Tumelo Mashokwe reflects on his journey as an artist manager. Picture supplied.
A Gauteng man says years before he was medically declared blind, he worked as a manager for famous rappers such as, Cassper Nyovest, Tuks Senganga and the late Hip Hop Pantsula (HHP).
Tumelo Mashokwe was diagnosed with an eye disease called, chronic panuveitis at the age of 35 in 2016. He was later declared blind. According to the Mayo Clinic, panuveitis is a major cause of blindness and visual morbidity. Mashokwe is the son of the late SABC news presenter and spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs, Leslie Mashokwe.
Mashokwe who was born in Mafikeng in 1980 explained, that years before he lost his vision, well-known hip-hop artists such as, HHP, Cassper Nyovest, Mo’ Molemi and Morafe were among those he was managing. He said this included doing Public Relations for them.
He shared that he became “a DJ for the Motswako empire, laying the groundwork as a founding member of the Motswako sound. In addition to spinning records, I orchestrated backstage elements crucial to artist management, marketing, audio production, and brand placement for luminaries like Mo’ Molemi, HHP, Tuks Senganga, Ms Ntabi, Morafe, and Shawna, also known as Ocean Fisaka. Notably, I played a pivotal role in nurturing the talents of these artists, propelling them onto the national stage and cementing their place within the annals of South African music history.”
Narrating his work relationship with Cassper, he said, “I found Cassper as a young artist in Mafikeng at an event we were hosting, called the Motswako Republic event. He was still in high school and 15 years old at the time. We were all young and still trying to find ourselves. When he moved to Johannesburg, I managed him a bit. He became HHP’s hype man. His current manager was my DJ with Tuks Senganga where I was the business manager.”
Tumelo Mashokwe’s father, Leslie Mashokwe worked as the spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs.
Cassper was approached for comment about his walk with Mashokwe, however he had not responded at the time of publishing.
Apart from his work in the music industry, Mashokwe said he worked as an air loadmaster “taking charge of aircraft loading” for the United Nations. His humanitarian work, he said, was to assist the United Nations with its assignments in countries such as Somalia, Kenya and Congo.
Reflecting on how he lost his eyesight, Mashokwe said:
“I was driving to my uncle’s house in Vaal and out of the blue my eyes just started itching. I did not know what was going on, I thought it was eye allergies. So, I went to the pharmacy, bought Allergex Eye Drops and put it in my eyes. That was the worst thing I had ever done. My eyes started burning. I had no control of what was going on. I put water and tried everything.”
“The next day, I went to St John’s [Eye hospital in Soweto]. The eye specialist told me that I have intermediate panuveitis. I was like ‘what is this thing’,” he chuckled.
“I asked, ‘what are you talking about.’ She [the eye specialist] said, ‘you have a condition of blindness’. So, I didn’t understand what she meant.”
“On the 16th of September 2016, that's the day that I lost my sight and the journey started at that point. I was diagnosed with chronic panuveitis. After some years I ended up reaching the point of being legally blind and losing vision in one eye and the other eye which is on the right has 10% vision left.”
Mashokwe said to lessen the pain in the eyes and “to be comfortable, I have to wear a hoodie and shades the whole time."
But he quickly explained that wearing a hoodie and shades, was also inspired by his favourite American rapper, Ab-Soul, who contracted Steven-Johnson syndrome and became legally blind.
“From the moment that I realised that life would no longer be the same with my vision being impaired” Mashokwe started researching coping mechanisms.
While admitting that it was difficult for him to cope, and sometimes suicidal, he continued: “I got used to the ways of living by still being able to go to the gym and have regular workout sessions, possibly three to five times a week. The people at the gym got to know me as a blind person. I had to carry on with life the way that it is right now.”
Mashokwe started his own organisation, Nasethu Vision Foundation.
As the founder and CEO of Nasethu Vision Foundation, a non-profit organisation that focuses on inclusivity for disability, he empowers the blind and people with physical disabilities.
Mashokwe said, “Nasethu Vision Foundation focuses on promoting dignity for the blind, Braille services, student bursaries and skills development programs.”
“We focus on creating job opportunities for the blind, business opportunities and co-mobility workshops for the blind community as well as improving awareness through visuals impairment systems (VIS)," said Mashokwe.
He recalled, “Prior to being blind, I studied PC Engineering at Damelin. I also got a CAA licence at Skybound Academy.”
According to Damelin College, the Further Education and Training Certificate in PC Engineering is designed to provide learners with knowledge of computer hardware design and specifications ensuring that computer hardware components work together with the latest software developments as well as to support and fully implement Windows in a networked environment.
“I enrolled for BCom Marketing management at UNISA as a legally blind person, but I have not completed the course.”
He emphasised that the key issue close to his heart is, “Educating people about visual impairment systems because more people in our country need to know about what it is to be blind. It bothers me that the education right of such a portfolio doesn't have enough funding from government.”
