"Your passion will haunt you some way or the other." This is the conviction of aspiring Amapiano musician, Deejay Fulufhelo Thavhanyedza, affectionately known in the entertainment world as Basemark the Deejay.
Basemark was born and bred in the dusty village of Ngovhela-Phindula. His love of music started at a tender age when he played keyboard at his local church, alongside renowned gospel musician Rofhiwa Manyaga.
Although he did not swop his qualifications in electronics for his love of music at first, he has finally decided to invest in a musical venture and see where it leads. Music is, after all, his greatest passion.
The soft-spoken Basemark recently recorded his first single, called Mama Africa, featuring Queen Popo, Dzomo la Venda, and his co- producer, Big Ropza, who needs no introduction to the music industry. Mama Africa has been enjoying a lot of airplay on local and national radio stations, including PhalaPhala FM, where it has already made it to the Friday Top 30 show.
"To be honest, I was just keeping myself busy during the lockdown, but I had to rearrange my ambitions for music and never thought this track would receive this kind of attention," Basemark said. "I'm so delighted that people are dancing to my tunes."
He said that playing keyboard at church was what really inspired this passion. He was also part of the Univen Jazz Band back in 2001. "Musicians hardly got any income during the lockdown, but there is still reason to thank God that, despite the difficulties, we still have our brains to think about something good. Every cloud has a silver lining, and we should use this time profitably. As artists, we should have something to show when we come out of this lockdown."
Basemark sees music as a form of expressing one's deepest feelings. "This is the only form of communication that cannot be ignored," he said. "For example, during the struggle against apartheid, people were chanting and singing to convey their message."