How does a police officer from Khubvi village manage to balance his roles as a family man, clergyman, performing artist, musical instrumentalist, sound engineer, composer and producer successfully? This is the question many people asked last week when Hanie Mutele, better known as Tshigayo in the entertainment industry, bounced back with his new reggae album Ro swika.
Recorded at The Burning Shack Studios in Thohoyandou and engineered by Mulalo Mukwevho, Ro swika features eight tracks that will have music lovers reaching for their dancing shoes. All the songs on the album were composed by Mutele, except Mulisa wa ndele and Soon and Very Soon, which he co-composed with Pastor Tshifhiwa Baloi.
Mutele, whose passion lies in gospel and reggae music, is no newcomer to the music scene. His musical journey began at the Apostle Jerusalem Church in Sabbath at Matangari, where he served as a choir leader from a young age. After completing Grade 12, he enrolled for a one-year music certificate at the University of Venda. The following year, in 1996, he began a music degree at the same institution, which he completed in 1999. In 2000, he graduated with a university education diploma, majoring in music.
Although he has worked with countless musicians as an instrumentalist, composer, sound engineer and producer, he has always found time to focus on his own music. Over the years, he has released four full-length albums. His long musical break came after the release of Mihwalo i do rulwa in 2011, which featured the hit song Duvha li do tsha. Due to pressure from fans, he released a single, Funzani, in 2020.
As a full-time police officer, Mutele said he encountered cases of gender-based violence daily. Speaking to Limpopo Mirror, he said: "What prompted me to record and release Ro swika is the need to address gender-based violence, which has taken over families and life in general. That was best addressed in the song Mathada, which highlights the fact that we are all embroiled in a fight with one enemy, called Mathada (problems), which doesn't care who you are or what you have. The most important thing is how you handle what you come across in life."
His message to aspiring young musicians is clear: "Young people who want to follow a career in the music industry must go to school first. When you are educated and employed, you have something to depend on when your music [career] hits a snag."