Amapiano singing sensation Boohle is pleased with her decision to introduce her son, Sbusiso, to the world on MTV's new reality TV series, Inside Life: City Girls Are Up.
The show stars her and other female powerhouses Thee Buhle and Bontle Smith.
Boohle and Bontle are two trailblazing voices in the amapiano scene while Thee Buhle is dominating the airwaves with a new sound she dubbed "petleke petleke".
In an interview with Sowetan on the set of the new show, the singer-songwriter Boohle, whose real name is Buhlebevangeli Hlengiwe Manyathi, said she was reluctant, at first, to share her private life with the public, especially her son. She said she had him during the teething years of her singing career almost seven years ago.
After careful consideration, Boohle eventually said “yes” as she realised the impact she was going to make by showing her motherly side to many who follow her career.
“At first I said, ‘no’ because I thought with reality TV, people are going to know my business. But once I spoke about the terms with production, I got to understand what it is that I could share.
"I saw that maybe, let me use this opportunity to play my part of showing people the ins and outs of this business and my daily life,” said the singer.
“I realised that me doing this will serve the nation with some sort of lesson of the world I’m in.”
The doting mother of one revealed exposing her seven-year-old son, who she’d go to gigs with as a toddler, took a lot of courage and careful consideration as she was quite private about him when she first started in the music industry.
“I want people my age to see that it’s not the end of the world to be a mother – at times, a child can be your biggest motivating factor. You can still push and become a star… just looking at him makes you want to do better in life.”
In the show, viewers will see Boohle teaching her son, who aspires to be a DJ, the ins and outs of the industry. She said she hopes to pass down her musical knowledge to him, providing a solid foundation for his future career.
“I used to gig with him in my tummy when I was highly expectant. I would jump up and down on the stage perfoming. I would also to take him to the studio with me. So, it only makes sense for him to love and have an interest in this industry.”
Bontle Smith, on the other hand, revealed that viewers will get to see her bond closer with her mother, who she didn’t have much of a relationship with growing up.
The 35-year-old singer said although she is a private person, having people see that it’s never too late to mend ways with your parent was one of the ways to help heal.
“I controlled what I wanted viewers to see, even when production tried to catch me off guard, I was alert. I’m a very private person but I gave them a bit of me with my relationship with my family, my sister and the bond I have with my mother,” she said.
“There’s a lot of scenes of myself with my mom where we go through our weird relationship.
“So, I’m just showing where we are as mother and daughter.”
The singer also revealed that even though she’s gained popularity, fame still hasn’t changed the “normal girl” she is as she will forever stay true to her stance of: “What you see, is what you get”, as she has no reason to please anyone.
“I still won’t change. I speak to people the same way I have all these years before the fame. I just don’t like how people expect to know your life without any boundaries but I’ve learnt to control that,” she said.
Thee Buhle, real name Buhle Gugwana, shared that although she is fond of amapiano, championing 3-Step and Petleke Petleke will help her pave a different path for female musicians just like her.
“Amapiano is a trending sound and obviously most DJs will go for that sound but I see a gap that might be seen as a culture shock, especially as a female DJ in the industry,” she said.
“While the sound is not as popular, at least I can call myself that ‘chick wa Petleke Petleke’, this will help me create a new identity that people can know me by.”
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