Kwesta reveals untold journey from speedy striker to award-winning rapper
“By constantly challenging yourself you can re-write your own story,” says Kwesta, as he recently revealed for the first time how he made the brave choice to move from young soccer star to multi-award winning SAMA rapper.
Growing up in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng, few know that Kwesta had a bright future mapped out as a professional soccer player, captaining Jomo Cosmos. Regardless of his dedication to the sport, his passion secretly lay in his notebook, writing pages of raps and poetry.
In 2005, Kwesta made the bold decision to follow his heart, hang up his boots, and turn away from a professional career in a highly lucrative industry. With the support of friends and family, he crowd-funded R2500 from listeners of a local Soweto community radio station to get himself to Durban for a few impromptu shows. This was the first opportunity he got to drop his poetic beats in clubs, bars and anywhere else that would have him.
Now 10 years later, Kwesta is one of SA’s biggest household names in rap with 7 SAMA awards under his belt and his hit single Ngud’ going 5x platinum off his own Rap Lyf Records. His international schedule has seen him open arena shows for T.I.’s 2017 Hustle Gang Tour and produce one of the top 5 freestyles of 2017 with his appearance on the Sway In The Morning radio show.
Kwesta’s story is living proof of a theory that he aims to prove together with Red Heart Rum in the coming weeks – that life is more rewarding when you live with heart. Together they will aim to show South Africans that life is much more fulfilling when you live life seeing the opportunities around you and bravely taking them.
“My success is not as a result of luck, it was hard work and brave decisions. If you’re not challenging yourself, you’re not opening yourself up for new things to happen,” concluded Kwesta.
And it’s not easy. The truth is that people resist change. According to MIT University, statistics prove that 90% of what humans do in a day follows routines so complete, their behaviour can be predicted in a few mathematical equations.
Which means that 90% of the time, we’re not doing anything new, which will never get us a different result – a potentially better result!
As part of the Red Heart Crew together with world record-breaking skateboarder, Jean Marc and comedian, Jason Goliath, Kwesta is taking part in a real world experiment on the 24 October in Johannesburg. They’ll set out to prove to South Africans that when you live with heart, you set in motion a more rewarding life. They call it The Heart Effect.
