Changing tunes
Mlungisi Mathe: actor by day and maskandi muso by night.
Wherever Emkay is, trouble is sure to follow. Weekdays SABC1 (*191) 18:30
Ruining people’s lives is engraved in the DNA of troubled varsity student Emkay (Mlungisi Mathe). He has spent the past three years making everyone’s life difficult at Gauteng University, like in October 2017 when he threatened to leak a video of his lecturer Sakhile (Nicholas Nkuna) snorting cocaine. “Emkay is something else,” laughs Mlungisi. “When we first met him on the soap in 2015, all he did was cause trouble. He comes from a troubled home where his father wasn’t around and that influences his bad decisions. He lacked ambition and would do anything for a quick buck. But with the help of his grounded Turfloop friends Kwaito (Clement Maosa) and Tbose (Cornet Mamabolo), he’s steadily changing into a better person,” adds the 26-year- old actor. Although Emkay is trying to shake off his bad- guy tendencies, Mlungisi is dividing time between acting and his music career.
Mlungisi explains that his character is still a villain – just one who wouldn’t murder someone in cold blood.
JAM SESSIONS
Unlike Emkay, Mlungisi doesn’t have time to get in trouble. During the day he can be found on the soapie’s set in Joburg, and by night, he’s working on his maskandi album [maskandi is traditional Zulu folk music]. “Singing is my first love. When I wake up in the morning, I hum or sing. Luckily, I live alone and I can sing as loud as I want,” laughs Mlungisi, who goes by the stage name Skandi Kid when performing.
Growing up in rural KwaZulu-Natal introduced Mlungisi to the folk music genre and he explains that it feels closer to home than if he’d jumped on the pop-music wagon like others his age. “This is the music that everyone listened to while I was growing up. Even when I moved to Joburg, my family and I would still dance to it. It is what I know and how I would like to tell my story as an artist.” Mlungisi adds that he is hoping to release an official single by mid-year 2018. “Fortunately my Skeem Saam schedule and music schedule work together and I have time to record songs and perfect my album. I talk a lot about love in my songs and unlike my character, you’d find me hanging out with old-school maskandi musicians rather than causing trouble,” jokes the actor.
CALLING THE TUNE
Turns out Mlungisi didn’t audition for Emkay in 2015, but rather goodguy Jama (played by Oros Mampofu). “I didn’t get the role and thought that my chances were ruined. A few days later, the Skeem Saam team called me to audition for Emkay – I got the job on the spot,” says Mlungisi.
And the role came at the perfect time: he had just graduated from the Market Theatre, having studied drama, and working on the soapie introduced him to the industry as a whole. “I get to learn from writers, directors and other actors about putting a story together. It’s an exciting job!” Mlungisi says. And while he admits that getting into character is challenging – the actor doesn’t have anything in common with extrovert Emkay – he’s thrilled to play the engineering student who wants to complete his degree and become an honest person. “There are many dimensions to Emkay. I like that I am tapping into another side of him that doesn’t involve scamming people. He is growing up in front of my eyes and he is working on a project that’ll require him to be diligent and focused.”
With a new storyline and his music career keeping Mlungisi busy, it looks like 2018 could just be the year he (and Emkay) rise to the very top.