was born Thembinkosi Mathew Matyolweni, but an error at the 1980 Native Affairs in Mdantsane had his name miss printed as Thembinkosi Maphues Matyolweni on his birth certificate. His grandmother who raised him gave him a new name, Lucky and when he was growing up he was referred to as Lakana, meaning small luck. Later he graduated to Luckeez Mfowethu or Brother Luckeez, a pet name given to him on the streets of his village Frankfort during his youth because of his deep compassion. This name became a building block of his personal philosophy of being a brother to everyone. Music and activism have always been around Luckeez Mfowethu for his elder brother was an aspiring broadcaster but ended up a Socialist activist and later a soldier for uMkhonto WeSizwe, a military wing of the then banned ANC. His uncle Jack Matyolweni was a comedy contributor for Umhlobo Wenene FM (Then Radio Xhosa)s Breakfast Show hosted by Vuyani Makaza. His cousins are also political activists. Luckeez Mfowethu inherited all these qualities thus Radio and activism became natural for him. He started out by Djing during his High School days at Philemon Ngcelwane in Mdantsane in 1995 at Grade 10.In 1998 after dropping out of Mechanical Engineering school at Walter Sisulu University he pursued his passion for radio by helping start the first Xhosa Speaking Community Radio Station for the East London and Mdantsane community while studying at Stanford Business College. This dream came to a reality when Imonti FM went on air for the first time in 2001. By this time he was working at a construction site during the first phase of the building of Hemmingway’s Casino in East London as general worker for an air condition company. He left his paying job to focus on his radio career at Imonti FM, a move that almost cost him his relationship with his parents, only to find out that his construction experience was to contribute during the building of the Imonti FM studios at the Fire Station in Fleet Street. This he regards as the most defining moment of his life, learning to be an all rounder and taking life threatening risks for the benefit of the community. He was a member of a dynamic team that consisted of the likes of Lulu Haarmans (9-12 Umhlobo Wenene FM), Siyanda Fikelephi ( Programmes Manager at 200FM) and many more superstars. He was the host of The Slamming Breakfast Show, a programme that truly unleashed Luckeez Mfowethu, the brother to the dreamer. He formed a relationship with WSUs then infant radio training faculty and had 5 of its students on his radio show for practical work. Some of them went on to occupy high profile responsibilities. This was an everyday arrangement he truly enjoyed, one student per day. The Slamming Breakfast Show is the programme that gave birth to Luckeez, (the brother to the artist) where he launched Rhyme Squads Hip Kwaito on air. He lights up when he talks about it This was a turning point for the whole province. Ask anyone who knows the Eastern Cape music scene about that song, and the best part of it we helped Rhyme Squad record that song and later their EP in our studios. I played Hip Kwaito the very next day after we finished the recording and by the time they finished the EP they could not walk the streets. Eastern Cape had experienced a reality it is yet to experience again for I believe in the governments efforts in setting up a recording company in the Eastern Cape, I pray they really succeed for this is important Luckeez Mfowethu truly believes in the Eastern Cape musical talent, for he himself is a musician, a talent he developed at an early age, schooled by many township backyard musicians. He truly understands and lived the struggle of the independent artist in the Eastern Cape and this is where he got his massive street credibility. He spent some time as a contributor on TRU FMs Afternoon Drive Show (then CKI FM hosted by Nobuzwe Mabona aka Boosie) giving news on the underground music movement and later worked for a media and music distribution company Destiny Media in 2003/4, before joining Umhlobo Wenene FM in December 2005. He broke up a storm in 2006 with Abahlali Abangalali, a weekend programme that had the streets quiet at 3am in the morning, not because the youths were asleep and bored, but because Luckeez Mfowethu was on the radio bringing music and artists from the streets. Material unheard of till this day. Memories the streets are still buzzing with today. Memories that brought us Zakwe, Zahara then Spinach, Heavy K then with Point 5 and many others. These and his all rounder efforts brought him an internal Presenter Of The Year Award but what humbles him the most is the culture of bedroom studios that were cropping up everywhere in the townships and rural villages. Heavy Ks smash hit album was recently reported by a leading Magazine to have been a result of a studio built in a shack. Thats why I was proud to read that he brought his SAMMA to his mom and built her a house. This is a lesson for the province as a whole and every other province that is trying to build a sustainable entertainment environment that, Nothing is impossible Luckeez Mfowethus musical ears had him graduated to Umhlobo Wenene FMs Music Compiler in 2008 while hosting Jaivah Mzantsi. This is the same year he blew the country away with the hit Uthandizinto aysosono, Intweziphantsi from his dance album High Grade. He later worked with Saatchi and Saatchi International as a Technical Producer for a Sasko Flour radio series Inkqubo Yasekseni Manyani aired on Umhlobo Wenene FM and during the weekends he was hosting Jaivah Mzantsi and Umyezo We Reggae, a programme he still hosts this day. During the week Luckeez Mfowethu is in the production studios as the Technical Producer for Umhlobo Wenene FM, a job he refers to a passion paid for, with extra incentives like being the winner of the Station Of The Year Award”. With his activism and will to pioneer, he built a state of the art music recording studio in his village in Frankfort, where he produced his younger brother Odwa. I believe by extending the realities of the youths in my village in Frankfort and Khayelitsha, brings about a spirit of nothing is impossible within them he believes, we might be the first of this kind in the country but I believe something unbelievable is going to come out of it His team boasts of mechanical engineers, accountants, visual communicators and artists, all in the spirit of pushing the realities of rural villages to achieve the desired Rural Development in South Africa. Besides music and radio Luckeez Mfowethu is an aspiring farmer by default and passion from growing up in a farm, he is busy with an academic programme on business studies, a chairman at Nkevastan Innovations and married with two boys, 4 and 15 years old.
Posted on: Thu, 10 Jul 2014 08:38:56 +0000
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