in yourself then you are twice defeated in the race of life.' I believe that."

Mbuso also believes in the power of meditation to clear your mind and help you focus on where you are going. "I meditate every day, he says. "It makes me more self-aware." Meditation is something Mbuso took up after the sad loss of his father in 1993. "My father and I were very close. I had had an easy life up until then, but after his death I had a lot of growing up to do," he says. "I had to learn to be a man and not a boy, and I had to make promises to myself and my family that I would strive to be the very best at everything I do. It was a turning point in my life and it has shaped the person I have become."

Mbuso realises that being a human being means that you will always need to do better and you will always make mistakes. "I know that there are a few things that I really still need to work on," he says. "I am too motivated by success. I hate failure, I can't even say the word, it makes me upset. So when things don’t go entirely my way I tend to beat myself up a bit, I think I have to change that because it causes too much pressure, but if I can keep meditating and be aware of myself, then I can always be a better person."

One Continent Under A Groove

'When I was a kid my family and I used to get together after Sunday lunch and do the dishes and sing. My family has always been musical. My mom and dad met when they were both singing in a choir, so it goes way back. We used to always have these singing sessions, and I have always known that I want to be a musician." In 1996 Mbuso and some friends formed a group called Soul'd Out and recorded an album. "It went pretty well," he says modestly. "We won the FNB SAMA music Award for Best R'n B performance and we were one of the youngest groups to be nominated for the Coral All Africa Music Awards."

One thing that Mbuso feels very passionately about is the fact that African record companies don’t treat their musicians well enough. "Since the launch of Channel O, African musicians are getting far more exposure than they used to and we have fans all over Africa, but the record companies still don't give us enough respect. There is so much talent in Africa, and without the musicians there would be no industry, so I think they have to wise up and start treating us right," he says.

Mbuso's World

"When I get time to chill, and I make time, believe me, I like to go go-cart racing with my friends. It's great fun. I also like to get together with other musicians and make music. For me, that is the most relaxing thing I can do. I think that I am lucky because I have learned to be able to be quiet, to watch other people and to learn from them. That is a valuable lesson." Mbuso is a man with big dreams. He wants to be the most famous singer in Africa, he wants to be a great actor and he wants to go bungee jumping. "I tell everyone that I have already, but I am terrified. But I will do it one day, because you shouldn't be scared of anything in this life. If you have confidence you have won before you have started."