Fruitystar is a graduate of the school of hard knocks.
The dancehall and reggae artist, whose real name is Mfanafuthi Nkosi, said years of setbacks and failures have shaped him into the man he is today.
And although the road to success was not a smooth one, he would have it no other way.
Raised in Tembisa, Ekurhuleni, Fruitystar fell in love with the music of Lucky Dube and Shaggy when he was a kid.
While he was still a student at the University of Joburg, he landed a DJing job at the university’s radio station.
For three years he played reggae and dancehall, which was not very popular in Mzansi at the time.
A lack of funding forced FruityStar to drop out of university.
With no money coming his way, he took a break from music and worked in the finance sector.
Although he was not active in the music industry at the time, he still taught himself how to use production software.
His life changed in 2008 when he met fellow dancehall and reggae artist Pepsin.
The two became close friends and started making music together.
After they were rejected by numerous record labels, they started their own company, Maximum Stylez.
They released a single called Satisfy My Soul and worked with Ghanaian artist King Vuvu on a song called Daab.
Fruitystar released a single called Idlozi, featuring AfriSoul.
The song is a combination of Afrobeat and hip hop and has been played on a number of Mzansi’s top radio stations.
He will soon release an album with Pepsin called High Stylez.
He will also host a show called The Main Ingredient on Maximum Stylez’ online radio station.