Celebrating Multichoice Namibia’s 25th Anniversary with Stefan Ludik

Dreams Don’t Work Unless You Do

In 2011, he won the Afroatainment Museke Online Africa Music Award (MOAMA) for best alternative song for the single: ‘Black Girl, White Boy’ which he recorded with Namibian female duo Gal Level.

Tell us a little bit about Elvis Se Seun and the type of music you do and why you chose that particular genre?    

After the Big Brother Africa competition I got massive support and I was very grateful for the English market and my Namibian supporters. I tried to do a more English hip hop rock type of album and after doing that, I also got a lot of support in the Afrikaans industry because I acted in a few Afrikaans soap operas. I tried to cater for that audience as well and that’s why I chose the name, well Elvis se seun.

Which role did you love portraying as an actor?

Wow, that’s tricky. Both had their moments. I think my favorite out of the two was Egoli. It was the first soap opera I acted in. It was quite a challenge but it was the best learning school for me. I was basically thrown into the deep end. I didn’t study drama, I’m not an actor but I learned quite a lot from Egoli. Great actors. It was a big honor for me to learn and start there. I also got an opportunity to bring Egoli to Namibia with sponsors I know from Namibia. We filmed there and the main idea was to promote Namibia and get some of our Namibian talent involved as well. That was a very proud moment for me.

What was the worst phase in your life?

I took big risks, especially moving from Namibia to Johannesburg. I don’t have family on this side. I had big dreams and aspirations but I didn’t have family or a support structure on this side. I basically had to pay a lot of school fees and take a lot of risks and learn a lot of lessons. At one point while I was recording, I had to pay for everything myself. A lot of money goes into recording and making music videos and people don’t understand that.

At one point I, I lost a quite a bit. I had to sell my car, my bus and my sound equipment. Everything I acquired, I had to lose again. There were some tough times as well, because it’s a very up and down industry. I don’t get a set salary. All the money you make goes back into your music equipment or investing in your career. That’s about four, five years ago, that was a bit of a challenge to get through.

Is what you are doing now what you’ve always wanted to do?

I’m more of a songwriter. I’ve always wanted to write songs and entertain people. So yes, I’m doing what I always wanted to do and, I love what I’m doing. It’s got its challenges but, it’s definitely something I wanted to do. The satisfaction I get when I see people really buying the album or telling me how they enjoy the songs so much. That’s the main aim for me, to just entertain people with my music. That makes it all worthwhile.

What is your biggest success up until now?

There were some proud moments especially when I had more time to do projects in Namibia. I’m a very patriotic and proud Namibian. I think we’ve got a beautiful country and awesome people. Like when we did the Hart Van Windhoek music festival for Huisgenoot and then we brought Egoli to Namibia. We also travelled in about almost four hundred schools with the blessing of the Ministry of Education. Those were proud moments for me, being involved with projects in Namibia and promoting Namibia.

When you do have time to watch TV what do you watch?

Well it’s not something I watch but I like the DMX channels. The oldies or classic rock channels. The oldies are definitely my favorite on the bouquet. I feel I was born in the fifties or sixties in my previous life.

How has MultiChoice enriched your life?

I knew I was going to get into music somewhere and when that opportunity came along with the Big Brother Africa competition, I entered. It was because of a lot of luck and blessings that I got where I am today. A lot of work went into it. You can’t just enter a competition and then expect things to just happen for you. I had to take big risks. Move from Namibia, sell things, buy things and still doing that fourteen years later. So the opportunities that came after Big Brother enriched my life.

What’s next for Stefan Ludik?

Just focusing on the album now. We have a lot of shows with Elvis Se Seun this year. Travelling. I hope in two, three or four years that I can move back to Namibia. Use my contacts and experience to start doing more projects in Namibia. Even staying in Namibia; that would be my ultimate.

Do you have any message for anyone who would like to pursue their dreams like you did?

Take that leap if you really believe in yourself and have a dream. Dreams are good but it requires you to work hard and that’s also not a guarantee. There are things that might take a while but enjoy the whole journey.

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