By news24.com
He is fun, bubbly, and fans have fallen in love with his dance moves on TikTok and Instagram. He’s also gained popularity due to his role as high school dropout Teddy on the Mzansi Magic drama series, Gomora.
Actor, dancer and Tik-Tok sensation Sicelo “Seekay” Buthelezi (23) now wants to introduce fans to his musical talent.
He recently released his single, Harare, with producer and composer Tony Duardo, inspired by Amapiano, Afrobeats, and Chimurenga music from Zimbabwe.
Although he loves acting, he wants his fans to see a different side to the high school dropout on Gomora.
“There is so much more to me. I am versatile and I would love for people to see the other side of me that is musical,” he tells Drum.
Putting together the song Harare came naturally for Seekay.
“I had just met Tony Duardo through TK Nciza and Afrobeats artist Ciza. It’s not a song I sat down and planned, we were in a session and vibing and the song made me think of places I have never been to but would love to go to. I have never travelled outside of South Africa, but I imagined what a night in Harare would be like, as a type of escape,” he adds.
If he had to choose between acting and music, it would be a struggle. This year, he plans to release a full project with some features.
“The full project was supposed to be out in June, but great work takes time,” he jokes.
“I want the kind of project that speaks to Africa and Europe, something international,” he says. “I want to work with different types of people. I don’t want to box myself. I want my music to live even after I am gone. I am not about instant gratification.”
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Seekay started making music before he got into acting. “I have always loved to dance. Everyone knew me as someone who enjoyed dancing,“ he says.
“Acting just put me on the map and [gave me] a bigger platform and it opened doors for me.”
He had his first acting experience in high school and that is when the acting bug bit him.
“I had my first acting role in a play at 14 years old playing a gardener in a school play and I fell in love with performing. I would do a lot of research and watch comedy shows. I would then mimic those and do my own comedy skits.”
After high school, he knew he wanted to be in the performing arts and he joined the Market theatre and did a two-year course.
“I went to the Market Theatre and trained in Theatre Partitioning for two years and I graduated in 2019,” he says.
“I was never much of the directing or theory guy but I enjoyed being on the stage and performance, doing standup and performance.”
He is also a Tik Tok sensation and makes a living through his social media.
“It started doing TikTok videos as a hobby. Growing up, I didn’t have smartphones. When I got a job, I got a good phone with great video quality and my TikTok started booming.” With now over 22 million followers, he also makes money through his social media.
“It’s something I genuinely enjoy and getting paid is a bonus. I am able to promote my music, comedy, and dance skills. It’s helped to show my versatility.”
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Born and raised in Tembisa, Gauteng, he is the first in his family to be in the limelight. “I am the middle child with a younger brother and older sister. I am the first to get into show business and entertainment. But I come from a home where everyone is free to be themselves.”
Raised by a single mother, Seekay was always allowed to be himself and encouraged by his family to follow his dreams.
“I am the first to take this career path in my family. I was a hyperactive child but also a loner,” he says.
“My mom had multiple jobs. My sister was also working even before my brother who is now 13 years old was born. So, I was just a loner kid who watched a lot of tv and comedy. I didn’t have a lot of friends, so I spent time training myself on dancing and perform in front of the mirror.”
For a down-to-earth humble Seekay, who has just three years in the entertainment industry, he already has learned a few lessons about fame.
“Fame has changed my life. I am still adjusting to it,” he says.
“I am generally a very outspoken person. I realized that being in the spotlight, you constantly need to nurture people’s egos and not be too direct. Often people don’t like honesty. I have learned to watch what I say in public, hence always avoiding interviews. I have to watch how I act because I am now a brand and people are constantly watching and sometimes waiting for a mistake. I come from a world where critique is important, and you don’t take it personally but watching what I say has been a valuable lesson.”
Seekay believes he is cut from a different cloth and he is not in this for fame but for the long run.
“I’ve seen that my generation Yama 2000 lacks the drive, ambition, and the why,” he says.
“It’s important for me to always ask myself why I am doing this, is it just for fame, girls, booze, and money. And every time my answer is that I do it for passion and love. I want to make iconic moves. I want to do this on an international scale.” He looks up o I look up to people like Kanye West, LeBron James, Jay-Z, and Kendrick Lamar.
“In the future, I want to be considered a legend. I am not just about the fame, that has a shelf life and quickly fades. It’s all about maintaining the hard work,” he says.
“I have always known that I am going far and that I will make something out of my life. The fear was coming from not knowing how I get to that point. I still have a long way to go and I am working my way there.”
