Refentse Morake: from busker to the stage

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Musician Refentse Morake was discovered giving Afrikaans pop music a unique African flavour on the streets on Vereeniging in 2015 by Cecilia Marchionna. 

(Image: Refentse Morake official YouTube channel)

Brand South Africa reporter

Marchionna uploaded a video of his performance on to Facebook and it soon become one of most shared videos in South Africa.

With more than 120 000 video views, plus a stage debut at one of the country’s leading music festivals under his belt already, Morake has now released his first album of Afrikaans songs.

Titled My Hart Bly In ‘n Taal, the album features his versions of modern South African pop classics, including Johannes Kerkorrel’s Halala Afrika, Koos Kombuis’s Bicycle Sonder ‘n Slot and a Laurika Rauch medley. Among his other performances not on the album but available to view on YouTube are Karen Zoid’s Toe Vind Ek Jou and Jan Blohm’s Breyten se Brief.

Zoid, one of South Africa’s most popular musicians, is a big Morake fan. She asked him to perform with her at the Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees, the annual arts festival in Oudtshoorn, in 2015. She also helped in the recording of his album, which is currently the fourth best-selling album on the iTunes local music charts.

A true South African, Morake also enjoys kwaito and Zulu gospel music, which he hopes to incorporate with Afrikaans music on a grander scale with his second album. His aim is to bring the diverse South African cultures together through the power of music.

While he is excited about the interest in his music, Morake, who matriculated in 2015, is taking fame in his stride. He has chosen rather to study for his law degree at North West University before he takes his music on the road full-time.

Source: News24/Netwerk24

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