I organised a graphic design workshop sometime in May last year
…and one of my students asked me to tell him what it was like to stand, looking great, organizing the first design master class in the south west region (maybe in Cameroon…). Bringing my mom to attend my workshop. He asked me “what was your path to this spot like ? ”
I had no answer then.
It took me this much time to pull my thoughts together and cross examine myself.
It took me this much time to honestly believe i am a result of the best select of individuals who have been bolder in making decisions for themselves and have been steadfast to make things happen for themselves. They made deliberate mistakes (if not just got caught up in it.) And are if not close to living their dream, have definitely been able to curate a business for themselves and are currently making decent money.
(money isn’t the definition of happiness yo ! )
I call them mentors.
I guess my true talent is the gift of learning. Besides my attention to details and high focus when an elderly or someone more knowledgeable speaks to me, I have had the best people from whom i “steal” their DNA and adjust mine. It extreme cases i talk, walk and do their hand gestures and facial expressions as a means of replicating their wit. (like the popular tv series’ heroes, Sylar’s super power was the power of telekinesis and correcting his brain by means of splitting open a human’s brain.)
Mentorship is a relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person helps to guide a less experienced or less knowledgeable person.
The mentor may be older or younger than the person being mentored, but she or he must have a certain area of expertise. It is learning and development partnership between someone with vast experience and someone who wants to learn. In mentorship, experience and relationship structure affect the “amount of psychosocial support, career guidance, role modelling, and communication that occurs in the mentoring relationships in which the protégés and mentors engaged.
But since it’s wikipedia and i have to be free-spirited…
“A mentor is that person whose sole mission is to equip you with the right tools to turn you into a success in a giving ecosystem. ”
My mentors, more often than not, just think i’m this really nice kid who’s eager to learn and will trade anything (figuratively speaking), to learn from other’s experiences. Proof? I did not go to music school or design school, but i have my style and my brush stroke which are peculiar to me… I did not and cannot go back to school for anything on earth. School has taught me what i know, mentors just refined my knowledge.
I decided to write this little piece to search myself and see what has made me to be this “person”. What has boosted my career. Surprised i pretty much have just been an ambitious cameroonian with a myriad of masks; masks i put on when i am in front of my challenges. My mentors have contributed to what bine is, and what bine will be.
I take mentor relationships very seriously. You should too. Mentors played a key role in my career. Before i discussed who my mentors are, to avoid longevity, mention people who had an impact on me. Honourable mentions to : Mambe Churchill, Mbeng Ngassa, Bermond Yange, Mom & Dad, Obed Ngwane, Mbole Ekaney, Ian Paget.
These are the top 6 individuals who had an impact on me in 2017.
6- William Takor, 32.
Marketing & design mogul/creative director
William Takor is a creative design mogul and a rap head, a family friend, a foster brother and stands out to me as one of the most refined minds i have ever come across in the past decade. He clearly describes himself as the product of more than 10 years of intentional mistakes, fuelled by the hunger for knowledge. William takor is personified wit and a pure genius.
As a mentor, William inadvertently passed on to me the codes of what he called the viewpoint of design. He is the reason i ever boarded on this path of visual representation. I learned in the most unconventional ways to “train my eye” as a digital artist and the strength to not fear making mistakes. When you make a mistake and you successfully adjust it, you’ve conquered your fear, beaten the odds and adjusted your dna. It puts you above every other person who is yet to make the same mistakes and places you at a god-level; a podium where you can say “perifrere, no do so. You fit still do so but… *shrug with a grin*” (for those who know william’s grin, it is the most ambiguous gesture mankind has ever known. You never know if its approval or mockery.)
William takor is a deep thinker and an opinionist on twitter. The first thing i search on twitter and the last thing i read before i go to bed: @williamtakor
5- Eva Ndumbe, 28.
Journalist, radio/tv host/ co-founder kreef ent, sony music cote d’ivoire representative to Cameroon.
Eva and i barely knew each other. What catalysed my interest in this big chewable human strawberry bubble gum (okay, she’ll kill me.) Happened like a hard spank on my cheek:
“Why would this woman in her right senses leave the USA, and start all over in a country where the youth are as hopeless as the last droplets of water sliding down to meet its sisters at the bottom of a 3/4 empty cup?”
She was not afraid to start all over. After wasting 3 years of my life in hopelessness of pursuing a degree in law from the university of buea, and decided to begin a bsc in sociology & anthropology. Eva was not the main push behind my starting all over but it however contributed. I became fearless, that is why i can comfortably face my fears and fight for what i want. The same reason why i am a bigger executioner than a planner.
Eva also demonstrated to me in what way to be able to juggle with what you love doing. Eva is not just a journalist and a tv/radio host; she is the co-founder of one of cameroon’s household names when talking about record labels kreef alongside ebangha njang.
If she can effortlessly juggle between tv/radio hosting, running a record label and representing sony music Cote d’Ivoire in cameroon, why can’t i be a graphic artist and a music producer ?
4- Anyi Asonganyi, 29.
Make-up artist, beautician, business head, ceo/creative director for Ozi Int’l.
There is no way you can talk about makeup artistry in cameroon without mentioning my anyifua. Anyi, to some is the work hard/play hard, to others she is extravagant. I’m sure you would be familiar with yemi alade when she said it,
” Person wey hustle suppose to chop”.
