Story by Rashid Mhlanga
O, hail the Kalanga Queen, poised for greatness! She carries bars which are pregnant with deep messages for the heart and mind. The royal one is mandated to spread hope and heal with her rhymes till the end of time. A genius par excellence, she is a rare breed amongst the many. Bold and victorious, she is TBK!
She was born Tabaka Precious Moyo on 6 March 1996, enjoying the music playing on radio, and it really influenced her hip-pop career. “I remember listening to Dilemma by Nelly and mimicking him and telling myself that I can do this at the age of 6. My interest was solidified at age 8 when I was starting to understand better and simultaneously, I was keen on breakdancing which I`m also good at. It was different, and I like different”, she said. So TBK is short for Tabaka which is my first name, a name of Kalanga origin, I came up with it when I was 10, almost 2 decades ago and it stuck.
Starting her music career around 2022, it was quite a difficult journey. “I met a lot of resistance from folks who thought I was in a way ‘throwing my life away’ as they were skeptical about financial security one can get from music. I struggled to get airplay, a hip-hop community and also a producer that really understood my type of sound, it was a mammoth task”, she said.
“It was easier when music was just a hobby so there was no pressure attached to it but then when I graduated from varsity I made an attempt to pursue it separately to see where it gets me but juggling music and life in general hasn’t been a walk in the park, nothing breaks your heart more than failing in the one thing you love so I have had to pick myself up many times”, she added.
Her authenticity and fearless personality truly sets her apart from others in the industry. She is quite meticulous about the production of her music, from the conceptualization to the final bay, TBK follows through in order to get the very best to her audience. With the primary focus of her music being topical issues such as mental health especially amongst the youths, she believes that besides other awareness material, and methods, the afflicted person’s perception (through music) has a huge impact on people.
TBK alludes her creativity to her late mother. “I was a creative child and my mom used to encourage that by taking her time listen & offer suggestions each time I would pitch a song to her. I don’t think she knew I would consider it as a career option in future but she liked that I had creative interests”, she said. “I write from a place of pain, since I lost my mom in 2012 I have been trying to navigate life, and getting lost & that greatly affected my mental health as I transformed from a generally happy kid to one that’s trying to keep it together thinking to myself, ‘I can’t be the only one in pain, let me try to heal others as well hence the music’”, she added.
She believes her sound is spiritually motivated and best describes it as ‘an Afrocentric sound with an urban feel, which is not meant for one’s ear but one’s soul’. To date, TBK has five singles. In 2021, she released ‘Haybo’ which was produced by Lance Hebron, and a year later, ‘MaMkhize’ and After Robot produced by Lance Hebron mixed and mastered by Mac Tunney. Twenty-four months later, she delivered Impi/ Isagila and Yay Yeah which were both produced by Fuel The Don mixed and mastered by Ray_zw, respectively.
With many industries being are male dominated, the music industry isn’t any different, she recons. “From the class room to the stage, I`ve always fought for a spot but what gets to me the most is being taken as a token act instead of an actual artist when certain scenarios need diversity. I feel like male artists pay a lot of attention to female rappers not because they’re interesting but because since they’re male, they think they can always do better, they have the most to say, they feel like they need to hold our hands and, that is sad! It is what it is, I just let my work speak for me and not my gender”, she said.
As for the fellow sisters who are contemplating on joining the industry, TBK encouraged them to brace up and develop thick skin. “To the ladies who are intend on to pursuing music careers, I urge them to go for it notwithstanding the fact that they won’t get a warm reception. They shouldn’t expect it to be simple just because their female, they have to work twice as hard to get their footing right because the male counterparts are always watching and scrutinizing”, she said.
TBK is a very vocal person who is not shy to air out opinions, she is on a mission to help brand Bulawayo hip-hop the way it will be better received by the people. Quizzed on any latest projects to offer, she remained tight-lipped but warmed-up with a smile. “I have some projects in the works that am not at liberty to share prematurely but you will see a lot happening this year”, she said.
