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, South African fashion designer and show co-founder Orapeleng Modutle said he wanted to showcase the talent of these youngsters to the world.
“Starting the initiative ‘Birth of Stars’ was a passion project of mine 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 that it is possible to break into the industries they aspire to be in.”
Modutle added that the show tackles pertinent societal issues.
“The show is meant to touch a lot of people’s lives. We see a lot of relatable topics in season one like acceptance, healing and the challenges that 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 that YouTube has afforded them.
“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 that is 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 that I’ve looked up to for years as well as the OG’s in the game that can share their wisdom and guidance with me for this industry,” shared Mogola.
“The show has also allowed me to grow my social media as well as my character as I have gotten to know and understand myself better as I would think our audience have.”
Mogola said opening up about his absent father has been the biggest highlight this far.
“I don’t really know my father that well. As a person, our relationship is centred around 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.
“The show gives people the opportunity to also gain more insight into the queer community as well as all the genuine hard work and commitment it takes to be an influencer because it is an actual job,” added Mogola.
Echoing Masedi and Mogola’s sentiments, Pule commented that 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, it’s always important to be true to yourself,” said Pule.
“We tackle a variety of topics regarding the LGBTQIA+ community, and we’re just trying to change the stigma that 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 are aiming to have the show on much bigger platforms for season 2, which we can’t mention at the moment.”
“Birth of Stars” is available on YouTube and the episode is 25 minutes long and is available every second Friday of the month from midnight.