TALENT SPOTLIGHT
MEET
MARIOZA SIYABONGA SIBIYAFROM
KWA-ZULU NATAL
arioza " Siyabonga Sibiya " is an
Mindependent Hip Hop artist , actor , street poem born and breed in Kwa-Zulu Natal raised in Mandeni but based in Kwa-mashu , one of Durban ' s very own township .
He finished his matric in 2011 at Isibonelo high school in Kwa-mashu from grade 8 till grade 12 . As a young artist his work is a constant search for best ways to interpret ideas that he has about himself and the world he ' s living in . If a listener stops for just a moment to listen and reflect on a piece he has created , then he considered to have succeeded in his work . He doesn ' t limit himself to one medium , style or concept , because inspiration and ideas change , knowledge does change too . Marioza as a brand , in each piece he creates is simultaneously as extension from the past , where he ' s coming from and what he has learned , as well as a preview of the future of where he ' s going . His music contains a variety of sounds as he believes in giving the best and satisfying his listeners , not only his listeners but also influencing other genre ' s listeners . He always makes sure that he adjust his sound and character to try to relate to everyone in his music , he doesn ' t do one specific type of music because he always try to accommodate every listener .
By Thendo Mphaphuli
With God ' s grace he believes that anyone of us can succeed , it may not be him but any of us we just need to believe that , stick to what we do best , he also believes that God created him for a purpose . He has blessed him with a priceless gift that can ' t be taken away from him .
The ability to communicate with people through musical sounds and melody , most of all he believes that He gave him this talent for a reason so he never stops until he discover what is the reason , as he has already taken few steps and as we know legends don ' t stop , they ask what ' s next .
His passion for Hip Hop music began in 2004 in a school choir at primary school , it eventually developed within him . He has been a passionate music fan from an early age , and growing up his uncle used to play a lot of rap music and he got inspired by the likes of Dr Dre , Eminem and Immortal techniques just to name the few . Although by that time he didn ' t know much about hip hop , he was just into the rhythm of the beat so in his early teen years he started writing some songs at the age of 14 , started putting pen on a page and design his own rhythms . He realized that in order for him to develop essential skills and equip himself with necessary knowledge , he had to
attend poetry sessions and hip hop shows . So he started attending ciphers at Kay Cap ( kaffie ) by that time they were hosted by Nandi ( Ekhaya Multi Art Centre ) in Kwa Mashu Township . Among artists that participated namely Lacoste ration , Zakwe , Abakhinqizi Bemisho , Magic flows and Izidlamlilo , these ciphers would go on every Saturday for over a year , he made sure he never missed a single session .
As a hip hop artist he was influenced by the freedom of speech and getting the freedom to say things the way he sees them and to take part at Kushobani poetry sessions . It played a big role in his development as an artist in terms of writing skills .
Marioza explained to Blink Magazine that “ Youth at work was an organization that was designed to empower young people among his community ”.
It was found in 2006 up until 2009 within these years the organization was managed by Cool Fire as a co-founder . The youth at work was also specializing in art development skills , that ' s where he has learned the basics for acting , then he started falling deep in love with poetry and acting , they were doing stage play and theater .
BDM TALENT ISSUE # 03
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