Coachella Randy, Kagiso Mogola and Kamo WW celebrate in ‘Birth of Stars’
SOCIAL media sensations Oratile “Coachella Randy” Masedi, Kamohelo “Kamo WW” Pule and Kagiso Mogola were born for stardom.
The trio recently launched Birth of Stars, a home-grown reality show that aims to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community and help break homosexual stigmas and stereotypes.
Set to inspire young queer people from all walks of life, Birth of Stars follows the young creatives as they give viewers a sneak peek into their personal lives and share the victories and challenges they face as individuals, entrepreneurs and social media influencers.
In a chat with IOL Entertainment, fashion designer and show co-founder Orapeleng Modutle said he wanted to showcase the talent of these youngsters to the world.
“Starting Birth of Stars was a passion project to show the world the organic talent of these three young boys, more so I wanted to nurture their careers to guide and take them to the next level,” said Modutle. “The main objective of the show is to inspire and touch the lives of young queer people.
“We want the audience to see a reflection of themselves and realise it is possible to break into the industries they aspire to be in.”
Modutle added that the show tackles pertinent societal issues.
“We see a lot of relatable topics in season one like acceptance, healing
and the challenges young artists face.”
We also chatted to the trio about how the show has transformed their individual lives.
For Masedi, the show has helped him highlight the experiences of LGBTQIA+ people on a wider platform.
“We’ve always wanted to be a good representation of the queer community
and show people what goes on in our daily lives,” said Masedi.
“South African media has been boxed in for too long which is why we decided to go on Youtube to have a platform to tell our own stories in a different, yet inspiring way. We tackle mental health issues…
“For instance, I recently took the
initiative to go to therapy to prioritise my mental health, something uncommon in our black community.”
Mogola added that although the show hasn’t been airing long it has had such a “tremendous impact” on his life.
“So many new doors have been opened for me and I’ve been able to meet people I’ve looked up to for years as well as the OG’S [original gangsters] in the game that can share their wisdom and guidance with me for this industry,” shared Mogola. “The show has allowed me to grow my social media as well as my character as I’ve got to know and understand myself better, as I think our audience have.”
Mogola said opening up about his absent father has been the biggest highlight this far.
“I don’t know my father that well. Our relationship is centred on finances and it lacks emotional support. I knew this topic was important for me to bring up because I know many queer kids will relate to absent or uninvolved parental figures.”
Echoing Masedi and Mogola’s sentiments, Pule said the show has become popular because of its authenticity and relatability.
“We highlight how important it is to always stay true to yourself, whether queer or heterosexual. We’re trying to change the stigma black people have towards queer people, we’re pushing focus on the good that queer people can bring to the table."
Modutle added that a second season of Birth of Stars is already in the pipeline.
“We’re aiming to have the show on much bigger platforms for season two, which we can’t mention at the moment.”
Birth of Stars is available on Youtube. The 25-minute episodes are made available every second Friday of the month.