Ever since Covid-19 lockdown days, they have been coming for everything in the creative space and daring to be themselves, unapologetically so.
As individuals, they are big personalities and as a trio, an even bigger brand called Birth of Stars.
They are a force to be reckoned with and always advocate for self-awareness and living the truth. Dance challenges and flamboyance are a walk in the park in their world.
Walking into Drum offices, one of them, Kagiso Mogola, commands the respect of a superstar with shades and a tall posture.
Tired as he is, the “influencer by day [and] DJ by night” takes off his shades as he settles in his seat for the interview.
Talking about breaking out into the industry, he says, “It’s been very crazy because it’s something that’s very new and very fresh; something that no one from the group knows. It’s been a crazy rollercoaster, I don’t think we were prepared for the challenges that it comes with, good challenges and also some very bad ones but overall, it’s been very good.”
In their Birth of Stars reality YouTube show which is nearing the end of its first season, the trio take their supporters behind the creative scenes of their social media timelines and into their personal spaces.
They share everything, from their families, closest friends to how their flamboyant outfits are tailor-made and how they also prepare for events they entertain at.
Showcasing this side of their lives came challenges such as homophobia.
“I never really thought that us being creative would also be judged in whatever content or kind of energy that we bring out, so I think that’s been the [most] difficult thing we faced.”
“And also like old[er] people don’t really want to open up the industry and don’t really want to see new faces so I think [some of them] see us as competition. It becomes really tough for them [and] they just close one door and then close another one because they don’t want to share [the space],” he adds.
On Kagiso’s side, coming out, family and school also feature in the show. But what he was clear on from the beginning is that he would not include his love life and his spirituality.
For him, what has come out of putting himself out there are the connections he’s made and the financial benefits of influencing.
It all began with just spending time with Oratile Masedi, who’s also known as Coachella Randy, the late Vinolia Mashego’s son, Kamohelo ‘Kamo WW’ Pule and keeping each other company during the hard lockdown. Next thing they knew, they were on TikTok participating in challenges, going live and entertaining thousands of people from all over the world who had found a home on the social media platform.
With the YouTube show, they wanted to break boundaries and have full ownership of their craft.
“We want to be able to own our thing. We do not want to lose this control that we have because there are certain things that we don’t want to show and there are certain things we want to show, and we don’t want to reach a point where we don’t have a say in anything because we’ve seen how a lot of people have been ripped off in these things,” he tells Drum.
Apart from being a YouTube star, he is also a DJ whose journey is followed on the show from him studying the art of being behind the decks to being a fully-fledged disc jockey.
Taking us back to where his love for DJing comes from, he says, “When I was a kid, I was very active. I was in choir, athletics, almost went international with it.”
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He also took on leadership in his school choir and church worship team because he really enjoyed music.
“I love music and sound, also my brother was a DJ growing up, he used to produce music until he decided to venture into something else. Even my dad and mom were in a choir, so music has always been there [as a consistent feature] at home.”
Growing up, his voice was smoother but as he grew older, it got deeper, and he ended up neglecting his singing and looked in the direction of production.
After attending a month-long workshop with Lebza the Villain and studying at Boston Media house, he has finally gotten the hang of it all and is open to bookings.
With his interest in music production, he confidently tells Drum that he wants to release music bangers.
Bringing out his bubbly personality, he says, “I want to take the Barcadi world to another level and I feel like it’s in me and it’s what I’m working.”
He adds that the genre is gradually growing and as its hype was broken out to the country by the late Barcadi star Vusi MaR5, he plans to continue the legacy. For being raised by the genre in Pretoria, he wants to pay his dues to it.
“For it to reach its peak, I would have contributed a lot and that’s what I’m working on right now. I’m working on Barcadi sounds and a lot of things behind the scenes that have to do with Barcadi.”
Another industry that the trio is making their mark in is club hosting, something that older generations do not fully comprehend.
While many may not consider it a sustainable job and some may see it as an unsafe lifestyle, Kagiso assures that it is a lucrative way of making a living and that they take it seriously.
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Acknowledging that “club scenes will always be club scenes”, he also says, “Not everyone can sit at our table [because] people can be very dangerous and weird. People are making crazy money from hosting and if I am not hosting, I am not coming to the club. If I’m there [and I’m not paid to be there], photographers at that club cannot take pictures of me.”
“[If] Kagiso, Randy and Kamo are hosting, certain songs are going to be played because that is what they should do [to be entertained by us for the night].”
Although it starts as a fun way of having fun at little to no cost like they did at Altitude, as soon as one’s vibe and entertainment is in demand on the social media streets, it turns into a booming business.
It is nowhere the end nor even the beginning for the Feather Awards Personality of the Year award winner as he intends to pursue radio and fashion next.