Anyi hustles as much as she eats. You don’t just see the hustle part enough. I see it, and it’s a delight.anyi is a business mogul, and a Bangwa girl. (99.99999999999….. Something. Lol).
Lost her dad to sickness and rebranded her “ozi by anyi” to “ozi international” in memory of her late father. She learnt how to bank on social media to curate a following and brand herself which some how has been instrumental to her business (i’m currently working on a piece that explains her business strategy and how it has worked for me. I hope you buy when i release it.) , living her dream and single-handily run her business without any help whatsoever.
She knows what she wants and i’ve never seen anyone work to achieve her goals like this. How people think she’s just entertaining us on her instagram or her snapchat, but has successfully made her followers fall in love with what she is, a working and marketing machine. I lay back and try to understand what the secret behind her success is (that she says she hasn’t achieved yet.) And i realized it was as anne-marie befoune’s ” shamelessly putting yourself out there” and the power of branding. Branding is everything. You’ll be surprised on the ridiculous sum of money big brands like mtn, guinness, les brasseries du cameroon and nike spend on brand marketing. She taught me the virtue of client satisfaction, how to win new clients and very important, the love for mondays.
Besides her occasional banter, life tips and sharing her experiences, anyi is just crazy on snapchat: you should check her out, thank me later: @anyiasonganyi
3-Jovi aka Le Monstre, 34.
Rapper, music producer, sound engineer, label boss at Newbellmusic.
Jovi is one of the biggest names in cameroonian music and the hip-hop scene. Jovi is a creator, a workaholic and is in a constant state of reinventing himself.
I was graced to have exchanged words with jovi in the summer (rainy season) of 2012 and what i learnt from jovi was the power of research, uniqueness: your own god-given wealth and foresight: staying 5 steps away from your peers. I also learned that sleeping was for the rich. I’m guessing that is why even with the success he’s getting, he still believes there is room for more. Uniqueness is your wealth, your true currency. You will always fall on his bad side when you compare him even with the bigger names to grade his genius, yes even kanye.
” Kanye is best at what he does. I am jovi. There are no two jovi’s.”
Jovi emphasized that research is important because it takes you to a place where no one else has been. Knowledge is power. When you know things you are better and people look up to you. I think jovi’s strength is his knowledge. Jovi studies.
2- Leslie Meya, 24
Student, writer, poet.
Leslie Meya is a girl i’ve known for over 3 years. Intelligent, reserved and full of surprises. Currently a holder of a BSC. In human resource management and employment relations from the catholic university institute of buea, she is a young writer, poet and a familiar face at the iya griot night hosted by the iya restaurant in buea and the mito-mito open mic night which she executively produced with tchassa kamga and howard maximus.
Leslie and i share a very special bond. We share the passion of music, jokes, design and random ideas. Leslie is …. *sighs*…. Special.
Early on when i just met leslie, i learnt respect, the power of prayer and the virtues of family and friendships. Respect is mutual. To earn you must give. Prayer is the key, pray like the world depended on it, family is blood, and you can’t give away or betray blood. Friendship is not a debt; friendship is a blessing and should be watered like a growing plant.
We had no planned mentorship program. But leslie stood out as one of my best mentors, spiritual guide and my rock. Love you leslie! Go bestfriend ! Go bestfriend !
1- Edi Ledrae, 23
Music producer, sound engineer, business man, proud father
Edi Mesumbe Massango, is my brother, friend and partner… Did i mention i was a record executive ?
Please i beg you to forget till i can comfortably explain what exactly i do there. Lol!
Founder and president of thee 808 nation, Edi is the by-product of over 12 years of musical experience. A workaholic, and a lover of good vibes and a father.
In as much as i am his mentor, edi taught me the “art of the bounce back”. Edi hails from a very humble home and was brought up by his mom. Making up his mind to be the bread winner of his family back in 2014, he says was the biggest decision he ever made. Edi put a roof over his head, assisted his younger ones and his mom, built a house for his mom, clothed himself, quit school to pursue his career in music.
Commencing off as a producer and until recently decided to be a recording artist (after numerous threats of taking away his life) because he is that talented. He has failed, but failure was enough motivation to pull him back and edi always after a failure recovers and stands 3 times above where he was at the point of his failure.
Besides training my ear, Edi taught me self-control, resilience and perseverance.
Was one of the very few people (very very few people. Not sure they are up to a hand full.) To have spent time with don jazzy and his team of creatives on first name basis at the supreme mavin dynasty in nigeria. How awesome could this be?
So, my path ? I’ve not had a “path”. I have just had to watch and learn from people i think had the right survival kit from a distance, get advice based on their mistakes and get smart in those given situations. I research, i read (a lot), i observe, i listen, i act, i test, i fail, i succeed and i repeat. In a few years, i’m very confident i’ll be a household name. It’s amazing how productive 2017 was for me.
The true win for me will be when people will look up to me and be like…
” You see that grand ? I want dey like he.”
Because at the end of the day, all i want to do is to inspire the next generation creatives. I might have contributed in the creation of visual representation for a cross section of industries in cameroon, won an award, started a graphic design business but mentorship is the bigger, more serious business.
No one succeeds without a mentor. Even Kanye had a mentor, his name was Jay-Z.
Bine Moukouri
Digital artist, Music producer.