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FUN MEETS BEAUTY

20/01/2018 00:56:00 BY PHUMELELE MKHONTA

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Fun and beauty are a concept that is not farfetched from each other as both are embraced, sometimes, by lovers of things and life enthusiasts.

As we dive inside 2018, Gcwala roped in the two worlds together, in the hope to bring the best of both worlds into light.’
Women love slaying and men love deep house music and that is a fact.

In a beautiful morning which shimmered with a serenely blazing sun, we had the opportunity to sip coffee with Solanis Entertainment Manager Mbekezeli ‘DJ Culolam’ Dlamini and Miss Swaziland First Princess Zethu Tiffany Manana.
These two beautiful and bubbly souls shared a lot with us; from the love of fun and music with Mbekezeli, to being a beauty from a tender age with Zethu.

Mbekezeli is a 25-year-old from Zombodze Lomdzala and he is the main reason why Solanis Shisanyama has been given the title ‘Hangout Spot of 2017’; and this is because this venue sees packed weekends every weekend. Not only is Mbekezeli the brains behind Solanis’ entertainment but he is also an IT student at Limkokwing University of Technology.

Zethu on the other hand, is First Princess Miss Swaziland who made headlines in 2016 for being crowned at the age of 17 while she was still a Form 4 pupil at Swazi National High School.
The sassy beauty from Matsapha has quickly matured in the limelight and has grown into a woman.

MBEKEZELI: THE MAN BEHIND SOLANI’S’ GIGS

“I fell in love with the entertainment in 2004 listening to the likes of NAS, DMX and a lot of South African kwaito. In 2008, I fell in love with tribal deep house and Culoe De Song was my favourite DJ and that is where the name ‘Culolam’ comes from, his real name Culolethu. I was a tribal deep house DJ at the time.

I started my DJ-ing career in 2010 playing in family gatherings, and I started getting invites to play in other private parties, weddings and that is when I got more exposed to the public, and I started getting invites to play in local pubs. I got my first International gig in Matola, Mozambique at a festival called Umsebe Festival, that is when I then started getting a lot of bookings locally and in South Africa.

My vision was to see a lot of local acts getting a chance to play at Solanis, since I am also in support of the movement of #loyal_to_local, and also grooming DJs. I feel like I haven’t fully achieved my goal at Solanis but I am half way through, since I have given a chance to a lot of Swazi acts to showcase their talent and I’ve also groomed other DJs the likes of DJ Blossom, Ayacity, Khulu and more. I also wanted to see fun lovers getting quality entertainment and packing Solanis every weekend which we were able to see for the whole of 2017 and we are hoping our patrons will still fill up the place. And we were rewarded by being named the ‘Hangout Spot of the Year’.

In 2015, I was given a chance by Solani’s Manager Lenyora to play there during the day, and he liked my sets. I was then officially made a resident DJ in 2016 and I was playing house music by then, the reason I changed to hip hop and kwaito was because all the resident DJs were playing house music so I wanted to be different.

In October 2016 I got a call from Solani’s Management headed by Mr Khanyile to go to the office to discuss something, when I got there I found the management and they offered me the opportunity to manage the entertainment since the Mega Sound contract was up. I accepted and from then until now, I am the company’s Entertainment Manager. I get a lot of support from all company stakeholders which has made my life here to have less pressure.

The best two shows Annual Solanis Easter Festival; - it was able to bring a lot of tourists to Solanis and Swaziland, which is good for the country’s tourism. It was our first four day event and the All Black All White Gqom vs Hip Hop - what most entertainment places achieve with international acts, Solanis was able to achieve a local line up, packing Solanis to the Rafters with a 98 per cent local line up on a pouring day, most people label it as the best show of 2017. One patron had two tourists from Cameroon taking a video of the thousands that were dancing in the rain saying they had never seen such in their lives. Once again, thank you Swaziland. 2018 will be a very busy year for Solanis Entertainment,

My success has been made possible by the Almighty God, my supportive family, the Solanis management and directors, my mentor Mfanelo Dlamini, former workmate Mbali Gamedze, the Solanis patrons and most importantly HARD WORK.
Thank you to everyone who has supported me in my entertainment journey, its only the beginning.”

THE JOURNEY WITH ZETHU AS MISS SD FIRST PRINCESS

“Growing up I always had a very low self-esteem and it led to me being insecure about how I look and who I was.
When I finally dealt with my insecurities, I realised that there was more to me than I ever thought possible. Joining Miss Swaziland has always been a dream of mine from a tender age.

Joining while still in high school was my way of challenging my peers to not let the status quo stop them from pursuing their dreams.
Joining at 17 years saw me being exposed to lovely young ladies who became my sisters while pursuing a childhood dream of mine.
DSK, my family and friends were fully behind me throughout the whole pageant. The other finalists also helped as they always had my back and treated me as an equal even though I was the youngest. I never thought I had it in me to win a national title.

I was so excited when I heard my name being announced as a runner up. The look in my father’s eyes was priceless, I had made him proud and I will never forget that moment. I was able to go for what I wanted and winning was a bonus. From that moment I knew I was born to stand out.

Since I was in school there was a bit of a change from the other students but I stayed true to myself and never changed which made my high school life a lot easier. I got to make new and influential friends throughout my reign and they have taught me a lot.
I have made new friends and I have been involved in a few projects which sought to change the lives of people. I now have a voice and I am no longer afraid to use it.

I have taken part in a number of motivational talks in the country, in schools and churches. This is still an ongoing project. My church Jesus Calls Worship Centre under Apostle Robert Kasaro has been behind from day one.
The Apostle even gave me some advice on one of my projects. I recently embarked on another project where I’ll donate books to pupils in school. My main aim is to show the knowledge that is hidden in books to my peers.

My greatest pride comes from knowing that I was able to do what most people my age were afraid to do. I am also happy that the crown never changed me if I do say so myself. I’m also happy that I was able to reach out to a few young people and say something that might have helped one or two people.

Be Yourself. Nothing beats being the truest version of yourself. The pageant is not really about external beauty but about ones beauty on the inside, physical beauty is just a bonus. Lastly, believe in yourself, you’re amazing and beautiful, never let anyone tell you otherwise.
Thank you to everyone who supported me and looked up to me, I appreciate and love all of you. A special thanks to Catrien, Baby and Linda for being there for me. I hope my partaking in this pageant has changed somebody’s life. Anyone who wants to donate a novel towards my project or wants me to motivate at an event can follow and contact me on my Facebook page Miss Swaziland First Princess - Zethu Manana.”