It has been said that music can transport you to places that may otherwise seem out of reach.
This is true for Kutlwano Yika, 24, a busker who has gone from TikTok viral sensation to being booked to perform at awards shows and corporate functions.
Kutlwano has gone from performing for motorists at intersections in Alberton to featuring alongside the world-famous Ndlovu Youth Choir at Sun City.
Kutlwano is from Katlehong, East of Johannesburg, and has always loved music.
“The only thing I’d find myself doing is sing: from preschool, grade one, grade two, I was that guy trying to imitate artists. Even now, I can remember when I was in grade four, I was doing covers of the popular songs of the time”.
“I went on to be known as the Michael Jackson of the school. That was when Michael Jackson was about to embark on his last tour. Unfortunately, he passed away. At the time, there was a lot of coverage around his music, so I would try to imitate him,” he said.
Music would take a back seat when Kutlwano got to high school. He applied himself to his academic and football. His deduction to his books saw him earn a place at the University of Johannesburg, studying Economics.
In 2021, during the third year of his studies, Kutlwano rediscovered his love of music while sitting at home and watching YouTube famous busker Allie Sherlock.
“I saw her music and thought she was really good, but I felt like I could do better as well,” said Kutlwano.
This moment would be the catalyst that would spark Kutlwano into action. He approached various shopping centres and malls to allow him to perform on their premises, but they all declined as it would be difficult to adhere to social distancing protocols, which were in place at the time.
Although a bit discouraged at the time, he was not willing to give up on his dream.
Now, if you know anything about South Africa's roads and intersections, it is that they are a hive of activity. You can buy anything from cooldrink to sunglasses. Some people simply stand and beg at the robots, and this is what caught Kutlwano’s eye.
“I saw people begging at the robots, and I asked myself, ‘why would I get something for free? Why would someone give another person money just for nothing?’ So I decided to try it out,” he said.
Kutlwano set up his PA system and got a friend of his to take videos, and the money started pouring in, and as they say, the rest is history.
Today, Kutlwano earns quite a bit of money singing at the robots. More importantly, he has created jobs for youngsters from his community. They collect money from motorists while he entertains with his rock and pop hits from yesteryear.
“I want a serious team. I want people who will always be there when I busk out there. I have three guys. One guy will hold the camera, the other guy will collect the money, and the other will deal with my social media,” he said.
Although the response has been positive, he now and then has run-ins with city officials.
“I haven't had people who have been negative, but you still get city councillors, who will remind me that this is not allowed, but you only see them once in a while. At the end of the day, there are street vendors, and they are allowed to trade,” said Kutlwano.
If the amount of attention he is generating as a singer is anything to go by, Kutlwano won’t have to spend his days singing at the robots for much longer.
In November last year, he was invited to perform at the South African Social Media Awards alongside Ami Faku and others. Kutlwano has also performed at Sun City for one of the Bidvest Group’s companies.
“Wow, performing at the South African Social Media Awards kind of consolidated my appeal as an artist. People were like, ‘who the heck is this guy?’. But that’s what I love about corporates. When they know that you are good, they’ll give you whatever you like, and they booked me based on one video on social media,” he said.
Kutlwano’s star looks set to shine brighter in the future, and he has aspirations to build a successful media business.
“I need to register the company as corporates need this information when you invoice. I want to build a monster of a media company. I want to be the most famous South African after the president,” said Kutlwano.
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