My Interview With PeoplesBook Prize Awards 2016

FOR HIS entire life, Bandile Matsenjwa has straddled
two worlds: the socially challenged and academia.

Born in Siteki, western part of Swaziland. Real name Bandile Mziwanele Matsenjwa,  has successfully battled preconceived notions about black men birthed from its high concrete walls to gain good academic marks, a subsequent place at Olympia Publishers and
positioned himself as one of Swaziland ’s leading
young wordsmiths.

“It’s a bit of a myth when you’re told that kids from
rural backgrounds aren’t interested in school,” he says.
“What is quite interesting about our area is that
despite the low success rate among a lot of young
men, we all want it. We’re all from a background
that encourages it, I was just lucky enough for
everything to work out for me.”

The Author's parents who had witnessed
many of Bandile's peers turn to a life of a crime, alcohol
focused their energy on ensuring that their son was
afforded the best education they could. He was
schooled outside of his area and admits that this
was a learning curve in itself.

“My school ran a tight ship. You couldn’t really act
up because it had a strong disciplinary system and
clear ideology. I realised that the outside world saw
little value in the estate experience. This made me
angry. That anger grew with my awareness of our
relegation to the peripheries of society and that’s
when grime found me.”

Bandile found solace in the rare genre and
developed a unique style in which to tell his story.
In probably one of his most poignant books entitled
Better Man, he reflects: “I’m from a place where
a lot of people die for nothing… We’re stuck in a
‘hood. Do you know what a hood does? It absorbs
the rain and it blocks out the sun, it stores the pain
and it knocks out the fun.”

He says: “My poetry and writing skills came from rap. It became
poetry only when I wanted to communicate better
with the audience.”

Last year the Swazi Author was chosen as one of "Africa's promise" seen by thousands
who attended the sold out two-day festival in the
east London borough. He recited Existence, a poem
which urges inner city youngsters to aspire to a life
beyond crime and grinding poverty.

Describing 2014 as “the defining year of my life,”
he says that he realised just how far he could go.
“I think that was a turning point for me. Before, I
was open to suggestions, I didn’t have an agenda,
but now I have and I owe that to 2014 & Masundvwini"

He also built up an impressive celeb fanbase
throughout the trailblazing 365 days, one of the
most notable being Author Nicholas Gordon, whom he
supported at a recent book launch.

At the mention of the US Author's  name, Bandile's
tone and creativity moves from laid back to jubilant in a matter of
seconds.
“It feels amazing, man. I will never be able to
express that feeling in words. It’s very humbling
but, at the same time, it gives you a sense of
perspective so if this is what can happen out of a
hobby, something I did in my spare time, imagine
what could happen if I treated it as a career.
Imagine all of the people I could get on side.”

Already cheering him on is UK rapper Wretch 32
and singers Kyra and Mega with whom he once
shared the spotlight with.

“I’m so privileged have worked with these people.
It’s not like I’m making the best out of whoever I
get, this is the crème de la crème. These people
are so good, these people are pioneers and it’s an
honour. Whenever I hear about them or they share new
stuff, that’s inspiration for me.”

A culmination of the Author's inspirations took
up the basis of his landmark one-man speech at the Celebrate Economical Success in the presence of Majesties like Prince Williams and his beloved who were all smiles after the speech.

Before the speech which took place on his 2nd PeoplesBook Prize awards day he said: “Everything is going good. I’m just
a bit nervous. Whenever you deliver a speech you’re
presenting your raw thoughts. You think ‘how are
the audience going to receive it?’ I always want the
best so I’m worried about anything less than the
best.”
Adding to the pressure is that within the audience,
no doubt spiced with celebrity fans, was two of his
biggest.
“My ex bosses from Olympia were there, which made me more
nervous. One of the best things about delivering a speech is that you’re talking to people that you don’t know.

“My ex boss is too real [when it comes to constructive
criticism], she’ll be like, ‘don’t you think you
should’ve got a haircut? Don’t you think that shirt is
too tight?’”
Currently running writers clubs in Swaziland for young people - using his royalties Bandile says his goal is to
“force people to care more”.
“I think in areas like where I’m from, kids just don’t
have enough. If more people outside of the
situation cared, it would do a lot for them. Young
people are a lot smarter than we give them credit
for. I thought one of the biggest battles would be
convincing them that writing is worthwhile, but from
the first session, they were like, ‘Yep, I’m involved.
Teach me how to do it'' and that's Pen That ColdAddiction for them, finding comfort in words."