He's worked with one of the most popular rap stars in SA, who gave the country hits like Ngudu, Spirit, Ngiyaz’fela Ngawe, and Energy. But even with that kind of success, he still wondered if he was in the right career.
Award-winning producer Makwa Beats may be becoming an established artist now, but he is learning that the road to fame is not always that rosy.
He is a household name and is well respected in the South African hip-hop fraternity. It was also the success of these songs that has given him hope and validated his talent as a producer.
He is paving his new way back to the top. He says as a guy who is behind a lot of banging hit songs, this new journey is refreshing for him. He is not completely starting over but says he is starting from experience and this time around he is going to do what feels right for him.
"My journey on building my record label is quite exasperating. I mean coming from a top record label, I didn't know what else to do except to continue with my dream. With my record label, I knew I had to fight for my spot in the music industry. Yes, I made mistakes, there were times where I didn't listen to advice that I would get, and yes, I took some."
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The popular producer opens up about his battles in the entertainment industry and the struggles he has endured since he has been working on his record label which all his music will be released on going forward.
Speaking to Drum, Makwa Beats, real name Neo Makwa, says life has been very tough for him as an independent producer and at some point, he even thought of quitting music. He says when he left Raplyf Records owned by award-winning rapper Kwesta in 2021, he thought he was going to cruise through the music industry because he was already known.
He says when launched his own label, Mzonkoko Records he realised that this industry isn’t child's play. Makwa Beats from Katlehong, was born in the Free State, and said he was dealing with his personal life problems while trying to make his music career again.
"Steering the whole ship alone was a mess purely because I lacked structure so now, I’m doing things differently, you know, the proper way. I also took a break from trying to help everyone instead of working on building my empire.”
Makwa Beats (32) says starting music afresh and pushing music independently is both “boisterous and wearisome”. He describes it as an emotional roller coaster.
"I've said I wanted to quit a lot of times but I'm still here trying my best to do it. Also, being an all-rounder is a gift and a curse. Knowing how to write, produce, compose, dj, rap, sing, or whatever they call it - the point is being a jack of all trades - also kind of puts me in tricky situations but hey, I'm here. I learned to be strict with my plan, know what I want and go after it.”
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He has been public about being broke, and being robbed by people close to him. He felt like they had used him. Makwa Beats also had a confrontation with the controversial Nota Baloyi about money and says after that he learned to be patient with himself and try to do his best when creating music.
"Leaving RapLyf was predictable because I always knew it'd come to an end, all things do. Besides that, I was going to leave regardless because I'm growing as an individual tt was going to get to a point where Makwa wanted to do things his own way. So, leaving RapLyf was normal but shocking because of how things panned out.”
Now he is focused on getting his bag, will be releasing his third studio album, uMzonkonko, next week. He also has a single called I'm in Too Deep.
“There's a lot in store for Makwa this year. I'm releasing my 3rd studio album titled uMzonkonko next week, and more visuals are coming this time around. I'm also opening an eatery in my kasi. I learned to not only depend on music, and now I am producing scores for movies, adverts, and TV shows.”
