The stage is his happy place.
But so is his hometown.
Born in the Free State, Tokelo Moyakhe, affectionately known as Maglera Doe Boy spent a large portion of his upbringing and adult life in Klerksdorp.
In the streets of Kanana, a township in the North West province, is where Maglera not only got his stage name and fashion sense but also where he found his love in music.
At the advent of his sound in the Hip-Hop industry in 2015, his debut EP title Progression made it to Hype Magazine’s top five underrated Eps and albums in the industry.
By the time he released Never Ride with producer Mashbeatz which went viral on TikTok in 2022, his rise into the game with the big guns was undeniable.
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In the same year, he won the best remix song and best male artist awards at the South African Hip-Hop awards.
The rapper and songwriter also released Makazana which introduced many to his rich story-telling of township stories.
“Sidl'inyama ye ntloko, ghetto niggas ra tshwana (we’re eating sheep’s head, ghetto niggas we’re all the same). Daddy Sotho and Zulu, mama Xhosa and Tswana, I was born near the farms, ke hotse haofi le (I grew up near) QwaQwa. Moved to Kanana, that's where I saw all these robbers,” he says in his lyrics.
He adds that time flies quickly when one is not paying attention to the township and although he loves his township, he swears to never die there.
“My music will always sound like where I’m from. If you listen to it properly, you’ll hear so many elements in not just my slang but the lifestyle of the music, we want the music to sound like Southern Africa and the township is the most Southern African thing we have right now because [that’s where we went when] we were taken out of our villages,” he tells Drum.
The 31-year-old adds that he speaks English to only accommodate the rest of the world but if it were up to him, he’d speak his hood-language.
Like most township kids, he too grew up around gang violence, poverty and broken dreams. Even so, he credits where he comes from for who he’s become.
Speaking to Drum at the NikNaks activation corner at Cottonfest, he says that’s why he still keeps the same friends.
“I’m a product of the township, these are my best friends from the township (he points out to about five guys surrounding him). We grew up together. The township gave me something to speak about. If I was from the suburbs, the township wouldn’t have representation right now like me, with the same intention and the same integrity for black people.”
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Following a recent video of him sitting around his friends in the township as they had their knives out, some people raised concerns about his association with potential violent people.
To him, being a rising star and not leaving people you grew up with behind is a value he’s not willing to compromise on.
“It’s my design, it’ll never change.”
“I want people to know that they can leave the hood just like I did and sometimes I do with my friends to show that it’s very possible."
Given the Motswako feel to his songs he has worked with the likes of Khuli Chana, Cassper Nyovest, 25k, Priddy Ugly and Dee Koala.
The speed of his rise is not slowing down as he plans to drop a project called Maglera tapes which will have more storytelling and top features.
