Shaka’s Head trio motivated by music

The daily challenges facing young people in the townships and rural areas was the inspiration behind a Shaka’s Head music group that recently released a single track called “Black Mansion.”

The Good Music Team, known as the GMT, made up of twin brothers, Phumlani and Sphumelelo Dlamini and close friend Bongani Khoza is making waves in the townships.

“The song encourages young people not to forget where they come from, no matter how successful they might be. The shacks and RDP houses are where we got the lesson of life from our parents and that is where we will get the blessings to get where we want to be in life,” said Phumlani.

They believe that even though you might be staying in an informal settlement, you have got to treat it as your mansion, simply because that is where you are prepared for the future.

“Stay positive and work hard to ensure that your family lives a good life. Giving up will never be the solution. You have got to stand up and face your battle, in the end, you are bound to win,” said Sphumelelo.

The three men were raised by single parents and the Dlamini twins said they once found themselves in the middle of their parents’ fight.

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“We would go to visit our father and our mother would come with the police to fetch us. That was very disturbing for us as children. However, we survived. I must stress that our music played a huge role in grooming us because whenever we need to express our feelings, we do it through music,” said Phumlani.

The three have a small recording studio in a one-room house in Shaka’s Head. The small studio is their escape, where they find peace and enjoy themselves.

“We can literally lock ourselves in for the whole day and compose music. We compose, make the beat and do the vocals. We put our heads together and discuss each other’s ideas and finally come up with a good song. Although we have recorded many songs, we have only released seven single tracks and plan to release more,” said Bongani.

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