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Do not despise small beginnings

Genesis

He is a son, father, husband, musician and mentor.  It is the humble and astounding, Omega Khunou. He shares that in as much as being a PK ( Pastor’s Kid) was hard, it taught him discipline and self-control, he was the mascot of his family and church therefore the community saw a little pastor in him. “I made sure I lived according to the principles of the word of God and resembled a good character to the community so that I do not embarrass my family or my father because he was preaching the gospel”, he says. He grew up loving church and school so much that he sang during assemblies at school and joined the worship team at church.

“money was not key at that time because I did not see singing as a business. I just saw myself as being a blessing to the people”

At the tender age of fifteen he discovered his gift of ministering through song at church. He would even be invited to minister at other churches, “money was not key at that time because I did not see singing as a business. I just saw myself as being a blessing to the people”, he says. He admirably adds that, “I really appreciate God for those times because they were training me for what I am today”. So, his career in music was activated by his serving at church.

 He moved to Johannesburg in the year 2000 to grow his gift. He released his first album, Messiah in 2004. It did not do well as it was his first push into the gospel industry, “I remember I used to go sing at taxi ranks so that people could buy my music and to introduce myself. It was difficult”, he says. He went province to province every month end to sing at taxi ranks, to sell his music and introduce himself to people. That did not seem to stop  him or discourage him because in 2008 he released yet another album, Walk in the Light and it also did not do well. “Those were the small beginnings that did not bring much but I kept going”, he shares.

In 2010, by God’s grace, he met Spirit Music who then introduced him to Spirit of Praise. He then released an album called Hayo with Spirit Music, “Hayo is a song I did in Spirit of Praise volume 3 when they welcomed me, and it pushed me to make an album  titled Hayo because of the song from Spirit of Praise”, he says. I then went on to release another album with Spirit Music called Crossover, which is where his most well-known songs Udumo, Busa and Entabeni were launched. Between his work with Spirit of Praise, he met his late friend and brother, Neyi Zimu and they released a duo album called Friends in Praise which has two volumes. It is no secrete that the two men were a powerhouse.

Some of his greatest highlights in his music career include sharing a stage with people he honors and loves, this includes his mentor Pastor Benjamin Dube, “I followed that man from when I was still a young boy so to see myself share a stage with him is a real privilege”, Travis Greene and Tim Godfrey which had recently become his favourites, “sharing a big stage like that of Sun City with them was really great and humbling so I am really grateful”, he shares. He says all his live recordings are great highlights as well. He shares that places he got visit during his tours are also a highlight, “I went to Koyana in Brazil, Nigeria, Botswana, which is like a second home because I go there a lot, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, United Kingdom and Holand in Netherlads”, he says.

I am the respected gospel artist that I am today because I chose Christ to be source and I have chosen to fear God and honour Him and live by His principles and His word”, he shares.  He gives a couple of nuggets of advice to upcoming gospel artists: “Believe in yourself. Be yourself. Believe in your craft and work on it day in and day out. While you are building your career, don’t put money as a first priority but start by creating a platform where you are in demand before you start making demands. Build yourself first so that are valuable so that people pay money for value. Allow yourself to be in a process of growth so that God can release you at the right time. Don’t rush, you rush you crash”, he passionately says.

He mentors young upcoming gospel artists and hopes to start a school. He is also venturing into the construction business so, keep a look out for that. You can follow him on social media, he is @KhunouOmega on Instagram, @OmegaKhunou on Twiitter and @Omega Khunou on Facebook

Written by : Nadine Minnies

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