Ras Themba The Melaninman was born Themba Maringa in Giyani, Limpopo Province. He is a husband and a father of 3. A revolutionary Dub Poet who delivers his message mainly in his mother tongue, Xitsonga. He is fearless and consistent in his delivery as demonstrated with his previous repertoire. He recently released his fourth album Ndzilo wa Mavivi and is currently lobbying for nomination for a SATMA in the Best Reggae and Best Poet category. Ras Themba The Melanin man is now ready to unleash his fire to the nation.
MzansiReggae caught up with him for what was to be a quick chat, but turned out to be an informative and engaging convo.
Why the name The MelaninMan?
The name Melaninman came from my love of the song Melanin Man from the album of the same name by Mutabaruka who is my mentor and icon. I chose the name because of its meaning (The brown pigment) since my skin is brown like the Afrikan soil. It is my way of refusing to be called Black by the western world which is associated with evil and darkness as per the definition of black in any English dictionary.
How did your journey as a musician begin? What was the turning point in your career?
We started as Jamaican Roots Boys back in 1995 with my friends, Jefferey ‘Mad Cap’ Rikhotso, Amukelani ‘Ras-Amu’ Mashimbye, Eric ‘Shubby’ Maluleke and Kanelani ‘Kani B’ Nkuna who have since left the group. We used to imitate reggae
artist like Shaggy and Yellowman as well as RAP artist like Tupac and Notorious BIG. We used to sing in events like wedding and birthday parties in our village to make ends meet. We always had a dream to release an album but when that didn’t materialize the group died but the dream remained in all of us.
Listening to reggae gave us hope and strength to fight for our rights. We chose reggae for its art of fighting against the system which we felt, and still feel that it is the reason we have poverty today. It is a known fact that before 1652 Africans knew not of single parenting because every mother had a husband. There were no street kids or unemployment because every household had land and livestock. So we felt it is our duty to inform people and reggae is the only platform that allows us that.
The turning point came in 2003 when I met with Mutabaruka whom I idealized since my early days in Rastafari and we shared a stage. We still did not have funds but my friend and cousin, Rivalani Mkansi and my elder brother Dr MG Maringa offered to fund the project after they witnessed my performance alongside Muta in Mafikeng. We then regrouped with Jefferey, Eric and Amukelani under a new name ‘Ras-Themba and The Afrikan Ruhts and started rehearsing.
In early 2004 we approached Pat Khalanga who is a DJ at Munghana Lo’nene FM to source out a proper studio for us since many of the local studios could not give us what we wanted. Khalanga took us to Sharks studios where we recorded our first
album Jah is Love. We enjoyed a lot of support at home then from people who felt that we represent their status and they were afraid to talk. The fact that we were the first people to sing Reggae in Xitsonga helped us gain popularity at home. That motivated us to never stop speaking on behalf of the oppressed in a democratic country like ours that is why until today we are still burning fire against the unjust system.
Tell us about your new album/project. Which artists/producers are you working with?
This is our fourth project. It is titled Ndzilo Wa Mavivi. Of the 13 tracks in the album only 4 are in English and the Rest is in Xitsonga. We continue like in the first 3 albums to challenge politics and corruption. We also used Mr Brown Riddim in a song titled ‘All about love’ through which we fight against xenophobia and tribalism.
We made a remix of the song ‘Madadada’ from our previous album Nuttin But Da Trut, in which we highlight issues of unemployment, nepotism and poor service delivery. The album was recorded in 4 different studios, G-Boy Records and Beats in Giyani, Maste P Studios in Mafikeng, Moss Studios in Giyani and Rwess Louis Studio in Mafikeng. The producers involved are Scotch Mashakeni, Mbulelo ‘G-Boy’ Shibani, Ramorwesi ‘Rwess’ Ntamu and Ras Poverty Olebogeng.
I worked with a lot of people hence I always say ‘we’ in my responses. I worked with The Afrian Ruhts who since have been joined by Sandile ‘Buwazi’ Rikhotso and Cynthia ‘Cee Vee’ Maringa, in songs like “Leswo Saseka’ and ‘Crying Nation’. I again worked with Mokgomotsi ‘Gomza’ Molaolwa, a Mafikeng Reggae artist alongside Juda Manton who hails from Garankuwa in the track ‘Never Run Away’. In the song ‘Ka tika Joni’ I introduce my 10 year old son Ras-Themba Jr who I can attest, he did good for a beginner at his age. We also introduce the new sister TK in the song ‘Ndzi nge swi koti’
Are you planning to shoot a video for a single from your latest album?
Yes we are working on the video for the song ‘Ka tika Joni’ (Life is tough in Jozi) since it is one of the most famous song alongside Madadada. We chose Ka tika Joni due to its funny way of mocking the government of continuing the apartheid practice of breaking families by separating the father from his wife and children in the name of work; I am also a victim of that so we speak from experience. The video will be produced by G-Boy and Scotch Mashakeni.
