One of Namibia’s leading Kwaito stars, Morocky Mbwaluh, aka The Dogg, has published his autobiography titled,Ther Dogg: Untold Story. As part of the reading culture campaign launched by the New Era Publication Corporation (NEPC) in conjunction with the Minister of Education, Honourable Dawid Namwandi last year, Artlife has been serialising this autobiography each Friday. This is the last instalment.
For the last few years, I have been staying at my aunt’s house. If I had to single out the most patient person I have come across, only one person will fit that description–Aunt Ester Matengu. She is reserved and down to earth. It is unbelievable but true- to this day, I have never seen her angry.
She had a way of telling you to understand your shortcomings without having to upset you. In fact, she never shouts or raises her voice at anyone. Her humbleness touches me deeply, and her respect is never in short supply. She is a role model of what parenting should be. It is fair to summarise her advice and relation to me as motherly. I rate her as highly as Killa-B’s mother, Aunt Aina Kalambi. The love and admiration I have for these two women is unmatched. Aunt Aina is just as caring and loving as Aunt Ester.
I wish them a happy life, and if they were my age, I would invite them to party with me. They are the people I would want to celebrate with.
When I started out in the music industry, I had songs but no album yet while performing around the country. This was until I met Ma Rihana: she paved the way for me by paying for the release of my first album. Despite our difference, I have credited her for helping open up the doors for me. In fact, when you look back, many artists did not release original albums that were professionally assembled and mastered. People were just coming up with recording and copied music onto CDs using their computers to form albums. The standard was quite poor then. Ma Rihana took me to South Africa and made sure my first album was professionally assembled and released. He has left a mark on me as an artist, and that mark has since been impressed on other artists.
When I assess all the managers I have worked with, Jay Malgas is top of the range. He is the most professional of all before him. He knows the entertainment industry more than anyone I have ever worked with. His guidance and business principles are second to none. I have nothing but praise for him. He deserves the best in life. This guy knows his job well and I like his work ethic. To this day, I still visit or call him for advice on musical and personal issues.
When you start out in the music industry, gigs or other performance opportunities are hard to come by because nobody knows you. You have to perform to become a household name. My entrance into the industry was made easier by my cousin, who was an established artist before me. By squeezing me into his performances when he got booked and giving me time to shine on his platform, he basically created me. He introduced me to the best producer in the country, Elvo, who has worked on most of my music. Killa-B did all this for me wholeheartedly.
When you run a music label, you have to understand the dynamics of technicalities, such as production, mastering, etc. After conquering these aspects of the game, you literally become a producer. I learnt these important skills from Elvo. Locally, he is the best at what he does. The skills I mastered from Elvo make me one of the best producers in the country.
Thanks to him, I am able to create my own music and that of the artists under my record label. I still work with him on some projects: my artists also visit his studio from time to time. A lot of people who have worked with him will agree that he has a golden heart- Elvo has never shown anger in my presence. He is very tolerant, and I think this has helped make him the producer and technician he is.
The say that ‘’a leader without followers is just talking a walk”. This concept separates an artist from the ordinary man on the street. Artists do have fans, irrespective of their quantity. You cannot claim to be a music artist if you do not have fans because music is about the people. I am blessed to have them in abundance. Music is for the people, and if one makes music that people can relate to in celebrations, happiness, sadness or whatever reason, you have fans. There are no words I can say, which will give a true reflection of the love and affection I have towards my fans. Perhaps the proper way to thank my fans would be to continue giving them what they like, and that is the best of me. Here are fans that call and constantly write to me in a bid to share in my happiness and sorrows. People call to cry in solidarity with me, and I am lost for words to rightly embrace them. It is my belief that my true fans understand who “The Dogg” really is. This is why they will always support me no matter the situation. I have had my share of bad publicity, some warranted and some not, but my fans have always stood by my side.
When the media and haters portray my name in a negative light, my fans don’t buy the publicity and regard it as a way for people to try to destroy me and everything I have built. The fans keep me going. Sometimes when I am on stage and I see my fans cry, I do not know what goes through their minds. I am not always sure what to say to reach out to them, but I am sure of one thing- that we are communicating with each other in the spirit of “Mshashoism”. This is the spirit through which we can communicate without words and still understand each other.
When you consider the number of awards I received decided by the fans voting, it is clear I have the largest fan base countrywide. For them, I am prepared to pay the highest price. It is fair to say that I started with one fan, that is me, and today I have a lot of fans. This explains the spirit and creation of Mshasho.
Where would I be without the “haters”. I refer to haters as people who have an agenda against me and despise me as a person or musician. There are elements within each society that hate to see others prosper. These are the individuals or groups who do not want me to progress, and it is them that I am thanking on this platform too. Haters manufacture all the bad publicity and make up stories with an aim to tarnish my image, or somehow undermine my being. If anything, their actions help provide me with free publicity. How bad is that, coming from an unexpected source.
These guys run my public campaigns and promotions unknowingly. A clear message is that bad publicity does not hurt me. It does not give me any sleepless nights at all. A few years ago, when I started out, some of the things said about me used to get me worried, but I am glad maturity has taught me how to deal with envious people. Most of the times, haters keep you motivated to work hard because you do not want to quench their thirst, and longing for your downfall. Haters make you work harder, period.
They will keep “swallowing the blade”, though I still love them. My duty and responsibility as a citizen of the Namibian nation urges me to acknowledge the peaceful atmosphere I have been privileged to live in. Our country, unlike many African states, has enjoyed a peaceful political environment that has laid the foundation for trade, enterprises such as Mshasho, investments and economic tranquillity. These are principles needed for any industry to manifest itself, and the music industry is no exception.
I do not take for granted the fruits of our independence, and will use this opportunity to thank all stakeholders who have played a part in making Namibia what it has become today. My country has helped make me who I am, and for that, I am forever indebted to it. The feeling of wanting to protect the wellbeing of this nation, for the benefit of future generations, comes naturally. Given the current political situation, where new political parties are formed every now and then, it is only fair that I congratulate political leaders for exercising a degree of tolerance, that has ensured we do not go into civil war or do anything that will undermine the principles we have built on.
To those leaders involved in corruption and other malicious activities, I regard them as cockroaches and they will “swallow the blade”. These leaders, and they know who they are, do not differ from the haters in the music industry. We should stand together as a nation and fight them. Most people only know The Dogg- they are clueless about Morocky, the person that I am. I have always wanted my fans and others alike to get to know who I really am. It is my belief that this book will help reflect on my life from the humble beginnings in Maheba, Zambia, to where I have found myself this very day. Having said that, I must admit that writing an autobiography was not my idea. The day after the Sanlam/NBC Music Awards in December 2006, I had a show at Zoo Park. A young man approached me with the idea of writing my autobiography. Untold Story reached my ears for the first time. I don’t know how long he had had the idea of putting my life on paper, but he took my number that day and gave me a proposal. Kristian ‘Kaboy’ Hamutenya has done what he said he would do and that is to pen my life for all to read.
I wish him well in all his future endeavours, and if writing is his calling, it is my wish that he becomes successful with worldwide sales of his work. May he see positivity where there is negativity.