Mr Native

Mr. Native Profile   Passion. Ambition. Drive. These are three things that keep most people going. Okuhle Phuncu, better known by his fans as Mr Native, is one of them. He is a multi-talented, goal driven, and well groomed individual who regards himself as having a “fetish for achieving”. Mr Native is not only a musician, with Hip Hop as his first love, but also a marketer, stylist and graphic designer. Having the lust for life is something which, often times, people can identify with bu...

Mr. Native Profile   Passion. Ambition. Drive. These are three things that keep most people going. Okuhle Phuncu, better known by his fans as Mr Native, is one of them. He is a multi-talented, goal driven, and well groomed individual who regards himself as having a “fetish for achieving”. Mr Native is not only a musician, with Hip Hop as his first love, but also a marketer, stylist and graphic designer. Having the lust for life is something which, often times, people can identify with but this 22 year old individual takes it to a whole new level of his own. Born and bred in the Eastern Cape and later relocating to Cape Town in 2005, Mr Native developed his deeply rooted love for music during his high school years in the Cape, at the time when he was adjusting to a new environment and lifestyle. At that time, he started writing music with a friend, who is now his producer, Sinemincili ‘Qd’ Tonjeni, as well as his older brother, Olo ‘Revelationz’ Phuncu, who he feels has been one of the most influential people in his life, more especially his music career. The first time Mr Native made his big on-stage appearance was in 2008 at the Cape Town ArtsCape theatre (Lyrical Base Project), blessing an audience of about 200 odd people with a song he co-wrote with his producer and friend, Qd, titled ‘Bliss’. The song became popular amongst their peers and artists, soon bringing fans to the shore. Since then he has written over 18 well thought out and well received songs. Most of his inspiration comes from his own personal experiences as well other peoples. This is with the intention of giving his audience music that they can relate to and hopefully celebrate and learn from. He strongly believes in not having to make a mistake yourself to learn from it, but rather learning from other peoples mistakes so that “you can do things differently in your own life”. After relocating back home to the Eastern Cape in 2010, Mr Native has since grown himself as a brand in ways that earned him respect from his fans and amongst his peers in the music scene, not only as an artist but also as a person. Juggling his music career, Graphic Design, Marketing, Work, and varsity, amongst other things, is no childs play, but if anything, for this extraordinary character, it only feeds his enthusiasm and the lust that he has for life and success, which makes him quite distinct from the rest. Part of his reputation stems from his unabashed embrace of individuality and personal sense of style. “The amount of effort you put in is what you get out the end of the day…” Mr Native has since pushed his ambitions further from this proverb. Year 2011 is the year set by many individuals as the year they will accomplish many of their goals set, Mr Native has proven to take it to new heights. Rubbing shoulders with a well renowned and established poet, Thandeka ‘Nkqo’ Vabaza, he has managed to feature in many events, one named Soul Clap Sessions, around the East London region, mainly setting his music focus on Cappello Resturants, Café Sunay (Queenstown) markets by performing/entertaining there.                    With the aid of his production team, Olo ‘Revelationz’ Phuncu and Sinemincilli ‘Qd’ Tonjeni, Mr Native then managed to have one his songs played on East London’s’ radio stations Tru Fm on a show called Ground Zero hosted by Blaqphamas, which has expanded his market immensely around the East Coast. This is his entire plan to create enough market backing to release his long awaited mixtape “My New Chill” and is proving to be working very well. “Patience is the key to perfection” he believes as his planning on making big moves using his high personal profile at his current workplace Platinum Group, Vertigo Hemingways with the assistance of his Manager Bradly Gawie. This young man has shown a lot of positive influence around his peer group as they see him as an example of hard work. Now until he releases his “My New Chill” mixtape he will continue to expand as a brand as much as he feels that he needs to, to make a great impact on the coastal region.   Because of the highly diverse music industry nowadays, most artists have bloomed early but have since faded out. I can confidently state that it is highly improbable, if not impossible that the same will happen with “Mr. Native”. The reason why one would make this bold statement is that, “Mr. Native” has a fresh style offer to the industry. His brings a cool, laid back feel that has not been completely explored. He offers music that accommodates all classes and age groups. What his music does is, it brings all classes of listeners together enjoying the cool sounds he offers. The modern family situation needs an artist like him, that can entertain the youth with his club bangers and also connect with the more mature group with his mellow sounds. The key ingredient in this musical concoction is the range of messages he gets through. The essence of these messages can be observed in their versatile nature, the essence I am referring to is “adaptability”. It is this essence of adaptability that makes him