Guard turns hitmaker

His years of being a car guard will be tested as Trésor finally has the "honour" of having to protect his first SA Music Award.

The Never Let Me Go hitmaker walked away with the award for best pop album at this year's 22nd Sama ceremony in Durban at the weekend.

Trésor followed his dream of making music from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Durban, where he worked as a car guard by day and a security guard at night. At the same time he was trying to hustle his way into the music scene.

Now, nearly a decade since he first left the DRC, he said he is humbled and honoured just to be making music.

"I was expecting it but also not expecting it at the same time. It's a turning point for me . Nine years ago winning a Sama was beyond my expectations. W hen I started writing songs as a car guard, I just wanted to make music and earn a living from it."

Trésor may not have been the biggest winner of the night but he beat former Idols SA winner Vincent Bones, who was also nominated in the best pop album category.

He said: "It wasn't always easy. The challenge was dealing with people thinking that my dream was too big and people judging me according to what I was and not seeing me for who I wanted to be."

The biggest winner was Eastern Cape-born soul singer Nathi, who won awards for best R&B/soul/reggae album, best newcomer, best male artist, best-selling full-track music download and best-selling album of the year.

Another newcomer who spent most of the night recovering from his victory was rapper Emtee. The hip-hop artist won best rap album and the most coveted award: Record of the Year.

Legendary artist DJ Black Coffee was finally honoured with three awards for best-engineered album, best dance album and best album victories.

Now that most of the artists have recovered from the aftermath of the celebrations, it's back to the music.

Trésor said he would be touring with an international artist soon but wouldn't say who, except that he was his "hero".

He said one of the most important lessons he's learnt was that "life is really about doing what you love and being at peace with it". It feels like I'm at the height of my career but I know that I still have lots of music to create. Saturday night was a full circle moment for me.

"I started my career singing as a car guard in Durban and I've come back to win a Sama in Durban," said Trésor.