From a notebook in Siyathuthuka to the NkAMA stage

MIDDELBURG – In Siyathuthuka, Emakhazeni, a school notebook became the first place where Mike Kosabo Makua began shaping the artist he would later become.

Better known as MK AKA MIKE, Makua grew up in Mpumalanga’s Highveld, surrounded by isiNdebele, family stories, church and radio. Without access to a recording studio, he wrote down and translated English rap lyrics into isiNdebele because he wanted to hear his own language on hip-hop beats.

His plans, however, took an unexpected turn during his final year of school.

Makua completed Grade 12 in 2007 in the Science stream but suffered a serious cornea injury that affected his vision and prevented him from properly writing his final examinations.

In 2008, he enrolled at Nkangala TVET College’s Witbank Campus to study Information Technology, but his recovery made it difficult to concentrate on a computer screen.

“That was the hardest time,” he says. “I was young, I was injured, I could not finish school the way I wanted, and I could not even focus on college. Most people thought that was the end for me.”

Instead, the setback became a turning point.

With his formal education interrupted, Makua turned to music, performing at schools and community halls in Emakhazeni, initially without expecting payment.

His decision to make isiNdebele central to his music was deliberate. He carried his identity into his work, eventually developing a stage persona that included a parliamentary blazer.

“When you come from Emakhazeni, they expect you to leave, not to lead,” he says. “I wear the blazer to remind the youth in Nkangala that leadership is here too.”

That idea became the foundation of what he calls “Hip-Hop of Parliament”, with his music addressing poverty, land, identity, governance, African unity and community struggles.

“My mic is my seat in parliament, my verse is my policy, my song is my vote for the people,” he says.

As his music developed, Makua also began exploring other ways of building a sustainable future.

Agriculture became part of that journey. He is now the managing director of MK AKA MIKE Enterprise Pty Ltd and Records, established in 2024, and co-founder and chairperson of Highveld Mixed Farming Primary Co-operative Ltd.

He says he has participated in enterprise-development programmes involving the Small Enterprise Development and Finance Agency and the Department of Small Business Development.

His interest in technology also continued after leaving his IT studies. He is now developing what he calls the Hydro/Aqua Accelerator Injector, an agricultural technology project aimed at improving irrigation and water-resource use.

Makua says the invention is intended to assist farmers and institutions dealing with water challenges, including municipalities and schools.

The project remains in the prototype development and testing phase, with small-scale agricultural trials planned. He is seeking partnerships and funding to develop the technology into a finished end-user product.

Through his farming cooperative, Makua is targeting the 2026 planting season. The cooperative aims to cultivate 20 hectares of crops, including soybeans, install 50 Hydro/Aqua Injector units and create 50 jobs across farming, irrigation, agro-processing, marketing, sales, logistics and technical work.

The cooperative is exploring access to municipal agricultural land, private land through lease arrangements and state agricultural land.

Makua says the project requires R1.5 million in seed funding for agricultural inputs, technology development, agro-processing equipment and youth stipends.

He also wants to bring agriculture and music together through his proposed “Farm and Mic” programme, aimed at exposing young people to both creative expression and farming.

For Makua, these ventures offer different ways of addressing challenges in his community, with technology and entrepreneurship providing additional tools.

His work in music has also earned him recognition, with Makua receiving two NkAMA nominations – Best Hip-Hop and Best Ndebele Music.

His latest project, Africah More – Pandemic Additional, includes tracks such as Africah, Flying a Flag and Umengameli (President).

Yet the nominations are only one part of a journey that began with a young boy translating rap lyrics into isiNdebele in a school notebook.

An eye injury interrupted his education, but it did not end his ambitions. From community performances, Makua moved into music, entrepreneurship, agriculture and the development of agricultural technology.

He describes his journey as one of resilience rather than reinvention.

“From Grade 12 because of a cornea injury to college because I couldn’t see the screen, to Managing Director trained by DSBD and SEDFA I am still that boy from Siyathuthuka with a notebook.”

For all the places his ambitions may take him, Makua says he remains connected to where his story began.

“My journey is from Siyathuthuka to the world, but I must carry Siyathuthuka with me.”

Makua will now have an opportunity to take his talent to the NkAMA stage, alongside other artists from across the district. Members of the public are encouraged to get their tickets and come out in numbers to support Nkangala talent. Supporting NkAMA is not only about attending an event, but also an investment towards recognising, developing and building Nkangala talent for the future.