Lebo Mashile Interview
Not only is she a poet and a mother, Lebo Mashile is one diversified African woman who will forever be celebrated. She is able to combine poetry with hip hop, house and R&B. Along her successful journey, Lebo has been honoured with many accolades, like the prestigious Noma awards and Pan African book prize award. She was featured in an American drama film called Hotel Rwanda and has shared a stage with legends. The journey doesn’t end there for Lebo Mashile as she continues using her expression to inspire many and thrives to effect change in the world.
In the interview Lebo Mashile tells us more about her career, her being a mother, her future aspirations and most of all what being a black woman in South Africa means to her.
YV: Who is Lebo Mashile?
Lebo Mashile: I am a poet, a performer, a published author, an actress, a producer, a tv presenter, I am also a mom, a friend, a daughter a sister and a lover
YV: How did the love for Poetry come about?
Lebo Mashile: I grew up with the love for literature. I was very blessed to grow up in a household were people read. My mom took me to a library for the first when I was like 6 or 7 years old. I started keeping a journal when I was in primary but my love started when I was in High School.
YV:You did Hip Hop Poetry at Urban Voices Spoken Word. Was that your biggest break?
Lebo Mashile:I think a number of things happened at the same time, The very first Urban voices was in 2002 at Horror Cafe New Town, I think that was probably my biggest platform. Around that time I was really chasing poetry, wherever I could find it.
YV:You self- produced your album in 2008 called “Lebo Mashile Live”. How was that experience?
Lebo Mashile:It was a major learning curve for me as a business woman and as an artist. I was very lucky, I worked with people who have grown up in the industry. It was an entirely self financed project and it was my first time taking up on something that big on my own. I don’t know if I would do the same thing exactly the same way again, but I definitely want to get back in the studio.
YV:What did owning the copyrights of “Flying above the Sky” mean to you?
Lebo Mashile:That was another exercise and independency, and I must say publishing is hard. Literature is a pursuit for people who are not afraid of time. I understand now that the copyright for my work will mean something to my kids one day.
YV:How did you feel about winning awards such as Noma Award and Pan African book prize?
Lebo Mashile:I won the Noma award in 2006 and at the same time I was shooting an episode of La’titude at Northwest. I was 27 years and I didn’t have any idea what the Noma was. I had no idea how huge it was and it took me a year or two to really know what it means. For me it’s a stamp for legitimacy FOR those who know my background. Winning the Noma affirmed the fact that I am an African writer and it was like a big hug coming from the African Literature community.
YV:Do you think poetry has more impact today compared to back then?
Lebo Mashile:I think poetry has always mutated and changed and shape shifted to serve different purposes. In our sort of more recent history, poetry was a powerful vehicle during the struggle.
YV:Tell us about your first acting debut in Hotel Rwanda. What did you enjoy the most in the project?
Lebo Mashile:Actually my first acting job was in a play called acting Roses and Angels,that was directed by Pamela Nomvete who used to play Ntsiki on Generations. She saw me at an event and she asked me to be part of the play. I got to write poetry for particular characters and I was working with Fezile Mpela and Yeke Simoko from Isidingo. Fortunately one of the casting agents who worked on Hotel Rwanda was in the audience at the play and I was given the opportunity to audition for Hotel Rwanda and Hotel Rwanda was before Latitude’. It was a huge step for me.
YV:What do you prefer to do Poetry, Presenting, Producing and Acting?
Lebo Mashile: Actually writing is the cord that runs through everything. My first love is and always will be literature.
YV:Now you’re presenting Great Expectations on ETV. What has been the transition like?
Lebo Mashile: This Job has been a tremendous blessing. It is like mommy one on one. I get to talk to leading expects. I get to talk to moms who are like me. Working on this show, made me realised that motherhood is the most underrated and the most important role that anyone can play in the society.
YV:Has motherhood changed you? If so, how?
Lebo Mashile: Yes it has. When I got pregnant I feel like I was lead to a very special community called mothers. The most important thing to me more than writing is being a mother
YV:What does it mean to be a black woman in South Africa?
Lebo Mashile: Laughs, I often say that it’s a very skitsofrenic existence. On the one hand South Africa is empowering Black Woman probably bigger and better. We have black woman really doing great and big. It’s an incredible time to be a black woman.
YV: Do people judge you for wearing your hair natural?
Lebo Mashile: My hair at the moment is Blond (laughs) and short and I haven’t relaxed it. I decided to shave my hair because when I burst onto the scene with a big afro it created politics and I got tired of all its burden,I got tired of journalists asking me about my hair when I knew that if my hair was relaxed and blond they wouldn’t ask me that question. I also think hair is an incredibly contented and incredibly political area for black woman in general, but at the same time it’s also my favourite accessory. I haven’t chemically relaxed my hair for like 13-14 years. I have worn different styles though, like braids, soft dreads, now I am dying my hair. I will probably die my hair red before winter finishes. It’s a toy and its wonderful and I love my hair.
YV:What has been your biggest challenge yet?
Lebo Mashile: Overcoming my own demons and fear. One of my biggest fears is that am I going to be a good enough mother to my son. I look at the female artist particularly performers, they are wonderful examples but they are also woman who have also lead very self destructive lives and that’s one of the what I am afraid of, because of the pressure that comes with being in the public eye and the pressure of being an artist and sharing that with so many people. I also live in fear of how much am I allowed to say. My biggest obstacle is me.
YV:Who do you look up to for inspiration?
Lebo Mashile: In terms of media and television I admire Oprah. As a writer there are so many people I admire, like I admire people like Sis Gqina Mhlophe. I admire people like Thandiswa Mazwai, Simphiwe Dana, Napo Mashiane and a whole host of men also who play an important role and I look up to people like Jerry Mafokeng who is the first person to direct me as a person, Fana Mokoena, writers like Chris Abani like Vami Dolls.
YV:Any projects you’re working on?
Lebo Mashile: A number of them that I want to put under raps. I am working on the next offering and my dream is to have it by the end of the year.
YV:What do you know now that you wish you knew then?
Lebo Mashile: How important my heart is, To protect my heart and share it with people who are worthy of it. I’ve spent my 20’s working very very hard and sometimes I wish I could have spent a little bit of time having fun like partying and doing all the other crazy things that other young people did. I did some of the partying though but not a lot of it because I spent all my time working. I consider myself very fortunate because working as hard as I did in my twenties means that I have something solid to stand on and I can make different decisions. But it’s a trade off. I wish I knew how to build up the people who inspire especially inspire me and intimidate me because those are the people who are going to stand with me.
YV:What car do you drive?
Lebo Mashile: (laughs) Right now I am driving A Renault Cleo 3, 2008. I call it Bella, she takes me everywhere.
YV:Your advice to young people?
Lebo Mashile: Know yourself!!!. Don’t be ashamed of any part of yourself. Don’t be ashamed of how you grew up. Don’t be ashamed of the people who have influenced your life. Don’t be ashamed of what you dream. Don’t be ashamed of the things that keep you up at night. Don’t be ashamed of the people who touch your life and by any means don’t be ashamed of your light and don’t allow anyone to cast a shadow over your light.
