Q & A WITH TORO TSELENG/CrayOn
Tell me a little about yourself. Tell us a bit about your upbringing
Im a 21 year old guy, almost 22. I grew up moving around a lot, switching between my dad and my mom. You could say mans is nomadic
What is your best childhood memory?
Doing some really stupid shii with my boy OG Saba.. Details are confidential but we were some stupid ass kids bru, I guess thats why we make stupid music
When is your birthday?
June 05 1998 – nothing special here
Your full names?
Home name/nickname?
Government people call me Toro Tseleng – everybody else calls me Motako or CrayOn. Sometimes creative genius.
Are you currently dating someone, or are you single? Why are you dating this person/why are you single?
Im in a relationship with Katla Koolatotse, and I can honestly say she is the best thing that has happened to me creatively. We inspire each other and that’s all that really matters.
Who’s the most important person in your life? Can you tell why he/she is the most important person in your life? What role do they play in your career?
No hate to errbody else but OG Saba holds me down… Nobody gets me like he does, this oak keeps me going. Invested in me multiple times and kept me up during the days when I was really wack. Sometimes you just need somebody to motivate you so you don’t quit before you’re good. Amongst the rest of the fam that keeps me going, thats OG bro.
You’re a rapper, a photographer and a graphic designer right? Can you tell us where you got inspiration from each of these categories to actually venture into those industries, individually, and when did these journies each begin?
I started rapping in std 6, cant remember what year that was. My first verse was to a girl on her birthday. She turned me down 4 days later but its warrever. Continued rapping all through junior high. When I got to St Josephs college I changed my stage name and became CrayOn. I had already been signed to AFM for about a year then.
I picked up graphics cause I wanted nice sleeves and no one wanted to make them for me, graphics drew me to photography when I started at varsity. To try and make an extra buck, we all gotta eat. Photography drew me to videos…
Now im a film student at AFDA botswana. You could call me the jack of all traits, but the one thats gonna master them all.
How do these?categories link to each other? And how do you handle the pressure of being under each of them?
Doing music helps me understand the dynamics involved in video production when it comes to audio.
Photography and Videography follow kind of the same rules when you’re trying to capture images, so these two skills play off each other I my workflow
I am still learning to deal with the pressure, the thing with doing too many things is that you fail a lot and this leads to creative fatigue, this shows itself in procrastination. Something a lot of creatives struggle with. And thats kind of my biggest chalenge in creating the ideal version of me.
Are you planning on taking these as your full time jobs, or is there something else in mind for your future?
Doing film, making movies and short films is the best use case of all my skills. So I plan on becoming one of the best filmmakers to come out of this counrty. It sounds generic but thats my dream. And thats what we are working everyday for.
Who gave you an uplift?
How do you tackle the challenges you meet? What are those challenges?
Im quite notorious for getting robbed. Id consider that my biggest challenge, it breaks me everytime, makes me feel like the universe is trying to tell me that this isnt the path.
Kat took me out of that mindset, and OG Saba helped too. So now we solve our problems by just doing stuff. If content comes out thats a win.
What do you believe to be your best work yet? Why? Who did you work on the project with?
My best photos are ones I took of Kat,
My best video is 1259 – Freestyle
My best design has to be T-Flame – Rubiks Cube (cover art)
Do you have any upcoming events or projects?
3 6 G V N G is the crew I rap with now… and more music than we can handle is always on the way.
Ill hint that I working on a couple films, but yeah….. Everything will be announced in due time
Have you ever dealt with Rumours arising about yourself? How did you tackle these?
Im soo oblivious to what people say about me, I guess it helps in the art of not giving a shit. Also gives me less to worry about. Cause whilst people make up rumors, we use the same brain to think up concepts and songs.
What impact does photography have on the society?
In botswana people still look at photos like just photos, they have the power to be way more. Every frame has a story to tell. Thats why I find peace in landscapes.
What are your work ethics?
Push the bar each and every single time, the next project has to be better than the last.
Professionally, what’s your goal?
My biggest goal is to be a millionaire by 25, it sounds stupid and generic. But everybody has the power to evaluate their potential realistically. And mine is just that.
If you won a million dollars, what would you do with it?
Start the biggest baddest production studio, and use the rest of the money to fund young filmmakers and their passion projects. Everybody deserves a chance. And we dont always somebody willing to hear us out.
Is money important in the music and photography industry? How does money build and/or break relationships in this industry?
Money helps you get started, but money cant buy you skills, one has to invest time into actually getting good. The most expensive equipment is just junk if you don’t know how to use it. the best artists use what they have with no excuses and make it work.
Maverick Kabelo is the founder and editorial director of Africa’s Very Own Magazine. Kabelo is a business student, digital media enthusiast/entrepreneur, creative, writer and content creator. He started writing when he was just 16 after founding the magazine on Facebook.
