Johannesburg - Donald is the all in one R&B singer. If it’s not his beautiful voice that charms the ladies, it’s his dazzling good looks. In the last decade, Donald Moatshe (32) has gone from being a backing vocalist to an award-winning singer.
With the release of his new album titled Something More, it shows that the singer is not showing any signs of losing his grip.
WANTING TO BECOME A SOCCER PLAYER
Originally from Rustenburg in the North West, Donald says he never knew that one day he would become a singing super star. “I always loved music but I was a bit sceptical of what I wanted to do because I was really passionate about soccer,” he says.
“I played in the Premier Soccer League development for Wits University’s under-18 side. The following year I went on soccer trials and Jomo Sono came and picked me to play for the under-19 side at his club, Jomo Cosmos.”
The minute he saw that he was going far with his soccer career, Donald decided to cut soccer out of his life to become a musician. “Music for me was more of a calling than it is of something I wanted to make money out of. Even though I knew the flaws of the industry, I just had to make a choice between music and soccer. I chose music.”
THE RED MIC XPERIENCE
Donald says having to do The Red Mic Xperience was to just elevate his craft and take things to another level. “I wanted to create a DVD which could possibly stand as the best of this era. It’s me creating the standard and quality for South African music. I didn’t compromise in production as I wanted it to be big,” he says.
He explains that The Red Mic Xperience was taken into a bigger scale with his 13-member band and dancers that he hardly uses when he performs live on stage. “I called the album The Red Mic Xperience because I always perform with a red mic. I have a mic that I perform with everywhere I go to avoid sounding the same in each and every show.”
NEW ALBUM AND RECORD LABEL
Donald has released Something More earlier this year. A first for South Africa and a follow up to his previous successful albums such as The Red Mic Xperience DVD, Train of Love and Black and White. “Something More is the only visual album in Africa. It’s an album where each single has a music video. It was a risk that I took, especially paying for everything out of my own pocket which was a big challenge. I just wanted young people to be inspired by what I am doing because a lot of us are generally scared to take risks in life,” says the singer.
“I wanted it to be a lesson and an inspiration to young people to know and believe that if you want to achieve something, even if you don’t have all the resources there is always a possibility.”
Donald has introduced his brand new label called Dexclusive Sounds. He signed his first artist named Papa Snoop. “I’ve been running my own label but the difference is that I wasn’t signing any artist. I just wanted to pay more attention in building others like myself as I am in a different space right now,” he says.
