Getting to know Itumeleng Mamasedi

Getting to know Itumeleng Mamasedi

My first question to Itumeleng, better known as Tumi Maestro Mamasedi was how did Maestro become part of his name, he said “I grew up being one of the 'in' drummers among my peers, later played piano and bass and even mastered the art of singing! I guess Maestro was inevitable being the person I am. I’m an all-round entertainer but I’m modest about it!”

Tumi is artistic; I asked if he knew when he was little what he wanted to be when he grew up, he confidently said “I knew I would be on-stage! By the age of 15 I had already learnt to play five musical instruments. I write all styles of music and listen to anything written, produced, arranged and layered properly.” Tumi’s most memorable song is one he wrote thando lwam, an isiZulu track inspired by the will to succeed, dreams and loving life. He wrote thando Iwam two years ago when he was a young struggling artist. The last CD he bought is Lira's 'Return to Love' which he describes as ‘absolutely beautiful!’

20-year old Tumi, born in Sebokeng, a township South of Johannesburg grew up in a loving Christian family environment. Tumi is thankful to his mother for teaching him about life and God. Until around grade 11, Tumi known as the boy who sold sweets learnt his entrepreneurial skills, he says “the entrepreneurial bug bit me and I loved trading with customers who needed a product and making a profit for my efforts.” When finishing school Tumi attended The Vaal University of Technology for three years where he studied for a diploma in Human Resources Management majoring in Business Management.

When I asked about Tumi’s career highlights I immediately felt his forceful determination to succeed. He has achieved lots at a young age, some of the best include, “landing a job as a presenter on one of SABC Education's biggest shows, Matrics Uploaded and my baby Supersuccess, a motivation company. We sell motivation in the true sense of the word. We devise turnaround strategies for corporates and individuals and do speaking events, all packaged according to what the client needs. Launching my career as a transformational speaker, I got lucky and was able to land speaking jobs with different corporates immediately after my matric year and since then I have never looked back! I also speak to international audiences on a weekly slot on Radio Pulpit network, a national Christian radio station that broadcasts internationally, the show is Y Connection and airs every Saturday evening at 18h00 on AM 657 radio-frequency.”

I asked who his inspiration is and he laughs saying “so many different people, but all of them live by a common tagline 'Never say die!' My friend and co-presenter Nonhlanhla is one such person! I'm one to master the art; I’ve been studying production and gathering information to put together my own majestic television production company. So I'm one such! Truly never say die!”

This young man is happy and is not afraid of anything in life. He says “it is because I studied the human mind informally for the past three years and realise that fear is created and enforced! In life I know for sure that there’s always light at the end of the tunnel, how long it takes to get to the end doesn't matter! I have no regrets at all. I’m a firm believer that everything happens in line with God`s will; good or bad.”

He says “the only thing I don’t like about myself is that I’m inclined to leave my cell phone on at night even though I promise myself not to, so the mornings are always a recharge rush.”

Tumi’s favourite movie is Ali and the Pursuit of Happiness he says, “Will Smith is an incredible actor, and so are Leroy Gopal, Vusi Kunene, Sello Maake ka Ncube, Lerato Mvelase; these are just few of my Mzansi favourites.”

When Tumi manages to find some leisure time, he reads good business skills books or spends time in the studio recording or writing music. He doesn’t have a favourite radio station because he has many DJ friends on different stations and “my phone wouldn’t stop ringing if I chose one” he says. His favourite local TV show is Matrics Uploaded, “it`s honestly the best, edutainment television in South Africa.” He also enjoys a good chat and laughter on social networks twitter and facebook.

I found myself wondering if Tumi ever cries, he says “I cry, the other day we recorded a beautiful song I wrote in Kalanga, a Zimbabwean language, it sounded so amazing I became tearful. I try to live a life filled with love in the world, this way you have a huge impact on people around you that will last beyond your days of eating pap!”

Tumi is working on something that is hyping him up, he says “I can't say much as it is early days, it is a television show I'm putting together. I guarantee it is television that will inspire, transform and uplift! Television is a powerful medium to convey a message; it is the best place to inspire change in the positive direction! I want to make a difference, there's only so many years a person can be the 'it' man or woman in the industry, but people who make a difference last longer!”

When I received his response, I felt silly that I had asked this wise young man if he thought he was a leader, he said “I am firstly a leader of myself. The decisions I take daily are those that determine my success! Everyone is a leader, you lead you; either to success or destruction. Success is contentment when you reach a goal. I have been super successful in my life so far but because success is not a destination, I'm looking forward to so much more!”

Tumi is fluent in five South African languages, seSotho, isiXhosa, seTswana, isiZulu, siSwati and English. He is learning Kalanga and he attributes this to his love of communicating with people of different backgrounds and understanding their reality. He is working on expanding his motivation consultancy into Africa to discuss relevant issues with African youth.

For further details contact Lesley Fahey:
email: faheylk@sabc.co.za or go to www.sabceducation.co.za