RAPPER Chelton Windvogel hopes to use his music to inspire others in Humansdorp to strive for success regardless of their circumstances.
Chelton, who is also known as ‘Ghetto Prophet’, was motivated to write a song with his then band member, Kurt Hammon, also known as 12 VSSE, after his brother was shot and killed in 2016.
“After my brother’s passing, I realised how far away I was from God. Only then did I start living for my community and helping people realise their purpose in life,” he said.
The song titled Sick, which was released in 2017, focused on gang violence and the killings of young men in the community.
In the song, the names of four men who were killed due to gang violence were mentioned to further emphasise the reality and seriousness of gangsterism in the area.
Chelton, who stays in Jill Marcus, said after the release of the song, gang violence continued and more than 30 people had been killed since then.
“People in the community are living in fear. They continuously complain about gang violence, young people dying and all the negative aspects in the community, but nothing is being done about it,” he said.
Chelton, who has been writing music for 12 years and now works independently from the four-piece music group, aims at using his music to make a change in the community.
“I want to speak positivity into people’s lives with my music. I want people to know that as long as they are still alive, they should be hopeful for the future,” he said.
Chelton, who was previously involved in many bad things before his religious awakening in 2008, often speaks to gang members in the community and listens to them.
“Nobody listens to them or gives them a chance. They speak to me about their circumstances and I share my life experience with them, to bring hope into their lives. I cannot change them, but I trust that God will,” he said.
Apart from rapping and songwriting, Chelton is also a tattoo artist, photographer and dance choreographer.
He is currently working on a mixtape, which he plans to release once he has set up a Facebook page in which he will post links to his songs and music videos.
In one of Chelton’s songs on the mixtape, titled Open Table, he puts his heart on the table to speaks about his experiences and challenges in life.
“The song was written to inspire people. Everybody has a purpose in life, and I speak about my experiences to show that there is beauty behind pain. I also face challenges, but I am still focused on being successful,” he said.
Another one of his songs, titled Anyway, highlighted the challenges he faced growing up without a father and how that added to the financial problems at home.
He said people in his community can relate to this song because many grew up without fathers.
Each song focused on a specific topic which is written during different life experiences and different emotions.
“I like to connect my emotions to my music to allow the listener into my life story. When people listen to my music, I want to move them and speak positively into their situations,” he said.
Chelton said the reason why he writes about real events is that he wants people to know they are not alone.
Despite all the fear and despair felt by many in Humansdorp, he is hopeful that things will change soon.
“I believe that God will bring change and peace into the town and a lot of young people will be saved,” he said.
