Bruce Ndlovu, Sunday Life Reporter
BACK in the day, growing up in the dusty streets of Entumbane, Mzoe7 and his older brother believed one day, either one or both of them would grace the small screen.
In those days, growing up in a place where, for a lot of families, survival day by day was the chief goal, Mzoe and his brother did not know how exactly they would scale the ladder and find themselves in front of the cameras and flashing lights.
Fast forward a couple of decades later, Mzoe is now living the dream conjured up by the two fame-hungry brothers in the dust of one of Bulawayo’s oldest suburbs.
After earning a name for himself in the music industries, Mzoe has spread his wings, snagging a role as a presenter on Zimpapers Television Network (ZTN Prime), where he is set to present Days at Ekasi, a lifestyle show that “explores Zimbabwe’s townships, unearthing rare street lingo, dress codes and tastes that set each ‘ghetto’ apart.”
In an interview with Sunday Life, Mzoe said that when the show premièred on Friday at 7:30 PM, it brought to life a dream that he had always wanted to see come true.
“This is something that I have always wanted to do.
Myself and my brother grew up idolising the Wayans Brothers and we always wanted to become like them.
We always told ourselves that we are made for TV, so this is something that we always knew would come along,” he said.
Mzoe said from its conception, the show was meant to show the ordinary yet fascinating lives of people in Zimbabwe’s townships.
While he, a young ghetto boy who had always dreamed of big-time success, has always been conscious of this lifestyle, the rest of the world had not.
“It wasn’t hard to come up with an idea about an ideal that we live each and every day of our lives. It’s about everyday life ekasi.
We have watched series from all around the world but we haven’t been able to tell our own African stories in our own way, the way we live and the way we understand.
This was a wake-up call to say let’s make something from Africa to the world.
A lot of people did help out, making this a dream come true.
“We appreciate the communities and they’re the people that helped us the most.
At the end of the day, we are still going to go back to those communities.
Some of my fellow musicians also chirped and we also got a lot of help from random people that I consulted while I was doing my research while ZTN also helped in a major way to make the situation smooth,” he said.
Despite leading colourful lives, Mzoe said some people had been camera shy, something that proved to be a small inconvenience as they shot episodes for the show.
“Some of the challenges that we faced during filming is that some people are afraid of the camera while others are not.
It wasn’t that great of a challenge because people being camera shy is part and parcel of the job and people still give us good feedback when we tell them we want to visit their neighbourhood.”
Mzoe, who draws inspiration from South African television guru, Siyabonga “Scoop Makhathini” Ngwekazi, said that viewers should prepare to see a lot more of him on TV, as he felt at home on the small screen.
“As a TV presenter, Scoop Makhathini inspires me because he makes it look easy.
He makes it look like he owns whatever TV show you put him on.
I think from all the presenters I look up to Scoop Makhathini, from his swag to his charisma and presentation.
Scoop Makhathini
People are going to see more of Mzoe on TV because Mzoe is not just a musician but he is also a content producer.
I do a lot of directing, even my own videos I co-direct with Ras Quisity to make sure that I really get what I want.
“In addition to TV, this year we are also making a movie alongside Ras Quisity and Ghetto Films.
For me, there isn’t much of a difference between TV and the stage.
Maybe the main difference is that when you’re on TV you have to imagine that there are people watching you and act like you don’t know they are watching you.
You appreciate their presence even while they are not there while with the stage, the people are there interacting with you live.
At the end of the day, it boils down to the fact that it is still all communication,” he said.