Nomsa does it her way
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NOMSA Mazwai s personality is an
’ exotic cocktail of creativity, which sets her apart from sisters Thandiswa and Ntsiki.
Published author, and Soweto Theatre s new general manager
’ and a renowned poet and singer, she sure does wear many hats.
Nomisupasta, as she is known, welcomes the Sunday World team to her office at the iconic Soweto arena in Jabulani with a bright smile, and she is dressed to impress.
She is wearing a classic purple dress funked up by black All Star sneakers.
As the new general manager of the theatre, Mazwai s office hints at
’ her artistic interests as soon as you step through the door. Her white desktop stands on a black vintage table complemented by pure
– white walls. She s been here for the last four
’ months.
Unlike her rather serious elder sisters, Nomsa is quite animated.
She credits her father Thami Mazwai, who was a journalist, for inspiring her to write about her experiences. We were raised by a single “father, and he always encouraged us to speak our minds... hence the love for the spoken word,” she says.
She explains that her mom died giving birth to their brother. I don t
“’ remember much because I was very young when she passed away.”
At the age of nine, the bubbly poet, moved to Mthatha in Eastern Cape to live with her aunt Nomsa, after whom she was named. She missed the Jozi vibe... and the comforts she had taken for granted. I didn t understand why people “’ lived without electricity, and walk long distances for water. It s
’ something I couldn t get used to for
’ all the time I stayed there. But the love of my aunt was comforting; she treated me like her own daughter.”
Her father later moved her back to Jozi to complete her matric. In high school I became more “involved in school plays and I was always the funny girl that would make everybody laugh in class.”
After completing her matric in the suburbs of Joburg, a curious Nomsa returned to Eastern Cape to study economics at the University of Fort Hare. I was inspired by “Thabo Mbeki and Nkosazana DlaminiZuma.”
Upon graduating, she went to Fordham University in New York to complete a masters degree. Studying “abroad was great but there is no place like home. I pursued my love for arts and started painting and rapping and singing,” she says.
Asked if running the Soweto Theatre steals time from her creative passion, the colourful muso says it s all in her God-given
’ talents. The one thing I am eternally “grateful for is my sisters
’ unconditional love and support; that s how a lot of things are
’ possible. Plus I surround myself with “A-listers, people that are passionate about what they are doing and want to shine. My team here at the theatre is “awesome, everybody brings their A game, we want to always hook up the best shows ever. The one thing I got rid of when I “started as general manager, was that we don t try to
’ outclass each other; everyone is equal, no person is better than the other.
” She says she took up the job to inspire kids like herself that anything is possible. From the
“moment you step through doors, we would like people to see that nothing is impossible.”
Her music career continues. Recently she featured in Ghanaian rapper Manifest s song
’ titled
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( )* + ( ## , # - . ( - ( % , The song is about a “lying bae; you know guys tell unnecessary lies, and sometime you gotta be like why mara guy,” she says with a giggle. That track is “something every girl would relate to.”
She says she would like to get married in the future, when the
“time is right.”
The hit song from her self-titled album is making waves. She credits her team for working tirelessly, and dropping it off at radio stations. Although major radio “stations are quite biased to new music, I get lots of love after every performance with people wanting to buy my album,” she says.