The show that Skhu will never forget

Bongani Ndlovu, Showbiz Correspondent
SKHULULEKILE Mpofu aka Skhu has said she does not forget the show when she had to come on stage after Roki had been booed.

Skhu and Mbekezeli Mpofu aka PoZee of the Hamba Nobani fame were at a show in Harare in 2005 that was headlined by the masked South African kwaito artiste Mzekezeke.

Together with Lady Thug, they were the only artistes from Bulawayo that had been invited to perform alongside Mzekezeke in Harare.

Roki was at his peak with Chidzoka and many other hits. Skhu remembers that night very well as she reflected on the times she was on stage during her career.

She said she was not confident because she was away from her home city, Bulawayo and performing with well-known artistes from Harare.

“People booed Roki off the stage and I was like gosh, if they are going to boo Roki on stage, what of me or us. They wanted Mzekezeke. And when it was time for us to perform, people welcomed us well on stage, but it was tense as we were nervous.

“I told PoZee that we should perform two songs and leave the stage because what they did to Roki had scared me,” said Skhu.

She said the three decided to perform Hamba Nobani and Chamhembe by Lady Thug and it was the tonic that was needed to get the crowd on their side.

“We decided to do Hamba Lobani and Chamhembe by Lady Thug. We started off with Chamhembe and people started screaming and climbing on the fence (barricade) that was between the stage and the crowd. People were going crazy doing the kongonya dance.

“When we sang Hamba Lobani, PoZee and Lady Thug jumped onto the speakers and started singing and hyping the crowd. People pulled down and ran over the fence that had barricaded them from the stage. We were told to get off the stage immediately,” said Skhu.

Until today, Skhu believes performance wise and from the crowd’s reaction, theirs and Mzekezeke’s were at par.

“One of my dancers when we were pulled off stage, said we had killed it and therefore, wanted to see what Mzekezeke was going to do. I still think that was one of my best shows ever. I think ours and Mzekezeke’s performance were 50/50, judging from the hype and the crowd reaction.”

The mother of one, also said she has fond memories of the day her song, Owami, was played on radio for the first time in 2003.

She said she was at the Vehicle Inspection Department being tested for a class four driver’s licence when she heard the song being played.

“The first time my song was played on radio was on December 3, 2003. I was getting my driver’s licence at the VID offices in Bulawayo and I got a message from PoZee telling me that the song was being played on radio.

“I couldn’t jump or celebrate because of the driving test and the people around me. So, when I got home, I asked if it was true that my song was played on radio and I couldn’t contain my happiness,” said Skhu.

The wait for airplay had been long according to Skhu as this was seven months after the album was recorded in May that year.

“It took me six days to do the album. You can imagine waiting for that long for your song to be played on radio. I was now starting to lose hope, but when I finally heard Owami being played on radio, I screamed my lungs out.

“I was super excited. After that, we performed at the Zimbabwe Music Awards with Iyasa and I couldn’t believe it that I was actually on TV.”

Over the years, with fame, Skhu said she lost friends.

“I lost friends when I started appearing on TV, my songs playing on radio and when I started doing shows. I don’t know how that happened. When you try and reach out to your friends, they’re not there. There was one friend who I eventually asked why she was being distant and she said, ‘You are now a celebrity and we see you on TV, read about you in the newspapers and we’re thinking that you’re now that other person’,” said Skhu.

She said in response she told her that she was actually yearning to be with friends like her.

“Fortunately, we are still friends up to now and with time I made more friends probably because people now understood me.”

Skhu said she initially wanted to pursue her music career in South Africa but all that changed when she met radio personality Witness “The Chuman” Matema.

“Unfortunately or fortunately, I didn’t want to become a musician in Zimbabwe. It was by accident as I met Witness Matema who was the manager of Country Boy Records. At the same time, he was a radio DJ and through his record label, he would play my music and market it,” said Skhu.

She rocked the airwaves and shows between 2003 and 2005 before leaving for Botswana in 2006. The next year, Skhu left the industry.

Since then she has been in and out and the last track titled Mama Wami that she did with rapper Cal_Vin was released last year.