Waterfall’s multitalented resident Jabulani ‘JBee Forest’ Hlathi entertains others for a living
Hlathi believes that education is crucial for young people since most youths tend to forget the importance of education.
All Jabulani ‘JBee Forest’ Hlathi ever wanted when growing up was to be in the entertainment industry.
Hlathi originally hails from Mpumalanga and currently resides in Waterfall. He has always been inspired by fashion but never had the time to get into the industry due to a busy schedule. Besides hosting a popular karaoke night at Recharge Lounge Midrand, he is an independent recording artist who promotes his music using social media, an actor, emcee and radio presenter, and recently he decided to delve into fashion.
“This [fashion design] was always on my mind but I struggled a lot with coming up with a [brand] name but during the lockdown, I decided to at least try to do something that I love and will get me some income,” said Hlathi.
Eventually, he came up with the brand name The Forest, which is a translation of his surname, Hlathi. “I translated my name to English to attract more people and so they can understand what it means.”
The 35-year-old multi-talented actor has also starred in a movie that tackles gender-based violence, #Wedocare, which currently is playing at the Market Theatre.
“My only desire was to see myself on screen, regardless of whether I ended up being a presenter or an actor.”
He said entertaining through his music, acting, and fashion was no longer just a passion for him but also his bread and butter. Hlathi gained attention from the entertainment industry in 2007 when he worked at Kaya FM as an intern and then moved to Newcastle community radio as the afternoon drive host. Due to his belief that the South African entertainment industry required consistency in producing good content for different trends, he decided to venture into many fields of entertainment outside of his comfort zone.
“In life, there are lots of challenges but if you believe in the skill that you have and use it wisely, then the industry can never swallow you.”
Having studied media studies at the Vaal University of Technology, Hlathi believed that education was crucial for young people since most youth who become famous at an early age tended to forget the importance of education.
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