Musical mistake
Reneilwe discovers that the grass isn’t greener on the other side when she ditches her band to go solo.
Rhythm City Weekdays e.tv (*194) 19:00
Reneilwe’s (Amo Chidi) music expectations are slowly going down the drain when her manager Kwela (Themba Nofemele) starts making orders on how she should live her life. Amo says that “Reneilwe thought that she’d become an overnight sensation and make millions, but that quickly changes when she signs her contract without reading it first”. “She’s signed her life over to Kwela and he’s trying to control her every move,” adds Amo, starting with ditching her fling Bash (Siphiwe Mtshali) on Friday 20 January.
CAREER CRASH
Life at Dizzy Records isn’t as fun as the youngster had hoped, plus there’s something else that Reneilwe’s got to hide from her family. Kwela’s wife Sunay (Kelly Khumalo) is an artist at the label and also Reneilwe’s mentor. Renei’s family hate Sunay because she introduced Reneilwe’s cousin Tshidi (Nokuthula Ledwaba) to drugs back in August 2009 after Tshidi came second in a singing contest and was Sunay’s back-up singer. Tshidi’s life fell apart and she dropped out of matric before writing her exams. “Reneilwe doesn’t want to follow her cousin’s footsteps,” says Amo, but on Monday 23 January, Sunay snorts a line of cocaine in front of Renei. “Naïve Reneilwe is shocked at how Sunay normalises this behaviour and she realises that she should’ve stayed with her old band The Born Frees,” Amo reveals. Kwela adds fuel to the fire on Tuesday 24 January when he forces Renei to wear clothes that she isn’t comfortable in, she has no control over the music that she’s making and she’s forced to choose between school and her music career. Amo says that her character “feels helpless and trapped but that’s exactly what Kwela wants – he wants to control his artists”.
LOVE LOST
Having to dump Bash has pros and cons for Reneilwe, says Amo. “She doesn’t really get hurt – they’ve only kissed a couple of times. They’ve always had chemistry and got on well,” but Kwela convinces Reneilwe that having a boyfriend is bad for her brand. On Friday 27 January, Renei hears that Bash’s ex- girlfriend Nox ( Thishiwe Ziqubu) is back in town and she realises that she might’ve lost out on the chance of love yet again. Worse yet, following her current career path with Kwela, Sunay and Dizzy Records could see her land in the same hole as her troubled cousin…