Arts from Africa

The first time I heard this oke rap was a surreal moment indeed. I can safely say, without a shadow of a doubt that I was in the presence of greatness. You would swear that Kwesta was in the house. That was some 4 years ago if my memory serves me well. However, the followin’ piece won’t be solely be on his lyrical prowess and vocal eloquence though. It would certainly be about how he was (appearance-wise) when he delivered the aforementioned rap that day and his fashion dreams.

The lethugvo brand logo

Clad in a white vest with ripped pants that had shoe laces up his waist, the oke was a spectacle (atleast to me). To cap it off stylishly, he wore knee-high white Nike socks and blue Adidas push-ins. He also spotted an Afro that would have Phil Lynott green with envy. Who is this guy was the question that held my mind hostage. Speakers, I wanna introduce you to someone with off-the-cuff fashion finesse. Enter lethuGvo, the stage is yours. Shine! Formerly known as ‘lcm the renegade,’ Likhwalethu Chester Moyo has rebranded himself to lethuGvo, a portmanteau of the last part of his first name and his faith in God i.e GVO for God’s very own). If you are a fashionista, then pay careful attention to this story. It might inspire you.

Some of the products belonging to lethugvo

Born and bred in Gwanda 24 years ago, Likhwa always had a dream of donnin’ somethin’ that spoke to him and about him. How best could he acheive that feat other than creatin’ a clothin’ line of his own? His fashion sense is impeccable and it was only a matter of time before his dream would come to fruition. Back then, people treated his dream as nothin’ more than wishful thinkin’ and boy, they could have not been any wrong. It’s happenin’ right in front of their very eyes.

As a lover of music, the Midlands State University (MSU) alumnus had a plan up his sleeve. How dare would he perform on stage without puttin’ on somethin’ that resonated to his personality & faith? The South-African based rapper launched his clothin’ line; gvo street apparel this year. Commentin’ on his label, the rapper had this to say, “You would notice that most of our products are written lethu gvo – uncvr.your.BS (a code that the brand thrives on stands for UNCOVER your Best Self/Business Sense/Beautiful Side/BrashnesS).” The brand is about you, made for you and is you as well.

Quizzed on how difficult it was to traject from banking and finance to music and fashion, Likhwa chuckled and gave a, “None of that commerce ish has been my passion. l just did it because back in high school, l was just coincidentally part of the commerce class since form 1 and l was good with numbers but l hated school.” The love for fashion and music was just too much for him and he had to do somethin’ ’bout it irrespective of what field he had graduated from.

Next, we jumped head-first into the intricate details of the Likhwa’s clothin’ label. What does he want to achieve with the endeavour? His was a ready answer, “Basically, we are saying our fabric offerings aim to uncover the side that most people either don’t know about you, overlook, misunderstand or simply underrate. We are here to make fabric noises for the less confident, low self-esteemed and we wanna hear them roar. Basically, this is a therapeutic exercise for the kids out there.” The targeted audience are the youths and lethuGVo added, “The brand will focus, for now on street wear mainly ’cause it’s for the kids, the youth i.e me and you as it’s created from a youthful eye/perspective that wishes to incorporate all the 21st Century rap, trap hiphop cultures.” Why hip hop? Simple. Likhwa is a rapper who believes that Bulawayo, his hometown is the capital of hip hop in Zimbabwe.

Gvo street apparel really speaks volumes and screams excellence. It is the sort of brand that you would want to associate yourself with. Good looks sell and trust me, this brand looks and smells like money. The next time you wanna class up your wardrobe a notch, gvo street apparel would be your brand of choice. Name the occasion and I can assure you, gvo street apparel will shine up the spring in your step. If you are into caps, denim, bucket hats, sweaters and classy T-shirts, then your thirst is quenched at lethuGvo.

Musicwise, lethuGvo is the brains behind a hip hop movement meant to identify, nurture and showcase local talent through virtual free styles on social media. The belief in the ‘local is lekker’ phrase is payin’ dividends as every Fridays, rapsters and trapsters spit venom on the mic. So, the moral of this story happens to be: Dream as big as possible and believe in yourself even if the odds are seemingly stuck against you. Likhwa did it and so can and should you. “I’ve always been overlooked and underrated. Basically, no one used to listen to my vision when l laid ’em on the table until l implemented them. Everyone acted like they believed and that has been my life,” is how Likhwa would heartfeltly put it. His vision was too great not to unfulfil it.

For fashion tips and a catalogue on his products, lethuGVo is available on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and email. So long speakers! That’s it for now.