Is Mingo a one-hit wonder?

CHIPPA LEGODIMO
Correspondent | Thursday July 10, 2008 00:00

 

He was quickly entrenching himself in the hearts of music lovers and promoters who could not get enough of the young musician.

So it was understandable that his followers waited anxiously for a follow-up album, they were more than convinced that it would be an even bigger success than the first one. They had no reason to doubt Mingo because besides the fact that he appeared hugely talented, he was also working with the guy who has been at the top of the kwaito ladder for a long time.

But months after the release of Mingo's second album Go tla loka many are still talking about Tshaba tsotsi and only few are aware of the latest release. Parting ways with Vee appears to have been a mistake for the young musician.

Following the success of his debut, Mingo seemed to believe that he could now go at it alone, perhaps he did not believe that Vee and his company, Black Money Makers, were not necessarily responsible for the success of his first project.

'I have to admit Go tla loka has not moved as fast as the first album. Maybe that is because Tshaba tsotsi was done with the 'big man' Vee and this one I did it alone,' Mingo said. It would make more sense if the kwaito musician had remained at least two years under Vee's wing so as to learn the finer points of the trade. Vee himself stayed with ace producer, Eric Ramogobya, at Eric Ramco Records before he started his own stable.

'I felt that I was ready to do it alone and I asked him (Vee) if I could work on the second album alone and we agreed. Despite the poor sales, I do not regret that move because as a musician I had to grow and learn to survive,' Mingo said.

Mingo believes that the reason why Go tla loka has only sold 2,000 CDs and 500 cassettes was because of poor marketing and not that it was a sub-standard product.

'I am still doing my form five and I get very little time to do the marketing, but I believe that I did a good job on this project. The tracks in there are good, it is only that it has not reached a lot of paces like the first one did. When I perform at festivals, people go crazy at the new numbers,' he said.

Despite all the odds, Mingo asserts that he would not get a promoter or manager to push his project, saying: 'It has done as anticipated, but I have decided to leave it like that. I am writing new songs for my third album, which I will ensure gets proper marketing.'

He added: 'If my fans think I did not do well this year for sure, I will make a comeback because I am here to stay. Go tla loka morena, it is a nice album if you listen to it. I know my fans had expected a lot and they have every reason to feel disappointed, but I promise the third one will be worth their while.'