The recipe for Zeus' success

THATO KALA
Correspondent | Wednesday November 14, 2012 00:00

 

Zeus received his fifth Channel O nomination under the Most Gifted African South video for Dancing Shoes. The man from Mahalapye has had a successful career, but justly says that he has not stumbled upon his accomplishments and speaks of so many factors that have seen him make steady progress in the industry:'I really took my time with things to learn, study and prepare. I learnt a lot in terms of different aspects of the business like marketing and distribution.' Zeus has always been an avid reader from an early age and  he started serious reading on business topics as early as age 16. In fact, Zeus singles out the book, Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyowasaki as one of the books that opened up his mind concerning business and contributed to his success.

The former Big Brother Africa housemate also paid a lot of attention to music-related programmes like Behind the Music, VH1 series and E! True Hollywood when he grew up.  Zeus grew up much closer to his mother than his father who worked in many places and he attributes a lot of influence and shape on his character to her:'The fact that she was an academic did wonders for me in terms of opening my mind to learning.' His thoughts though are that it is important for a father figure to be a part of every boy's life. The Mahalapye-born star, the last-born of four children in his family, hopes the current generation of fathers will break the father-son barrier.

'I could always tell he didn't know me as well. He'd ask, 'I hear you sing;' I hope as a culture we learn to break down the barrier between dads and sons. Culture tends to be so masculine that a father cannot sit and chat at peer level with his son,' he says. In the absence of his dad, Zeus had to look to his two elder brothers:

'I have two older brothers who have been instrumental in my growing -I can hang with one of them at a peer level because he's young at heart and the other is married, has a young son and is religiously grounded. He has been a key adviser; I think he has well thought of advice.' He, therefore, believes if biological fathers lack at whatever point, young men should be open to choose father figures to help them grow. Zeus' first experience of living away from home was when he was at varsity in Johannesburg where he has now taken his trade to in the hope it will propel his career to new levels. Despite the move to South Africa, he still disagrees with artistes who say Botswana's small population is a big hindrance to musician's success:

'If we can have BMW, Land Rover, Nandos, Pick'n'Pay- clearly there is a market. Two million people may actually mean it is more logistically viable to market and distribute,' he says. He, however, admits the unavailability of major music distribution outlets nationwide is stifling the industry. On his journey to the success he has already achieved,  Zeus says he has drawn from the strengths of a lot of people, but singles out his mum as his number one mentor:   'It's important to look for mentors outside your space because business is universal.'

The 26-year-old musician also says books can also mentor, but warns against being obsessed with successful heroes and not taking action: 'We shouldn't be obsessed with the Bill Gates' of the world because we can take notes but we still have to write our own stories. It takes a lot of pain, you introspecting and going through your journey, so you should not sit there and think you will copy notes and model your life around that.' And while he strongly believes in mentorship, he says he is not at a level where he can take anyone under his wing.

He, however, says he has previously shared knowledge with a few up and coming rappers: 'It's hard to take on an understudy with my current schedule. I would love to pass on advice and strategy to youngsters but I think mentorship comes when your needs are taken care of and you have the time and resources to help someone else,' says the conversant star.

Zeus says he cherishes the time that he can spend outside of the limelight and doing other things that he enjoys:'It's important to have 'me time' and to connect with your very being.'During his spare time, he watches documentaries, films and also writes songs. When asked how he is managing his relationship with Sesame Mosweu after his move to Jo'burg, he quickly admits 'money makes the world go round' and then adds 'love makes it more worth it.'

He stresses that he strives to balance both, but will not attempt to predict the future too much: 'I think when things are meant to be, they will. The schedule is hectic and women are creatures of attention so I try and make time. It's obviously demanding especially with the travelling. But I can't sit and give her attention without being able to provide.' He adds they both understand that it comes with the territory of career building if one wants greatness:

'You do not become great by being comfortable and safe and not risking things. If you want the nicer things, you have to work for it.'  For Zeus, the performer, a good performance is not necessarily gauged by the intensity of the screams, but the response respective to the environment in which he is performing:

'It's not always about screaming fans- I look at the environment; the way I approach a club performance is different from a corporate event,' he says. He explains that he has always wanted to be a diverse artiste with a good range of material. His Dancing Shoes project that is poles apart from his usual rap songs bears testimony to that.