A South African Gospel artist, Lebo Matumba, who hails from Bloemfontein, was named Female Artist of the Year at the Central Music Awards 2023. She has recently released a new single titled “Mahodimo”.
When asked how she felt about winning the award, she said: “It feels amazing to me because I am now a living, practical example of ‘hard work pays’ and it motivates me to push harder.”
Matumba acknowledges that the journey to winning this award came with unexpected but necessary challenges. “Along the way you meet people who come into your career journey for a reason, either to take from you or give you something, sometimes finances are not on your side to market or campaign or anything else that might cost money. Then you also have to deal with your personal life at the same time,” she said.
When asked about her new single “Mohodimo”, she said it came to her in a dream. “God told me that the heavens have opened for my life and at that time, reality was hectic to a point whereby nothing was going right. My husband just lost his job and I was not getting bookings, rental issues were piling up as well as family needs, but trusting God and believing in His word was my inspiration to hold on to faith. Hopefully the song ‘Mahodimo’ will give God’s people hope,” she said.
Bloemfontein holds a special place for Matumba as it gave her the platform to have her name recognised. “My music is different and set apart from the rest because I see myself as a minister of God in worship. This to me is not just performance or seeking to be famous, but it is a ministry to me and God uses my voice to send His message to His people through my music,” she said.
Matumba believes that her mission through ministry is to see God’s people going back to Him. “I would love to break this limited mindset of recording and releasing but I want to implement the idea of getting out of our comfort zone and see ourselves on the same level as the world’s well-known gospel artists, like your Tasha Cobbs and more.”
Justine Fortuin
justine@mahareng.co.za
