The 25-year-old, dreadlocked, softspoken Wanga Mukwevho is dressed in purplish designer trousers, shirt, shoes and dark eyeshades when we sit down for our interview at the residential house in Biaba, Nzhelele.

There’s only one word to sum up his appearance - handsome.

Only a moment before, he was part of the worship team where he played keyboard for the fully packed Higher Grace Church. “I learnt keyboard when I was still a young boy,” he said. “I was born a musician.”

Wanga is totally visually impaired and he has produced for top gospel singers such as Lufuno Dagada and Lucky Mdhluli. “I don’t allow my blindness to stay in my way and stop me from achieving my goals,” he says firmly. He maintains that he can produce across all genres. “I only listen to the sounds of a particular type of music and the next thing, I can produce my original music in that genre,” says Wanga. “As a producer, my work is to do vocal training, vocal coaching, vocal arrangement and musical arrangement.”

This high-spirited man is not the kind of artist who sits down first to plan a song; he says that preparation does limit the artist’s abilities and capabilities. “I believe in creativity,” he states.

In life, Wanga has had his share of pain, but he has always found strength in his family and friends, and from God. He lost his mother in 2003, and his father passed away in 2005. “I had to learn to accept that death had robbed me of the people who meant a lot to me,” Wanga reveals.

In 2011, he was invited to play keyboard by the illustrious gospel singer Hlengiwe Mhlaba during her live performance Durban tour. “When I started learning to play keyboard, there were people who wondered if it could be possible for a blind person to learn to play a keyboard or a guitar, when that person can’t see the keys or the strings of a guitar,” he remembers.

“One of my purposes as an artist and a human being in a troubled society like ours, is to inject inspiration into people,” he adds. “I don’t believe in impossibilities."

Wanga changes his tone and sounds very serious. “Your gift can take you too far, but your character can determine your success or downfall,” he says. “My advice to singers, and the youth as well, is this: Don’t change your way of living and start abusing alcohol and drugs because you have tasted fame.”

For up-and-coming singers who need help or music services, Wanga can be contacted on 072 472 2208.