How has the general response to your previous work been? What have you learnt from that experience?
The responses vary depending on how people feel about our approach to music and the issues we treat. However we have come to a conclusion that whoever does not relate to or understand our music for their reasons it simply means we are not representing or talking to them. We believe that our fans are the people we represent and we say is what they tell us when we are amongst them.
The fact that we treat different issues in local languages that our people understand has laid a good foundation for us in terms of fan base. Through engagement with our fans we have learned that using different studios will also be able to soothe different
souls since the productions are not the same. We have put that to practice with our recent album and it is indeed working for us.
Your lyrics are hard hitting, especially towards politics and politicians, don’t you think that you might be alienating potential audiences and scare away DJ’s.
We speak nothing but the truth and we believe in the truth on behalf of the people we engage with. What we say in our music is what we learn from conversations with our real audience, so we are guaranteed to have audience. One more thing we can say is we totally do not depend on sales to make a mark but on making good music to feed a hungry ear, that’s why we do not enjoy airplay on radio because we do not sing of baby come kiss my this and that, we treat real issues. The songs Freedom Fighter, Swi onhake kwihi, Madadada and Ka tika joni from our recent project are our testimony to that.
I grew up with Jeffrey and we always listened to conscious music like Tupac, Peter Tosh, Fela Kuti, Mutabaruka and Mariam Makeba amongst others, and we read a lot to be informed. We also were aware that the likes of Muta, Fela and Tosh were
much marginalized due to their fearless confrontation against politics. We took a stand that like them we will do music for the people and out of passion not for commercial purposes and that is still our stand today. We are of a conviction that if music was made not only to entertain but also to teach as well, then DJ’s will be fair and play our music to cater for our audience because we do have an audience. We believe that if people were able to understand Biko and Malcolm X then they will relate to our voice.
Tell us about the reggae culture in the region that you are from. Who are your contemporaries?
Reggae music is like traditional music of Limpopo and it is embraced by all people regardless of age and belief since we have plenty reggae Artist like myself, Colbert Mukwevho, Rastaman Nkushu, Shufflers, Jahman Chiganja, P Postman, Musa Msesho, Hudson Zitha, Tiger Mkansi, Ntsenge and The jah Live, Khakhathi, Jacky Nethomboni, The Burning Doctor, Denga and many more. We all sing in our vernacular languages, Xitsonga, Sepedi and Tshivenda with a bit of English here and there and that is what makes us unique and be able to have a growing fan base.
How are you planning to get your music across the entire nation and to new listeners?
To reach to a wider audience even outside South Africa we use the internet and social network sites. Our music is available online at Kasimp3 for download. We have just been recently profiled on Mzansi Reggae, Southern Africa number one Reggae Website, which will guarantee us a wider coverage. We do gigs in different places around the country to alert people of our existence and what we do.
Tell us about the SATMA awards, which categories are you vying for. What made you enter the awards this year?
I am vying for two categories, Best Reggae Artist and Best Poet. I saw on Mzansi Reggae, they announced that the SATMA nomination lines were open, that awoken us to realize that now is the time to be involved. And also the fact that we have been here for so long and not part taking in any awards.
What are you currently working on?
Except for promoting our recent project we are currently working on two projects; one is the shooting of ‘Ka tika joni’ music video. And two is Shubby’s album which is due early 2016. We also have a dream of hosting a Live Reggae Festival in Giyani in
2016 which will be made of 100% local artists. That will depend on the sponsors and availability or willingness of artists.
Which musicians do you draw your inspiration from?
My main man is Mutabaruka alongside Peter Tosh, Fela Kuti, Kgafela oa Makgokgodi, Tupac, Capleton, Mariam Makeba and Colbert Mukwevho. I like them because of their fearless way of telling the system that it is a fraud against the powerless and less privileged and I will continue on their footsteps without apology.
Which artist would you like to work/collaborate with and why? Local or international.
In my next album I wish I could get the nobility of fighting against woman abuse by redoing ‘Woman got a right to be’ with Tatana Caiphus Semenya who is the original singer of the same song. Otherwise I am willing to work with any available artist like I did work with different artist in my recent album.
Which do you prefer; live performances or studio work?
I love it both ways. Live performance gives me a chance to share space and issues with my people, the fans. When we are on stage we demand attention and it does not matter if the audience is two or 1000, we always do our best. Studio work is more like rehearsal to me; it allows me space to be creative and to perfect my art so when I go on stage I know what to do.
Contacts
Producer: G-Boy +27 71 164 8543.
Manager: Moses Mashakeni at +27 83 466 7312 / +27 76 033 1118.
email scotchmashakeni@yahoo.com
Ras Themba: +27 82 255 3747 / +27 78 591 8839
email: themba.maringa@yahoo.com
Facebook: Ras-Themba The Melaninman Maringa
Twitter:@rasthemba777.