The boy from Masiphumelele who rapped for Obama

Aviwe ‘Catmeister’ Ntongana, also known as “the boy who rapped for Obama”, is a 16-year-old, born and raised in Masiphumelele. He was introduced to hip hop in 2011 when he joined an arts and recreation programme at the Desmond Tutu Youth Centre.

“When I started attending sessions at Desmond Tutu I was one of those kids who listened to hip hop just for the beat and rhymes and never paid attention to what did and did not make sense, until I met Earl, who is now my mentor,” said Aviwe.

Aviwe said Earl Mentor, a youth empowerment facilitator at the youth centre, taught him to convey important messages to the society, especially to people his age and younger, though hip hop.

“When Earl and I met, he listened to me rapping and told me that people who brag about that they do not have, usually remain where they are,” he said.

Earl said when he met Aviwe three years ago he met a very mature man for his young age and it was not difficult to be his mentor.

“I started a music programme and Aviwe was one of the young people who availed themselves and were willing to be part of the programme. I showed him videos and made him listen to a couple of songs I wrote. It was a way of encouraging him to use his content to uplift the community rather than offending society,” said Earl.

Earl Mentor with Aviwe and his little brother Yamkela after their performance that pulled a crowd at Ukhanyo Primary school. Photo by Zintle Swana.

Mphumzi Matanzima, 16, has been friends with Aviwe since grade four at Ukhanyo primary school in Masiphumelele.

“There is never a dull moment with him, even though he likes being listened to. He is strict, always wants to act older than me and boys our age, and a little bit stuck up,” he said laughing. “He actually forced me to sing with him in grade six and I went along.”

“I’m a stay home kid. Some people think of me as boring and anti-social because it’s either I’m at school, at the studio, or home,” said Aviwe.

His mother, Noxolo Ntongana, said, “When my son started at crèche, he started talking to me in English and with children his age. That was a bit weird for me, since he went to a black community crèche and there was not even a coloured child that I would think, maybe that is where he got it from.”

“In primary school he would take a story book and rap the words right through to the end. I think those were some of the signs of him becoming a rapper,” said Ntongana.

In June 2013, Aviwe rapped for Barack Obama when the president visited the Desmond Tutu HIV Center in Masiphumelele.

He rapped about poverty.

“Rapping for the US president was one of the most amazing moments of my life. Stories that I have always wanted to tell to one of the presidents, I finally got a chance to do so. It was a frightening moment, because there were a lot of cameras in front of me … something that I had never experienced before, but still it was amazing,” said Aviwe.

Mentor said: “Aviwe was already popular in the community, so we thought he would do great … It was a success for all of us. He was given a platform and he used it in a very positive way; he rapped about something that affects a lot of us — poverty.”

The lyrics to president Obama were:

“Hell on earth what’ we goonna,

On T.V you watch a Scooby Doo,

Sayin’ a punch line he’s not good,

Having a party with a funny goon,

Until you realize that the planet is doomed,

Now you come and smile with the boomer system,

Till you check again the roof is missing,

Gangsters dancing like it’s new auditions,

Nxanelwa imfundo now that’s the spirit,

Head has walls that stops you dreaming,

Heading to the goal with Mzantsi failing,

Now you face the hardest failing,

Getting out there is not pimping,

The real way is through rapping,

But other MCs try dicing,

Never care let them keep on hating.”

Ntongana said, at first, “I never liked his visits to the youth center because I never trusted that he was really going there. Any mother of a teenager would be worried, but the youth center would call and assure me that he was really there. And when he rapped for Obama, I began to see it in a positive way, that it was actually grooming my child to be a better person.”

Aviwe said his mother’s support and understanding are the two things that keep him going. “I have a very strict mother, but her love and support are my strength, and she’s been there for me since I started at the youth center.”

He has helped to recruit more young people to the center and in that way he helps in shaping the community towards the right direction.

Khululwa Nkatshu, who used to be Aviwe’s facilitator at the youth centre, said: “He is good at organizing; he is always involved in our events … a very hyperactive young person. He is not easily intimidated and that is how he got to rap for the president.”

Aviwe is a grade nine pupil at Masiphumelele High School. His class teacher, Phumeza Jokani, said: “I have only met Aviwe this year (2014) and I’m his Math teacher. He is an average pupil when it comes to class performance, but a very hard worker.”

Aviwe ‘Catmeister’ Ntongana performing at Ukhanyo Primary school on Heritage day 2014. Photo by Zintle Swana.

Ntongana, who is 32, said her son is a blessing because he puts his family first. “I work as a domestic worker … I try so hard to provide for my family … Aviwe looks after his five-year-old brother, Yamkela. He takes him to events, and he understands when I don’t have money. Right now, I’m working hard to buy him a computer, because I can see that he is passionate about his music.

“He cooks and does laundry, something most teenage boys do not do … My son has changed the way that I think and see things. I cannot choose a lifestyle for him, but as long as he does not dropout from school …”

Aviwe with his younger brother Yamkela and Khululwa Nkatshu at Ukhanyo Primary School on Heritage Day 2014. Photo By Zintle Swana.

Aviwe says, “Rapping for President Obama doesn’t make me any better than anyone else. I’m still young and have a lot to learn. I still have a long way to go. For now, I don’t know anything, and to me hip hop is about telling a story that you know. I think of myself as a storyteller and not a rapper.”

“My dream is to open an art center and have a production company where I can groom young people and help those in need. Life is about taking one step forward and more steps will follow,” says Aviwe.