He is a lover and preacher of love.
His discography is substantial proof of that.
From 2009, he has been pouring his heart out into his songs.
Now, 15 years later, Donald Moatshe is placing candles on his career cake as he celebrates the anniversary with a nationwide tour.
When he was about to clock a decade in the industry, he vowed to pat himself on the shoulder more often for his wins. That year, he hosted three celebratory shows.
For him, this stamped the longevity goal.
The ‘Denial’ hitmaker tells Drum that his eyes are on being a legacy artist.
Almost every month from next Friday, he will have a show in at least one town accompanied by a workshop to educate and uplift upcoming artists in the chosen towns.
It all starts at Propaganda in Pretoria.
“So, there's a reason we are going a little bit bigger than we did for 10 years. It’s obviously more to do with the awareness because there's a lot of other things that are part of this tour this time around. And one of those things is masterclasses, which I will be doing pretty much with every city or town or township I'm going to go to. People who are still dreaming to get into this industry specifically, I want to speak to more art kids, kids who want to get into the art industry, to just kind of give a little bit more guidance, which is something that I've always done throughout my career, but this time around I'm more intentional about.
“I went down with blood, sweat, and tears. The thing is, for me, it's very significant that those words come to my mind because it's, it's really the life I've lived in the past 15 years. I've lived it in real time. It's not a story, it's not a telenovela, it's actually my real life that I've had to deal with,” he describes his 15 years in the industry.”
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Donald admits that it may have not been the easiest journey to walk as a solo singer and songwriter, but he’s had a fair share of its fruits.
“My biggest up has been every opportunity that I've had to have a real connection with people. You know, mostly those times have come. From any time, I was on stage, doing what I do - that's probably the best part about my job; being on stage and performing for people, you know, that's when I feel the most alive, the most powerful, that's when I really feel the purpose of, of why I do what I do.”
The 39-year-old points out to one particular day when he was assured of his purpose in music.
“19 August 2016. That is a very significant date in my life and my career. That's the night I basically brought together 3 500 fans at the carnival city arena for my first Donald one man show, which was called the Red Mic experience.”
He adds that having his family, specifically his mother on that day to witness his success was pay-off of all the challenges and low experiences he has had to go.
“My mother was there. And I remember vividly. During my second song, Denial, and at the end of the song, I had to announce to everyone that as beautiful as this moment was, it was even more amazing because my mom was here to witness. I think that's the one moment that will forever be the highlight. I think anything will ever top that. Even if I do the Madison Square Garden [one day], but that moment will always be because that was the first time, I did something like that.”
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Fortunately, no matter how low he found himself, he has never thought of giving up ever.
“I've never had a time when I felt like I wanted to give up, unfortunately. Nah, nothing has ever pushed me to that point because I think that the moment, I made a decision that I was going to do this for my life, nothing else but I have had moments when I felt like I was definitely being tested and most of those times came from social media.”
For as long as he remembers, he has been a victim of hate and bullying on social media. The award-winning musician also shares that bullying was nothing new to him as he was bullied in primary school as well.
“Like most people (on social media) know very little about me as a human. They just know me as an artist. So they're always nitpicking and trying to find something they can use to say something negative about me. And I went through a sad time. You know, I think vividly if I remember, there was a time when I was probably the most bullied person on social media.
“It was hurtful to deal with that because I'm the most loving person. And that's all I try to share with people when I'm out there. It's just love. And that is actually the message of my life, my career, and the purpose. The reason why I believe I have a gift of music is because I need to continue to preach the word of love, you know. I'm the love pastor, if I should call it like that, and I've always felt like I give a lot of hope to people to not ever give up on love because love is ultimately who we are, you know, and God is love, we are love.”
