While in grade 1 at the age of 7, at Rantshu(a local primary school), she joined a school choir. Rantshu Primary School on regular occasions would go on singing trips where Thee Blackanese1 was also a choir member, and on the road competed with other schools, and as important as anything, battling out for the top prize in countless choir competitions. Mrs Matsimela who was a teacher and also a choir conductor at Rantshu by then, was at the helm of the school choir until her sudden departure to another school. The singing department was left in great shambles, and was never the same since Mrs Matsimela was relieved from her duties at Rantshu. The school choir was shut down and never returned to any rehearsal or competition.
Although Mrs Matsimela’s departure might have left some bitter pill to swallow for many singing faithful, Thee Blackanese1 did not throw in the towel in her love and passion for music. She still went on and continued to do what truly inspired her and what she was famous for, which was nothing but music. Every day after school hours, she herded livestock, goats to be precise. The village routine of guarding livestock such as cows, goats, and sheep to the bushes, was pretty much some work cut out for boys. Being raised in a family that was female headed, Thee Blackanese1 was also assigned to carry out duties performed by boys in that time and generation. Life every day chasing after family pet did not leave her beating herself up, feeling embarrassed or anything, but it was rather a blessing in disguise. During those fair hours in the grazing field for goats, she and a group of young girls gathered around and would sing songs together under a giant aloe tree. Occasionally, it was more than a welcome distraction for Thee Blackanese1 and her partners in crime during that time of the day.
“I would sometimes listen to my uncle’s rap playlist. He was a die-hard fan of Hip Hop heavyweights like Snoop Dogg, The Notorious Big, 2pac, Missy Elliott and just to name a few. At my teething stage, I thought all those artists just stood in front of the camera, performed and right after that a music video would get released. I had no idea that studios even existed, booked and that a song had to be recited in a studio booth.” The rapper added. By the time she hit her teens and already doing grade 7, Hip Hop became Thee Blackanese1's preferred genre and her trademark too. A local boy in her village named Shawn, one day came up to her and presented a music idea that would completely blow her away. “The very first time Shawn approached me and pitched his idea to me, he made me listen to Soulja Boy’s hit song Kiss Me Tru The Phone. I fell in love with the song from the word go, and as an aspiring rapper myself, I couldn’t feel more inspired and instantly knew that I could reach my full potential by all means” proudly said Thee Blackanese1. One Saturday Shawn organised a studio session just so Thee Blackanese1 could get a hang of what recording a real song was all about. The very same day, she had somewhere else to be, and had to honour a commitment to her church for a conference. And sure enough, being a choir leader, she had to make time for that when duty called. “In grade 8, one fellow student at school sparked with so much interest, wanted a backup singer for his upcoming Hip Hop single. “Shawn put out a good word for me, and by then had the very same guy listening to the song I had just recorded. He was in awe and impressed by my singing, and also wanted us to go to the studio to do a song together somewhere in Polokwane. Up to that point, the idea never materialized and we both never had even one song recorded since” Thee Blackanese1 regrettably said. However, one disappointing feature did not dismantle the hopes of the rapper, and as fate would have it, she successfully had a song titled Chronic Love recorded together with one local rapper Kay Cozy. In their turf, the song was an instant hit and had all the makings to reach Gold Status. Nonetheless, the dream team of Kay Cozy and Thee Blackanese1 did not live up to full expectations. The two young and promising rappers, called time on their union and possibly on any collaboration in future. As of today, the circumstances surrounding their fall-out is still unknown.
After calling it quits with Kay Cozy, word went out that there were some people looking for Thee Blackanese1’s services. Locals Lucky and Flow invited her to a studio called RA Productions. They worked on many hits with other local artists. They also went on to form a crew called Vortex Vikings, which saw them perform in many different places around Ga-Mashashane and a few in Moletjie. The crew was still together until Flow, who was the producer and owner of RA Productions Studio, relocated to Pretoria. Some of the crew members also went to other provinces to study soon after matriculating, and that was the end of Vortex Vikings. Shawn aka Xplicit decided to step in and built his own studio. The whole idea was to help local rappers and singers who were left in ewe like Thee Blackanese1.
Over the years, Thee Blackanese1 has evolved and grown as a Hip Hop artist. She is now a proud co-founder and a co-owner of SeasonX Studios. SeasonX Studios had many homes before but it is now based in Alexandra township. The record label (SeasonX Studios) hosted a lot of artists from time to time, in a show called Seasons Of The Seasons held at some basement in 5th Avenue. In 2019, every other Friday or a day on a weekend, local artists from the township (Alexandra) would visit the studio and record their music. The purpose was to give up and coming artists a kick-start to launch their music careers. What better way if not the SeasonX's way? Till this present day, they are still doing rounds and making good music.
One biggest fan of Justin Bieber herself, not a single day goes without Thee Blackanese1 listening to the Canadian born singer’s music. Nicki Minaj plays second string on her playlist alongside few other local artists and to mention Brenda Fassie, Makhadzi, Master KG, Nkosazana Daughter, Musa Keys and the list is endless.
The Blackanese1’s music to add two of her recently released songs “bafana ba di polo” and “Toast”, is now published on all music platforms including iTunes, Spotify, YouTube and other host of musical websites. People can stream, download or buy the rapper’s/ singer’s music, which is the best way of showing her some love and support.