The media industry is infested with big powerhouses that are difficult to be infiltrated by young stars from the dusty streets of Tembisa.
As a result many dreams are shattered, talents are wasted because doors in the mainstream media industry are not easy to open.
Three lads from Tembisa felt it was a waste of time to sit and whine about the status quo in the media industry, so they resolved to start their own media house called Odd Dreamers (OD).
“Odd Dreamers is a movement that focuses on various forms of media in the entertainment industry.
“The movement comprises producers, artists, DJs, photographers and dancers,” said the trio.
They believe Odd Dreamers is going to be a Kasi media house meant for locally skilled professionals to exercise their talents.
Moses “FKA” Mawela is an in-house producer at Odd Dreamers.
He says he started producing in 2012 when he was making house music his main genre.
“I was mainly influenced by local house producers in the first few years of my production career.
“Thereafter I started venturing into hip-hop and I never looked back,” said FKA.
Verbal Dweeb is an artist at OD. He is also based in Tembisa doing rap, poetry, and commercial hip-hop.
Thabo Charles “Verbal dweeb” Kganakgomo is a rap artist, a poet, and he also does commercial hip-hop.
He started rapping in 2014 by taking the art as a hobby until he met FKA Moses in 2015 – that is when he took music seriously.
“I am skilled mostly in multi-syllables, storytelling and comedy rap. Most of my rap skills were influenced by major artists like Eminem, Immortal Technique and other underground rappers.
My versatility around rap and the fact that I am musically inclined helped me to get into shows like One Mic on SABC 1.
I came out in second place because they said my English was too western and then they had to give first place to a vernac rapper,” says Verbal Dweeb.
He says his recent track titled Problem is buzzing locally and is yet to be heard nationwide.
DJ Mohau Mosia is an event manager and also a co-founder of Jump Street Events which hosts an annual event called One Night Stand ( ONS ) on December 31.
“The show has been running for two years now. I also play in events and shows around Tembisa. I am a manager at Shadung Music alongside Sir-Addendorff,” said DJ Mohau.
Since the beginning of this year the three media practitioners have dropped singles like Tired featuring Kay Sleezy and Evo.
Problem performed by Verbal Dweeb and Drunken Master performed by Evo, are all songs produced by FKA Moses.
Chillisi is performed by DJ Mohau but features Kay Sleezy.
They said their recent track Chillisi is trending and has been making waves ever since it dropped on November 20.
Odd Dreamers are working alongside Vikki The Groove and No Limits Entertainment in managing Verbal Dweeb as an artist.
“We are young stars with fresh minds and we are willingly giving our best in everything we do.
“We had a major setback when our studio equipment was stolen in 2016 together with our recorded projects but that didn’t stop us from moving forward because all our work depends on our skills and our work ethic,” they explained.
Their plans for 2018 are to run a fully functional media house, to drop a few projects including a few EPs ( Extended Playlists ) and to follow this up with Verbal Dweeb’s first official Mixtape which is currently a work in progress.
