They know it can be done. After all, musicians Mzambiya and Mshoza did it.
So they are excited about getting into the industry very young, just like their favourite musicians did.
And as siblings, they have an edge as they love working with each other, and music strengthens their bond. At home, they are always dancing and singing along to music.
Now the charismatic Akani “Boboza” Khosa (10) and his bubbly older sister Nkululeko “Toto” Vilakazi (15) from Springs at Ekurhuleni make up the amapiano duo Boboza & Toto.
Boboza is the singer and mixes their music while Toto is the vocalist and says she writes mostly about being a teenager navigating life.
“We have a lot to learn in the industry, but with the support of our parents, we will be able to achieve everything we want to achieve in the industry,” Toto says.
Toto says when she was 10 years old, she wanted to be a singer, but as she grew older, she started to be more realistic about what she wanted to do. She decided that she will do music now while she works hard on her schoolwork so that she can study to be a tax attorney.
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They are the kids of businessman Jeffrey and Nomalanga Khosa, who spotted their talented kids and supported them whenever they had performances at school and are now allowing them to share their performances with the world.
Their parents allowed them to even perform at their wedding in 2022.
They performed AKA’s song Jika and impressed their uncle, award-winning Xitsonga music heavyweight Benny Mayengani who is now working with and guiding them when they are recording their music.
Boboza and Toto began recording music in their home studio with the full support of their parents, and they say they enjoy being in the studio and exploring their creative side.
Toto, who is currently writing her exams, tells Drum that she started the duo because they shared a lot of things in common, even though they have a five-year gap. She says they grew up in a household that loved and embraces music, they would always sing and dance while their parents are watching.
“My parents will always play South African music and we will dance. I have always loved writing music and when we got the opportunity to do it professionally, it was easy for me to write. My brother is exactly like me and has done everything I have done when I was his age. I used to sing, dance, and perform at school. He did the same which is why it was easy for us to work together. Plus, we have a much closer relationship and have a passion for music.”
Toto says they have two other siblings, an older brother who is into Information Technology (IT) and he told them that music is not his thing when they thought of involving him. And her younger sister is still a baby and thinks the pressure of working will get to her.
“As a beginner, it is hard to break through the industry, I didn’t want to pressurise my younger sibling to record. We have a strict schedule; on a school day we focus only on schoolwork and weekends we are in the studio working on the music but when we have exams then we study for the exams, so she must be a child and play.”
She says she has now learnt the importance of time management since she is juggling both school and music. And says she is grateful for her parents as they can work with ease knowing that they are in their corner.
Boboza says he is happy that he is working on music with his sister, it makes things easy because they have the same schedule and know when to work and to socialise with their peers.
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“It is nice that our uncle is the one who guided us in this journey because we were inspired by him. One day he came to our parents' wedding, saw us perform and spoke to our parents and gave us a chance. We are enjoying the journey this far, it is great, and kind of hard but I am keeping up. The difficult part is having interviews, but I love that I can express my emotions and feelings.”
He says he writes music for his peers to relate to, and most of his writing is about things that happen at school.
“I write about things people my age are going through especially at school. I am happy that my peers listen and support our music.”
Finding the balance between school and work has been a breeze. They say they are done recording music and they are now looking forward to getting gigs and showing Mzansi what they can do on stage. Even though they want to grow in the amapiano genre, they also see themselves getting into Afro-pop.
“Afro-pop is our key to glory, I love how relaxing the music is and I have always loved old soulful music, so as we grow within the industry we will do Afro-pop,” says Toto.
