Hip pop and R&B artist Daycare says he has been through hell and back.
Sisonke Tuswa says he has been to hell and back in his pursuit of a successful music career.
The Samora-based hip hop and R&B artist who goes by the stage name Daycare and who hails from eGcuwa in the Eastern Cape, says he lost his grandfather who was his mentor, got caught up with a bad crowd - and nearly gave up on his dream of being a singer.
When Tuswa first got involved in music in 2010, he was also writing poetry and choreographing dance.
In his community, he said, there was a project called Masivukeni that helped him to start taking his talent seriously.
“It was drama, dancing and music and it was a pretty good experience,” he told Vukani.
In 2012 he dropped his first single, Kuyoze kubenini, with a local rapper Max.
But then he lost his pillar of strength, his grandfather who was supportive of his vision.
Things went downhill from there.
He got involved with friends who were a negative influence, started smoking and by 2014 he had a drug addiction.
He dropped out of school.
Luckily for him, it was only about a year later that he managed to lift himself out of the slump he found himself in. “Before that I couldn't control myself from the anger and exhaustion. In 2015 I decided to quit and get myself back together, so I dropped another single with Kinetic titled No matter what which was inspired by the experience,” he told Vukani.
He also went back to school, studied hard and matriculated in 2018. He even got into university, but couldn’t finish and went to Gauteng to pursue his dream of being a successful musician.
After all his struggles, Daycare had gone from sleepless nights in the studio, to big shows and living a more positive life.
Recently he has dropped a single titled Recessions along with a music video - and he is dedicated to his goal of being able to provide for his family and siblings.
He has a message for would-be artists: “Follow your dreams, study hard and be a good example to the younger generation”.
His next goal, he said, is to get signed by a reputable manager who can help him secure lucrative gigs, and to sign with a record label.
For more, follow @daycareknows on Instagram and @daycare on Facebook.