He’s notched up more than 9-million views on a single video and millions more on others, he has brought crowds to their feet, has almost 180,000 followers on TikTok, he describes himself as a self-taught performing artist — yet few people know who he is.
Thabang Mabena, born and raised in Mamelodi, is a quirky character with an incredible voice who has built up his audience by giving random performances under the name Darxkin.
His most recent performance, which has been viewed 9-million times on TikTok alone, shows him walking out of a Shoprite store in Riversands, belting out the Celine Dion hit It’s All Coming Back to Me Now.
He told the Sunday Times this week the performance had been completely spontaneous. He was with a friend who noticed the acoustics in the store were really good and suggested that Mabena sing.
“We were already walking out, I couldn’t think of a song, so my friend said ‘Sing Celine Dion; I love your version better than hers’. So, I just started singing and filming. The security guard looked at me funny and then smiled. And everybody stopped to watch,” Mabena said.
Performing takes bravery, he said, and it was the first time he decided to give it a shot “outside my hood where everybody knows me”. Smiling broadly, revealing a gap in his mouth, Mabena continued his performance as the crowd gathered and applauded.
“They loved it so much, I ended up staying there for a bit and singing them another song,” he said, describing the joy he feels when he makes others smile.
While he describes himself as self-taught, Mabena says he was raised by his artistic older sister Helen, and through her he was exposed to singing, dance groups and drama — all while still at school.
While Mabena ended up studying education at the University of Pretoria, he wished he had been able to attend art school, which was unaffordable at the time. “For four years in a row, I entered Idols but it never worked out,” he said.
“I thought ‘I can’t be that bad’, and tried to find out what the problem was and, over time, I got to learn about gatekeeping. That it Is basically about more that just your voice — it’s aesthetics and the whole package. One guy told me straight ‘You’re like a beautiful Bentley that’s been scratched. I can’t sell you.’”
Ironically it’s the gap that gets me the attention. It’s a game of confidence. I don’t have a problem with how I look. I’m a fly puppy
— Thabang Mabena, aka Darxkin
The “scratch” is Mabena’s yawning gap in his teeth. “I asked him what would be next. If I fix my teeth, will I then need rhinoplasty? Is my skin too dark? What else is wrong?”
That’s when Mabena decided to go out on his own on social media. “I went out on TikTok. I went live. And I accepted requests from people wanting to connect, and saw that many of them were people with gaps in their teeth. Finally I was being seen by people who were not focused on flaws, but were the South Africans who can see beauty in ordinary things,” he said, describing his delight in the encouragement he started receiving from his fast-growing fan base.
His gap, he said, is something he was born with. But it was made bigger when he had a tooth knocked out in a basketball accident — but Mabena is not interested in fixing it because it doesn't affect his speech or singing.
While he does get criticised and trolled on social media, the singer says 90% of the feedback is positive and encouraging. The 10%, he believes, are people with their own problems, “so, I just carry on smiling and singing until til I get the message through that the gap is okay”.
He added: “Ironically it’s the gap that gets me the attention. It’s a game of confidence. I don’t have a problem with how I look. I’m a fly puppy.”
So strong is Mabena’s confidence he drew huge attention with a video he titled “I just woke up like this”. He said: “That morning I woke up and I felt good. I remember saying to my mother ‘How did you manage to give birth to such a beautiful beast?’”
These days Mabena makes his living from bookings to sing at weddings, birthdays, surprise parties and a few big events. He’s also a beautician and visits his clients in their homes where he does lashes, makeup and nails.
He strongly believes his big break is coming. “It’s not right that I’m this broke. I’m a decent artist,” he said.
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