By Therese Owen
THEBE says he realised he was a legend when he appeared on Noeleen Maholwana-Sangqu’s show, 3Talk, which is surprising because, well, Noeleen is a bit of a frumpy nerd and Thebe is so far from that.
Having said that, Thebe is the only kwaito artist who still tucks in his shirt when performing. But make no mistake, the man is still a wild child at heart, although 19 years in the industry has tamed him. His latest album, appropriately titled The Legend, has him team up again with his long-time friend and producer, Bruce Dope. The two met in 1990 and have worked together ever since. Thebe tells a story of how he and Bruce, who is also a director of the record label, Kalawa Jazmee, checked in early at the Cape Town airport. They then went to “The Spur to fix the night before. We watched the planes come and go and suddenly realised that the plane we were watching was the plane we were supposed to be on. So we decided to make the most of Cape Town and partied for a few days.”
Yep, wild child indeed.
He shrugs: “I come from an era when it was all about the music and the other stuff never got to us.”
True that. There was hardly a tabloid culture in South Africa all those years back and the naughty deeds of the kwaito boys were never really written about.
Now with the release of his 12th album and nearly two decades in the industry, it is not hard to see why he has always remained uniquely Thebe. There can be only one.
At the Hansa Pilsener concert in Mary Fitzgerald Square, which was dedicated to the legends of our country, Thebe appeared alone on the giant stage in front of 20 000 people. And he rocked it better than most, his tall body doing that familiar Thebe dance. The man and his music are timeless.
On this album, he features HHP, Zonke and iFani who has fast become a favourite with the Kalawa Jazmee stable even though he is not one of theirs.
Listening to the song, I would have given anything to be a fly on the wall at that session, with three crazies in the studio, Bruce, Thebe and iFani.
“I haven’t reached the point where I want to stop releasing albums. I realise I appeal to the young rap market as well as my original audience. I was listening to my previous albums from way back when and realised that my music from 10 years ago is still relevant today. There is Bra Tshepo Tsolo, Bra Hugh and Bra Caiphus. I am not stopping any time soon. Music is music. You can’t decide when to stop.
“When I perform and the DJs play kwaito, the kids lose their minds. With hip hop today, because it was not from this country, it was not ours. But now they are doing this new age kwaito rap with a beat that South Africans understand. It’s now got into the township probably because they have stopped rapping about poppin’ bottles.”
This album gives no indication that Thebe is slowing down. There is a very strong dance element to it as well as some R&B influences.
“Bruce and I tried to introduce a new sound, not that recycled Thebe sound.” Yet another album from the classic Thebe. Life is good. (Source: www.iol.co.za/tonight)