Spotlight! Ntombi Mzolo relives her days with Amaponi: 'It was the best time of my life'

If ever a band were ripe for a ride on the reunion carousel, it's Amaponi. Sitting in the boardroom at our offices, Ntombi Mzolo and I cannot help but relive the decadent 90s - the era of kwaito and child stars during which she, along with her siblings, hit astronomical heights of fame.

"It was the best time of my life, because there's nothing as great as working with your family. People that will always have your back. People that will always support you. People that will always be honest with you," she recalled.

"Being in a group like Amaponi allowed us to travel around the world together. It was a job, but really, for us it was a holiday. All expenses paid. My dad played the guitar for us, and my mom was our manager. So literally, the six of us worked together and travelled the world together. It was fun."

Meeting Ntombi is a lot like listening to Amaponi. She's instantly likable, lots of fun and entirely unconcerned with appearing cool. But, like the group's music, there's a lot more to explore when you scratch the surface.

But who exactly is Amaponi, you ask?

They are the kids of legendary music couple Linah Khama and Bheki Ngcobo (Hhashi Elimhophe), who decided to form a group - which consisted of Ntombi, Nkosinathi, Jabulani and Vusiwe Ngcobo - in 1997. It was not long after releasing their hit single Tshiki Layi Layi, when almost every child in South Africa wanted to either be them, or be with them.

They did something that had never be done before in the country: they created a kids band.

And before you get trapped in the misconception that they had it easy creating their band, given that their parents had already served 20 years in the industry at the time, brace yourself...

The journey began with a 'little stereo'

"It all started with us as kids wanting to be like our parents, wanting to be on stage, wanting to mingle with people and entertaining," Ntombi revealed.

"So they asked us to put together a demo. They didn't even give us any equipment to put it together. So we used a recorder, remember those? Yes, we put in a tape and we started recording in a little stereo."

But wait, before you start feeling sorry for them. Those little stereos that Ntombi speaks of were quite instrumental in those days. You could record your entire life on them with, of course, enough empty cassettes.

But long story short, the parents were more than pleased with the demo that Ntombi and her siblings had created. There was just one little problem: Was there a market for them?

'We had to work ten times harder than the average person'

"At that point, there was no group made up of kids in South Africa. So we were not sure if there was a market for us. On top of that, we faced challenges getting a recording deal, because despite the fact that our parents had been in the industry for a long time, we had to do it like everyone else. We worked ten times harder than the average person."

After an elaborate process of sending out their demos, one record company decided they would be worth taking a risk for.

"Our parents sent our demo to a couple of record companies, and one company said they were not sure if there was a market for young guys, but were willing to give us a try.

Before that, we had to quickly come up with a performance in the boardroom right there and then. We had to prove ourselves that we got this, that we can do this. And they loved it. And that's when we got our recording deal. We signed with them and released our album in 1998 - which did very well," she says with a proud smirk on her face.

Addressing the elephant in the room: Why maskandi?

When Amaponi broke out into the music scene, teens had their sights (and ears) on the likes of Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, Christina Aguilera and more locally, Mshoza, Msawawa, Boom Shaka, Abashante, Arthur Mafokate, I could go on forever.

So why would a group of four pretty and trendy kids decide to explore maskandi, which was totally unpopular territory among their peers (this is before Amapomani came along, of course)?

"Our peers around us and everyone was like why would we go for maskandi out of everything else, like kwaito, which was blowing up at that time. But we've always wanted to be different. We've always wanted to be trendsetters. We did it, and it worked for us."

And can we take a moment to speak about the snazzy and daring costumes they often wore to their performances?

"Our mom got great designers to put our look together. But the nice thing is that we were also able to give our own inputs. And as we grew up, we realised that we can look a bit sexy, so we incorporated crop tops and stuff."

And their unsurpassed energy on stage?

"That also goes back to our parents. If you've seen them performing live, the energy that they put in till today, is mad," Ntombi explains.

She points out that it also helped that they used to compete against each other as siblings.

"I think also being siblings, we're always competing against each other. We all wanted to be Beyonces of the group. So when we got on stage, we would look into the crowd to see who everyone is looking more at. If they are looking at Vusiwe (her sister), you want to step up, so that all eyes could be on you. My older brother, who had a six pack, would always drive the little young girls crazy. He wouldn't have to do anything, literally. All he had to do is open up his top a bit, and all these girls would start screaming.

We had to work a million times harder. So yes, we competed among each other, but that gave our act so much power. It became more stronger, it became more appealing and more entertaining. We worked on our art day and night," she reveals.

Indeed, a tireless work ethic seems to be one of the secrets to Amaponi's success.

"If we were not at school, we were rehearsing. And that made us so powerful. Till today, we still get bookings. We haven't released in more than 10 years, but you still find promoters begging us to perform, and that is because of the mark that we left."

With success comes money?

As they became increasingly popular and successful, the group started making copious amounts of money. However, it's not as great as you'd think.

That only meant that they had to become adults at an early age. Bills and all!

"I don't remember how much our first pay cheque was, but what I do remember is, we had to contribute towards groceries, electricity and water at home. So we would split the bill every month among the four of us. It got to a point where we actually learnt that money doesn't fall from trees. We need to work to have money, so that you can have the good things that you want in life.

But it taught us to be responsible and be able to take care of ourselves. We even started paying our own school fees. So my parents would do things for us only if they wanted to. There was no such thing as allowance," she says.

Not all that smooth sailing

It's bad enough that you have to deal with them at home, but can you imagine having to work with your siblings? Ntombi admits that it yanked her veins at times.

"We obviously had our fair share of challenges. We're different personalities, and there would be times when we need to rehearse, and one person is being moody. One would forget their outfit, and steal yours.

We wore traditional outfits, and obviously had to wear tights underneath. You'd be surprised when you get to the show, knowing very well that you packed your tights, and next thing they're not there. And we would literally go mad," she recalls.

But apart from all the unavoidable fights, the love was and still is there.

"As siblings we don't get along at most times, but more than anything, we love and respect each other. And that rises above every challenge. We also get over issues in a matter of a few minutes. Being in a big family also did not allow us to be angry at each other for a long time."

Speaking about Amaponi was tricky for me because I didn't know whether to refer to them in the past tense or the present tense.

So I had to ask, "What happened to the group?"

'Nothing happened to Amaponi, except that we grew up'

"We were just used to working together and being together, because we stayed under the same roof. So it was easy to get things done. But we grew up, some of us got married and other explored other interests.

"Jabu wanted to focus on sound engineering and being a DJ, I wanted to focus on music, Vusiwe wanted to be a lawyer and she was also crazy about TV presenting. So we all went our separate ways. We moved out of the family home, and our schedules started to clash," Ntombi explains.

And in case you need more clarification...

"We've never said Amaponi does not exist anymore."

There you have! The group is still alive, folks! They actually even still perform every now and then.

"But as I said earlier on that we still receive bookings, and if we're told on time, we go to the shows. But it really is difficult, because we find ourselves having to rehearse over WhatsApp at times. We send each other videos of new routines, because as much as are performing old songs, we like to revamp our delivery and therefore, create new dance routines. We still put in a lot of work into our art."

Can we expect a new album soon from them?

Ntombi shies away from the question, leaving us to keep our eyes and ears peeled.

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