Sho Madjozi: “I’m the driver of my own destiny”

Give: that’s one of the many things that Maya Christinah Xichavo Wegerif, popularly recognised as Sho Madjozi, is known for, though the way she usually puts it is that she “gives back.” Two words that make you like her even more. “I am who I am because of my community and because of the people around me. I think it’s only fair to give back,” she says. “I've been able to do things for people from where I'm from, and my career has changed the lives of my whole family,” she continues.

Undoubtedly an icon in the making, the talented South African rapper, actress, and poet is still to this day making big moves and kicking down doors that were previously shut. All while acknowledging her humble upbringing and highlighting that “in my heart, I’m a village girl.”

And, like so many of her other common touches, this one too makes people fall head over heels because they know that she came from a modest background and that she wasn’t given anything, to begin with. And when reflecting over all her career highlights, she remembers one very fondly: “When I went back to my village, around one hundred kids came to my grandma's house and sang my songs, and I realised it [my career] was real and that what I do matters," she says.

Giving – whether it’s through her unapologetic self, music, inspiration, or hairstyle tips – is one of many reasons why people are looking up to her and why she’s here; Madjozi firmly believes that she, and her alikes, were put here to be heard, and she is not afraid to neither tell nor show it: “You as a human being living on this earth has as much right to bring your own ideas into reality as anyone else,” she explains.

Madjozi rarely fails to live up to her inspirational image. And as the femme fatale that she is, she seems like she’s always one step ahead, tirelessly, like a dog with a bone, going after something new.  

“Why should I stop? I can always achieve more. And why should my goals be limited by what the people before me have managed to achieve?”  

No doubt about it, the gqom beats queen blew people away when she entered the industry as her colourful self; when she made it clear that ‘standing out instead of fitting in’ is the way to go. She mesmerised them when rapping in her own way, constantly building an unmatched authenticity by staying true to everything that makes her unique.

“I am happy with how I built everything. I was bold. I was courageous, daring. I walked into board rooms not knowing what was going on and thinking, ‘I have the right to be here’, and I did exactly what I wanted to do. I wouldn’t do anything differently today,” she discloses.

Madjozi is a breath of fresh air, as sought after as a ray of sunlight during stormy weather. Her style is eclectic and electrifying; when she walks into a room, it vibrates and spills over with fun. She is hard to ignore and even harder not to love, a breathing testament that the future belongs to a generation that is not afraid to take what’s rightfully theirs. Or, as Madjozi herself would say, “The stage is yours.” .