I live in… Alexandra Township in Johannesburg, South Africa with my mother and my grandmother. I’m still at school, a boys-only school, and am studying Business Studies. Growing up in a township is pretty challenging as a teen. There’s lot of crime around where I live which can sometimes be a bit scary, like I will wake up in the morning and hear news that thugs have attacked people or broken to someone’s house, and you also get a lot of teenager’s drinking alcohol and taking drugs. Saying that I do really love living here. Our neighbours are very kind, there is a good community, and we have even formed a street committee together to patrol the streets at night to fight crime.

Being a teenager is… Being a teenager comes with lots of opportunities and one of the really great things is that we have lots of room to make mistakes. We are able to take more risks and try out new things. We may not always make the best decisions, but with adolescence comes our parents’ understanding and forgiveness. One thing that isn’t so great is that if you want to go out partying with your friends you need permission from your parents, and they don’t always give it.

Issues facing teenagers today are… I would say pressure from friends, like comparing yourself to other people and wanting to be like someone else, instead of being yourself and trusting yourself and having confidence in who you are, as well as bullying and peer pressure. We also face pressures to study hard and get good grades and I think lots of teenagers suffer from problems with body image and wanting more and more expensive branded clothes without ever being satisfied.

My ambitions are… To have my own music company and a band, that is why I am studying Business Studies, so I can run my own music company one day. I would also love to go and live in UK and someday meet my icon, Drake Aubrey Graham.

Things or experiences? Experiences. I have experienced lot of love, care and support from my family, especially my mum. It is not easy for her as a single parent to raise a teen boy in a township surrounded by bad things. Material things don’t matter to me, they come and go but experiences stay with you.

My concerns for the future are… I don’t really have fears for the future as I don’t know what future really holds for me.

When I’m not at school… I spend time with my friends making music, writing lyrics, mixing beats and rapping. We also perform our music in clubs on weekends.

Is the future bright? Yes, I think so. Growing up today we have lot of opportunities to explore, to be who and what we want to be, and technology has made so much stuff available to us. I can’t predict the future, but right now I feel blessed and happy.

For guidance I turn to… My mum, mainly. My relationship with her is very good, she is really supportive and understanding. She is very much involved in my life and is very protective of me. I will always be grateful to my mum and my Grandmum. They have shown nothing but love for me.

I look up to… I look up to my mum who is strong, intelligent and hardworking. She is the person that I have always been able to trust no matter the situation. She constantly reminds me to appreciate what I have. I know a lot of people look up to celebrities like the Kardashians, or Drake, or Nelson Mandela, but for me, I look up to my mum.

Friends are… Friends are really important to me. They are there to hang out with, talk to about life’s challenges, and to have fun with.