different, it is this versatile nature that is resourcefully compiled in his music that makes him different. Conclusively, this essence of versatility is what you can expect from the “New Chill” that Okuhle ‘Mr. Native’ Phuncu is bringing to the general public of South Africa. His current state, today, however is that he has managed to grow both as an artist and a formidable brand in just about a year since he has been in the East London. I say this because he has managed to release singles and features that has given him a place in the Tru Fm Ground Zero playlist with songs such as; Sun Comes up, My New Chill, Harder and Shades On( a recent song that he was featured in by his fellow stable mate Sinemincilli Qd Tonjeni ). His most successful record to date is “Harder”, a song he creatively put together, metaphorically, describing his relationship with music as it being a woman that is over protective about him and that he is currently ‘cheating’ on. This song displays his difficulty with dealing with the two dynamics of music which is selling hard copies in the streets/music stores and releasing online receiving free downloads. As people receive this song they give positive feedback as to how it is constructed and the deeper meaning in it. Harder, the record, has managed to get over 500 downloads and over 600 plays on internet through Mp3 twit. The censored version was aired on Ground Zero Tru Fm and also landing on Cape Town’s most formidable radio station, Bush Radio, where the song was played for over three consecutive weeks. The record also reached international streams at a local KZN Dj Ventor toured with it to the USA and played it in various club/party scenes, and reporting back the feedback it got. Another record that has been majorly received is the current single “Shades On” where he is featured in running the first 16 bar verse and also adding vocals to the chorus. It has been downloaded over 600 times and played over 1000 times in just a few weeks of release. The site that hosted the song was also Mp3 twit. The record also received major airplay on Tru Fm and surprisingly received a good review by Sizwe Dlomo which he influenced to have it played on Mo Flavors show on Yfm. It is if I could say the theme summer hip hop song for December because of its catchy hook. Mr Native has since been successfully expanding his market by hosting a website which displays his lifestyle and things that affect him as a brand. The website has not been launched as of yet but is fully accessible once visited.  As a brand he has also managed to align himself with other entertainment/lifestyle brands around East London and  Cape Town such as Brute Force Sessions, Bantum Lounge,  Apii Clothing, Redlight Parties, The Originals, Vee Tee Entertainment, BaColor Entertainment, MCK Clothing, Township Times, Doktas Inc (P.E) New Money Boys Club (Cape Town) and HeadHoncho (Cape Town) affiliation. By doing this he’s had to prove his artistic skill through performing in most Hip Hop Gig. To name a few he performed in Brute Force Sessions hosted on the 3rd of November where he performed live with Dolce Sound Live band. This particular event landed him a SABC interview of which it was broadcasted on Tru Fm, Mhlobo Wenene Fm, SA fm and Metro Fm news the following day November 4th . This media coverage follows a newspaper article released by the Daily Dispatch on the 21st October   2011, where it featured him (Mr Native), Blaqphamas, Number and Chux of Ekayeni Entertainment. Events and goals were set around recent bookings for the 3rd December 2011, which was hosted by Eckaen Entertainment in Dimbaza, afternoon, another by Bantum Lounge later on that day. Mr Native had also made arrangements to work with the dolce Sound Live Band again in annual events, Carnival and Lights, that he has been shortlisted for.   2012 Opened with great anticipation in East London music to boom as more attention is to be paid to artists such as Mr Native, Blaqphamas and Number, following their individual 2011 campaigns. “Repetition is the father of Learning” Mr. Native extends this proverb this year by mentioning that “ I will do the same as I did in my 2011 campaign, but more aggressively, more bookings, more releases, more tours (outside the city), more articles, more radio airplay (National) etc” Most definitely in doing so it will surely mean attaining greater success in 2012 in the build up to his debut project. Quite recently Mr. Native has gained interest in a lot of local fashion brands that want to host him as an ambassador of their brands. But due to his high ambitions and he has attracted on of the biggest Retail Brands in South Africa, Vertigo SA of Platinum Group, who want to attach him to the brand by being their Brand ambassador. This is still under negotiation however but is marked as a pipeline plan for his 2012 Campaigns.              Contact info:   Olo Revelationz Phuncu                                cell: 073 489 6457                                                                 Email: mrrevelationz@gmail.com   Mr. B Gawie                                       cell: 073 138 4756                                                                 Email: hemingways@vertigoclothing.co.za                                                                 Work: 043 721 2941   Mr. Native                                          cell: 073 189 9865                                                                 E-mail: wophuncu@mtn.blackberry.com                                                                                 concepts.native838@gmail.com