Up Close & Personal with Kutlwano Phalatse

UP CLOSE 

AND PERSONAL 

WITH KUTLWANO PHALATSE

The year 2020, has been much anticipated by many if not all to be the year of plenty. We are definitely seeing more and more young people unleashing their gifts and taking up space and just soaring higher and higher. Kutlwano Phalatse is just one of those many young people who are doing exceptionally well in her respective field of music.

 She (27) was born and bred in Ledig a village just outside Rustenburg a few minutes away from the breath-taking Sun City.  She matriculated in 2011 from Grenville high school and proceeded with her tertiary education. 

She is currently studying with UNISA where she is doing her qualification in Development Studies.

Her love for music developed at a very young age influenced by her family upbringing and more significantly in the church. 

She fell in love with gospel music from a tender age and her grandfather was her biggest support and engine in grooming her to becoming the young woman that she is today.

Kutlwano officially kick-started her music career in tertiary where she embraced her gift of praise and worship on a deeper level. She became more and more focused on her music career as a gospel artist. This resulted in her investing more time for rehearsals in order to grow her technique and musical capabilities and furthermore her relationship with God grew stronger and matured in time as she developed not only as an artist but moreover as a worshipper. 

In her journey of growth and transformation she showcased her gift in various forms; one way in particular was during her time as an intern at Moses Kotane Local Municipality where she was availed the opportunity to minister in various events. 

This was not only an opportunity to showcase her incredible musical talent; it was also a step into introducing us to her brand called KP Movement.

A question arose during our one on one session; who is God to you?

“God is the ruler, the author and the finisher of my faith” 

“My favourite scripture which is also the scripture that governs my brand KP Movement is from the book of Luke 1v20 I’ll just highlight the second part it says “My words are of a kind which will be fulfilled in the appointed and proper time” This scripture speaks volumes in my life because I believe that everything I have accomplished thus far has indeed been at a proper time which God appointed”

2019 was the year where she lost her best friend, her blood, her father the one person who understood her and shared all her desires with. 

It was indeed a sad and sombre mood in the Phalatse household as they had to bid farewell to their beloved father. Losing a parent is tragic and it never gets any easier but only better with time. 

Kutlwano reiterated that even though it was a deep loss for her and her family, she found comfort in God knowing that God will eventually at the appointed time wipe their tears away.  

She stated that her friends, the church, together with her immediate family were her greatest support system. 

“God sustained me through the painful ordeal of losing my father and He continued to bless me with friends and family that stood by me and walked with me throughout this storm in my life”

It is a well-known fact that homosexuality is still somewhat viewed as “a wrong way of living” if we may put it in that context more so where religion as a deity is concerned. Kutlwano is openly lesbian and living her life to the fullest regardless of how the world views her especially as a gospel singer. 

She believes that this is indeed her platform to stand firm for women who are continuously persecuted for being lesbian and in the large spectrum of the LGBTQI community. She further stated with a smile that her sexual orientation should not and will not limit her to serve God, she will continue to serve God even more because she was called and appointed for such a time as this. As she reflects back on her childhood and how her family and her local church supported her throughout her journey, she will forever be grateful to them for their amazing love and support. 

She further extended her utmost appreciation to her pastor who has been nothing but a great support system and has always pushed her beyond any limits.

No man is an island surely this is how Kutlwano continues to conquer in her life, now her new brand that we spoke about earlier on, KP Movement is officially setting off. 

 KP Movement is a brand that she started together with her sister (visionary) and her manager with an in depth tagline “Authentic in Christ". The brand has since expanded as their team was joined by a marketing manager and financial manager, the team is soild and has one set goal, to grow the brand and spread the gospel across all nations. 

Through her brand she has been touring around Rustenburg as a whole with countless gigs lined up in and outside her local church. She is involved as part of the media team in her church and that has also helped her a great deal in promoting her brand. 

We have seen her single “Setilong Sa Bogosi” making waves which she launched in February 2019 it has been well received throughout the greater Rustenburg Region.

Her brand is set to take over in a very exciting way, she let us in on her new venture which is to grow the brand beyond music, this will include her partnering with other singers who are not in the gospel scene, outdoor unplugged session where people of diverse culture in the arts industry gather together and enjoy music, poetry, fine arts and fashion. 

 Kutlwano is also passionate about fashion and image consultancy as a whole hence she will be adding a clothing range to her brand.

She was set to officially launch her brand on the 2nd of May 2020 with her theme being “Gathering in Grattitude” at Rantsho GuestHouse. Unfortunately the world was hit by a deadly pandemic covid19 which led the country to officially be on lock down. This was rather a devastating time for all of us and it hit the music and entertainment industry drastically. Kutlwano had to postpone all her scheduled gigs and rehearsals. She had to now sit down and rethink a way of reaching out to her fans and supporters. 

 This is when they began “The Unplugged Live Streaming Sessions” on Facebook this is one other way of keeping the worship alive and in place.

We can never know what tomorrow may hold, but nonetheless life has to keep moving. Despite the setback with the fight against covid19 Kutlwano is still hopefull and positive that God will sustain us and bring us out of this ordeal stronger and wiser. She is set to work on her first album which is something that we need to look out for in the near future.

In her last words of encouragement she stated that being focused in your calling or your gift will set you apart and this will help you grow in that particular space. 

She further said “Be solid, legit and authentic within your gifts and talents make it your priority to sharpen your craft constantly and most importantly know your tribe and build a strong solid relationship with them because we cannot make it alone.

In conclusion Kutlwano is yet to make her mark in the gospel industry and she intends to stay here for the longest time God willing, she has been working on her craft for some time now and she firmly believes that this is the appointed time for her to rise above the norm and spread the gospel of Christ across the ends of the earth.

You can follow her on Facebook @Kutlwano Phalatse and on her page KP Movement.