“Don’t follow me, you won’t catch me. Follow your dreams and stop begging for mercy…”

Siyanda Andrew Mkhize popularly known as Schedule 6 is a multifaceted artist. He is a rapper, producer, songwriter and actor.

Mkhize hails from KwaZulu-Natal in a place called Emsinga (Emabomvini) but currently resides in Johannesburg in pursuit of his dreams.

His love for music became evident in high school at ST Enda’s secondary school. Schedule 6 drew inspiration from the legendary 2 PAC, Makaveli and Bone Thugs. He began giving music full attention around 2006.

It was during that period when he realised that music is the way for him.

“I realised that music is the way for me when I wrote my very first song in 2007, in prison and it instantly became a massive hit”, said Schedule 6.

Mkhize’s journey to success has not been an easy one at all. He has been through a lot of twists and turns in life that unfortunately kept his music on hold for a while.

He was shot three times in the streets of Jozi… “I got shot trying to rescue a woman in a club, I got shot by the cops robbing a family, I got shot by thugs who were trying to rob me of my gun – nging’ UMAFA AVUKE’, said Schedule 6, taking us back to the days of the unfortunate incidents.

A turning point in his life was when he was held in penitentiary for 17 years for robbery and possession of firearms. However, while he was in prison he proceeded with his dream of doing music and got more time to hone his craft. Schedule 6 was always involved in all art activities and would often get a chance to showcase his talent at festivities in prison.

While in prison, he also got a life changing opportunity to further his studies, did music theory and practical that led to exciting moments of meeting iconic names in the industry like L-Tido, Morale, Sean Pages, Mr Selwyn, Spikiri and legendary Oskido. This brought hope as they heard his music and complemented it.

“It was a big moment when I transferred to Pretoria, because that’s where I found the opportunity of going back to school and study more about music and the game overall. Meeting some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry made me realize that if I could get a breakthrough I’ll make sure that I become bigger than them.”

 In 2015 the talented star was released from prison and he never looked back. He continued pursuing his music career. After his release, he made a few free recordings in order to grow a bit of fan base.

Schedule 6 then dropped his first official single ‘Young Gz’ which he co-produced with a friend, Lwazi, featuring Chealex Mpanza. The song became a huge success as it has been played on Metro FM, Gagasi FM, Massive Metro and Alex FM, to mention a few.

When SA POSITIVE NEWS asked Schedule 6 about the inspiration behind the hit single, he had this to say: “Young Gz was inspired by the young generation hungry for success”.

Against all odds, Schedule 6 held on to his dreams. He always knew that one day his musical aspirations would become a reality.

“It’s passion and knowing that if I fail I will be failing the world. It was a great experience to be a leader in prison, helping amagents to focus, giving them hope that we can change the world with music”, said Mkhize.

Schedule 6 is currently working on his EP and Chealex Mpanza’s new album. He is also working on Cvumza’s EP Induku Isemqubeni.

His message for young and upcoming artists is clear and straight to the point:

“Don’t follow me, you won’t catch me. Follow your dreams and stop begging for mercy. Stand up!”

By Sinenzolo Mondi – Nduku