BOKANG MONYANE
Maseru
Voice over artistry is one of those careers that people are aware of but they are unconscious of the fact that it’s a career path that one can embark on and make real money out of it. Thamae Thamae is one of the regular voices we hear on our radio stations yet we don’t know the face. He also has his wings spread in the music space as an artist.
Hailing all the way from Mafeteng; Thamae Thamae is one of the seasoned Voice Over artists in the country. This young stunner grew up imitating the voices he heard on radio and television unbeknownst to him that one day he too will be doing that. “Growing up I would always mimic the adverts and public service announcements I heard either from the radio or TV. “
Nonetheless, he was encouraged by people in his circle to pursue this career. One day as he was watching the television he saw an ad looking for a voice over artist and that is what put a stamp on everything and reaffirmed what everyone around him had been saying, that voice over artistry is actually a career.
Shortly after he completed his high school studies; Thamae decided to go after his heart and do what he has always loved doing as a child. As Fortune would have it; Thamae was given a chance to voice an advert from there he never looked back. “I was granted an opportunity to voice an advert and was paid good money for it, and that actually inspired me to strike all my glows into this voice over production job”
He is now working for one of the famous radio stations in the country as the Voice over artist all while handling the production side of things. He has done voice overs for a couple of big companies in the nation.
Asked if a person can make a living out of just doing voice overs, Thamae explained that one has to do a little bit more to make a lot of money. “Yes one can make a living by just doing voice overs but it’s more lucrative if you are also handling the production side of things which involves; mixing, mastering, recording and editing because that’s where the bulk of money is.”
Giving a counsel to those who would like to venture into to the voice talent space, Thamae urged one to take care of their Voice “You should do some vocal trainings; luckily we have a lot of them online, you also have to eat properly and in a healthy way if you are going to devote your Voice to making you money”
It seems Thamae’s vocal cords were only designed for greatness as he has his other foot thriving in the music industry. Even though he was reluctant to talk about his music due to the fact that he has long released music for his followers, he still managed to dish us some information concerning his music career.
“I have always loved music. Music was part of my upbringing as we were listening to Famo music at my home. As a youngster I thought I will end up singing Famo but when I arrived in Maseru Famo was not a cool genre amongst my peers, therefore I had to swap genres to hip hop as it was the one popping in town.”
Going by his stage name as Muhjestik, this music freak has had some notable milestones in his music career; from winning a music competition to his song ‘beautiful queen’ taking the first position for a couple of weeks on one of the biggest national radio stations in the country. Nevertheless, it was not always glitz and glamor for Majestic as he entered the Vodacom talent search for the first time and he did not win however since he has the tenacity of a blood hound and he always sees through everything he has started, he did not let failure stop nor define him. He came back in his element in 2014 and he slayed the competition by claiming the second spot taking a whopping M40 000 home with him.
“I won M40 000 from the Vodacom Talent Search competition and used that money to buy studio equipment to record music for myself and other artists.” Talent and brains are the major ingredients in the making of this artist as he invests in his craft instead of blowing up his funds.
Muhjestik defines his music as impactful because he always ensures that he spreads love and positivity through his music because he believes that the music you listen to can actually influence the decisions that you make as an individual.
Exploring the unsafe yet lucrative space of entertainment, Muhjestik Thamae says his parents have not always supported his career choice due to its unsteady and unstable nature. “Every parent wants what’s best for their children and so was my parents. They wanted me to follow a safe career which will guarantee me money.” Anyhow, his parents seem to be on board with him now as he continues to work hard and make a name for himself.
In a nutshell Muhjestik Thamae implored young people to work hard and follow their passions. “You have to be passionate about everything you do because it’s passion that is going to sustain you when you encounter challenges in your career. “