Hip Hop artist with a unique sound, Siphelele ‘Nino039’ Mbhele (23) speaks straight from the heart and tells stories that inspire, educate and entertain through his music.

Nino completed his matric at Merlewood Secondary in 2012,  when he was still living in Gamalakhe.

Now living in Albersville, Nino is trying his best to break into the music industry through marketing his music on social media. He records most of his music in his bedroom and does most ‘rap covers’ with just his cellphone.

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Though the rapper does not get a lot of support from his family, he will not stop making music. However, he is looking for a public relations officer who will help him with marketing and getting his music out to the masses.

Here are a few things about the musician:

When did you find your passion for music, and how did it come about?

I found it at the age of nine. I started listening to a lot of Kwaito music. When I heard 50 cents’ “In da club” song, my love for hip hop started. I then started writing my own music when I was 13 years old. Zola 7 and The Game are the artists that inspired me to start writing my own songs because their music came from a real place, even when I couldn’t understand the words sometimes, I could feel where they coming from.

 What are your goals in your career?

I strive to become one of the most influential artists in Africa and just be influential to the youth and change lives through my verses and success. I want my success to also effect other youngsters and open doors for them to succeed to in whatever they want to achieve.

Besides the music, I just want to be an example to my peers when I am successful that there is more to life than just doing what the society expects from you. I want to be in the history books and be in school textbooks as a case study. Besides music I have an entrepreneurial spirit and I want to be an innovative person in the businesses I get into.

What are some of the challenges you come across as an artist, who is trying to build a recognisable name for themselves?

Getting the music to the masses, getting it on radio, and getting paying gigs. It’s hard to promote the music as I work alone and I do not have money to hire a PR company. That does not stop me though, I am working with what I have and that is the internet.

I will keep posting my content and try to make connections that will open doors for me. Artists are very emotional people and they easily get depressed. This industry is very demanding and tough, so while you trying to get to the top you go through a lot of things and you get frustrated a lot, so not having someone to talk to about your issues and not getting that emotional support is really painful. It is also not good for your mental health.

Are you currently studying towards something? 

I am not studying at the moment but I would love to study computer science as I also have a passion for programming and developing apps. I will be trying to enroll in a course soon. I am just trying to get funds.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

In my spare time, I research other successful people and just learn what I can from them and see what makes them successful and what I need to change in order to become as successful. I am still trying to make a name for myself so I am busy most of the time trying to build my brand, but at times, I also go hang with friends just to clear my mind.

Who is your favourite rapper locally& internationally?

Internationally it is Ryan Leslie, Meek Mill, Drake, Nipsey Hussle and The Game. Locally it’s Cassper, Youngsta CPT, Blaklez , Shane Eagle , Zakwe and myself (laughs).

Who would you like to collaborate with and why?

There are a lot of people I would like to collaborate with but I will mention one person and that is Ruff. He is a producer and a great one, he does not limit himself and I also don’t limiting myself, so I believe if we could be in studio together magic would happen.

What are you currently working on? 

I was planning on releasing an extended play (EP), but I decided to release singles, then release a project later when I have grown my fan base more. I am always recording new music and doing rap covers, people must follow me on my socials and they will see my amazing content.

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