What is the Come Up?: The Space of Time Between When You Start Pursuing Your Career, And Reaching the Pinnacle.
The entertainment industry in South Africa is going through metamorphosis of relevance in the general media we, as people of this nation, consume. There is an outcry for creatives amongst the youth especially to expand upon this metamorphosis.
Sufficed to say the call has been heard; what qualifies for passing Matric has lowered and our budding artists have amassed for a shot at fame and fortune, leaving the audience in the position of scouring the concrete for roses.
Art has become more accessible and therefore it’s become tougher to break into the industry.
The reason also boomerangs between the information age, the social age, and the fact that anybody can make music, and I discuss these topics with various artists in the entertainment industry.
I’ve interviewed various artists with separate experiences in their industries about their journeys in the come up to expand on how they navigate these waters.
Nano le Face
Art by Nano le face
Nano Le Face has been pursuing an art career for the past four years and he has been featured in many-an-exhibit. Currently le Face is been preparing for an art fair in Cape Town.
A large part of our conversation ended up circling back towards how important the exploration of the many facets of your interests as an artists – of any kind. If you only consume one type of media, you can only apply one set of skills to your craft, and thus end up sounding like everybody else.
There was shift, albeit unwittingly, in his personal lifestyle choices as well. Whether or not everything he did contributed to his creativity started become a benefactor in his interactions, with the people he spent his time with. In order to avoid sounding derivative there was an embrace of individuality wrapped in the ambition to eat, sleep and dream of your work.
Mahkalanjalo
Photograph by:@bulumkogana
Mahkalanjalo has been an aspiring kwaito musician for the past three years, when a cubicle became a damning omen for the future.
With the inspirations of 90s hip hop spiraling around his lyrics and storytelling.
The vulnerability that came with pursuing music was perhaps one of his biggest inspirations, especially when he dealt with subject matter that was a documentation of life through his own lenses.
There’s no written manual on how to go about your come up, your struggles are your own, but the common denominators throughout these interviews stuck out like a sore thumb:
Financing:
Once you’re an artist you are essentially a business, much the same every business need capital (i.e. equipment and transport). Research becomes an important component to any aspiring musician
Networking:
Having a network is having a reliable source of for collaboration. The entertainment industry is about having connections and the people you associate with can further your success.
Perfectionism:
“Perfect” is nothing but a colourful abstraction that doesn’t exist. Artists tend to get lost in the process of perfectionism, wasting valuable time and money
In Essence:
The complex journey of the self is an inherent quality in how you define success for yourself. It’s how you authentically with your chosen art. The introspective journey marks the first step you have to take before you before a career in the entertainment industry, helping you find the best way to communicate through your art.
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