The Book of ProVerb. Tebogo Thekisho
The Book of ProVerb
Published by Penguin Books
an imprint of Penguin Random House (Pty) Ltd
Company Reg. No. 1953/000441/07
The Estuaries No. 4, Oxbow Crescent, Century Avenue,
Century City, Cape Town, 7441
First published 2020
Publication © Penguin Books 2020
Text © Tebogo Thekisho & Paballo Rampa
Cover image © Tsholofelo Karabo Mothibi
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owners.
PUBLISHER: Marlene Fryer
MANAGING EDITOR: Ronel Richter-Herbert
PROOFREADER: Lauren Smith
COVER AND TEXT DESIGN: Ryan Africa
TYPESETTER: Monique Cleghorn
ISBN 978 1 77609 487 5 (print)
ISBN 978 1 77609 488 2 (ePub)
Contents
To my mom, Dr Nomonde Geraldine Phetlho-Thekisho,
and my grandmother, Elizabeth Kenalemang Phetlho
Acknowledgements
TEBOGO ‘PROVERB’ THEKISHO
I dedicate this book to my late mom, Dr Nomonde Geraldine Thekisho- Phetlho, and my late grandmother, Elizabeth Kenalemang Phetlho, both of whom raised me and afforded me only the best. I vow to spend the rest of my life making you proud. Thank you to my father, Dr Tsatsi David Thekisho for being my backbone. To my brother Mpho Thekisho – Mapoza – I love and appreciate you more than I’ve ever expressed. The same goes for Sis’ Lele and my entire extended family. To Tumelo Thekisho – Stoempoempies, I love you so much and I have your back for life. Thank you for taking care of Mami right until her very last day. My babies, Reamogetse Ditshupo Boitumelo Thekisho and Kgosietsile Phetogo Thekisho, you are my reason for living. I look forward to seeing you become who you are meant to be.
To my colleagues and all the people I’ve worked with who’ve contributed positively to my life and career, words alone can never be enough. Thank you.
Thank you Sis’ Pabi for treating my story with such care, and to the entire Penguin Random House team for allowing me to document my life.
Lastly, to everyone who’s ever cheered for me at a show, bought my music, watched my TV shows, listened to me on radio, engaged with me on social media or attended an event I was a part of, thank you for all your love and support. God Bless.
PABALLO RAMPA
Mum, I really appreciate your support. To all the people who keep encouraging me to write, you are amazing!
CHAPTER 1
Microphone Sweet Home
In my writings I spoke the truth
Like I’m supposed to do
Now it’s undeniable my arrival is overdue
‘Welcome to sunny, beautiful Cape Town. This is our first audition of the season.’
Those were meant to be my opening lines as co-presenter for the first episode of Idols SA, Season 6, over ten years ago. Season 1 had kicked off in 2002, when it was hosted by Matt Stewardson (now deceased), Sami Sabiti and Candy Litchfield. The first winner was Heinz Winkler. Season 2 was hosted by Letoya Makhene and Colin Moss, after which Moss did seasons 3 and 4. Season 5 was hosted by Liezel van der Westhuizen, with whom I would start co-hosting in 2010.
In 2009, my then manager, Jobie Bakama, informed me of the auditions for Idols SA and suggested that I give it a go. At first I resisted; my background was in hip hop, which I believed would not be a good fit for a pop show. My wardrobe back then consisted mainly of baggy jeans and caps – I did not own a single shirt. But after some pressure from Jobie, I agreed to give it a try.
My first stop was the barber’s, and then I went shopping for an appropriate outfit. I also watched some clips of American Idols presenter Ryan Seacrest, and rehearsed the script I had received. The next day I went for the audition. I found a few well-known personalities in the foyer, waiting their turn. When my turn came, I made a mistake while delivering the lines. Fortunately, the executive producer told me to relax and try again. The rest, as they say, is history!
Events moved quite quickly between my getting the job and doing the first shoot. I was given the script days in advance in order to prepare, but we ended up having to rewrite it, as Cape Town was not sunny that morning, but gloomy, grey and wet. We shot some footage in Newlands Forest, on the eastern slopes of Table Mountain, and the mist helped us amplify the point we were