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Mr Selwyn is now a pastor

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Mr Selwyn
Mr Selwyn

AWARD-winning hip hop star, Selwyn Ngwenya, is now a pastor. Known as Mr Selwyn in the entertainment industry, the 43-year-old is a new man. He has not only changed his ways, but his name as well. Now the Shake hit-maker answers to Pastor Selwyn after accepting Jesus Christ as His Lord and Saviour.  

SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

He tells Move! that he took a six year break from music to focus on finding himself and getting closer to God. “I’m now a born-again Christian and all those years away from the music industry meant finding myself and God’s love. People need to know who they are because if you don’t know who you are then you will never know where you are going,” he says about his life changing decision.

FROM THE STAGE TO THE PULPIT

Selwyn, who is member of the Ministry in Kingdom Cathedral in Krugersdorp in the West Rand, loves his transformation. He shares with Move! that he is a peace-keeper at church and loves each and every moment of it. “Most people tend to depend on music, which is something I do as a hobby and because I have the talent,” says the father of two. “At one stage I was working as an insurance broker at a call centre because I believed that I had to work hard and be independent. In order to live like a king, you have to work hard.” Selwyn released his first album, Formula, in 2004 and he went on to win a Best Hip-hop Album award at the South African Music Awards. He followed up with another album, Zone 5, in 2006. Following Zone 5, his career took a nosedive. 

SELF-EXILE

In making a comeback, Selwyn then released his third album, Foundation, in 2009 before he went on self-imposed exile. “Things were terrible. Everything about that album was horrible. The marketing team, the manager and the distributors were not that supportive,” says Selwyn. He had to choose between his family and being a musician. "I have children and when I realised that nothing was working for me, I decided to take a break from music. I found a job to put bread on the table and it worked for me. It gave me some time to find myself and now I also preach at church and give motivational talks to young people.”

TURNAROUND

Selwyn also owns a clothing label called PS Connections, which specialises in men's suits. He is also involved with a youth programme with the City of Johannesburg called Vulindlela. “We deal with young people from around the City of Gold. We are pushing young people to have a purpose in life because without a purpose, there will be no future. People are going to see me and other celebrities promoting the city for good reasons. People must know that talent opens doors for you. Your character will sustain your career. Talent without character is a disaster,” says Selwyn. He is now planning a comeback with four new singles. Two of the singles will be released later this year. Selwyn mixes gospel and hip- pop. He has worked with producer Amu and KO’s Caracara beatmaker, Lunatik Beat.  

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