Born in the Eastern Cape Gift Gwe has been performing from an early age. Some of his earliest memories are performing in church from the age of three, experiences he credits for the development of his obvious understanding of, and love for, vocal harmony.
“I can’t really recall those days properly, but my mother was very involved in the church choir, and they had to keep me from jumping on the stage.
The choir members eventually conceded and made me my own choir uniform.
I think the ladies thought I was cute all decked out like that,” says Gift; some things never change… now book through Speakers Inc
Gift continued to perform all the way through his school career and finally made his first attempts at solo public performance when a community organization in Mosselbay put on a talent search based on the Idols format, shortly after Idols made it’s South African debut in 2002.
“That was the first time I realized that I could potentially make a career out of something that I’d loved doing all my life.”
Gift continued to perform in vocal groups around the Eastern Cape, learning the ropes of the performance side of the industry and developing his voice.
He was also researching the opportunities that existed in the entertainment industry which would prepare him for his chosen occupation.
After completing matric he decided to pursue his dream of being a recording artist more practically.
He enrolled at tech to study sound engineering and relocated to Cape Town. “My mother is a teacher – we were never really wealthy, and living away from home was sometimes tough.
My accommodation and meals were taken care of, but I had a very small allowance and sometimes if things were a little tougher at home it would get even smaller.
So I really had to be quite careful. It probably made me focus more though, ‘cause I managed 5 distinctions in my first year, so that was probably a good thing.
I’d made a decision that by 2010 Gift Gwe wanted to be a well established South African artist and perhaps pursuing some international releases, so everything was focused on that.”
In 2004 Gift Gwe was involved in a student drama production where a lecturer spotted his performance ability, which lead to his first paying gigs in industrial theatre.
“Those industrial theatre jobs really loosened me up and taught me how to interact with an audience. I’m very grateful for what I learned on those jobs.”
Gift Gwe-Idols Conference Entertainer
In 2005 one of Gift’s major supporters in Mossel Bay accompanied him and a few other performers from Mosselbay to the auditions for the 3rd South African Idols series in Cape Town, and he made it through to the Top 100.
With some financial support from friends in Mossel Bay Gift Gwe made his way to Johannesburg, and as they say; the rest is history…
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