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Keith Ramaila - Author, Composer, and Music Producer
Keith Ramaila was born in 1979 on the 28th of November in Pretoria, at Ga-Rankuwa Hospital, in a province that is now called Gauteng in South Africa. However, he is originally from the Northern Province, now called Limpopo, where his parents were born. He was born at a time when his father was still working in Pretoria and moved to the then Northern Province when his parents moved back home. He started his primary education at Banareng Primary and finished his matric (Grade 12) at Khudu High School in 1997, in a place called Ga-Sekororo, in a small village called Lorraine near the town of Tzaneen.
Keith Ramaila discovered an accordion in his father’s wardrobe and started learning how to play keys, which got him interested in music before he even discovered his love for singing. Luckily, he was surrounded by churches in his neighborhood and started visiting them to learn more about how to play the real piano and keyboards.
His mother saw his love for music and encouraged him to join the Church Male Choir. Upon joining the church choir, he gained a deeper interest in music, now that he discovered his singing capabilities, and remained in the male choir for all his high school time.
He then moved to a nearby town called Phalaborwa, in a township called Namakgale, after finishing his Matric (Grade 12), as his parents were staying and working there. This is the place where Keith Ramaila met professional musicians like Malatji the Prince, who taught him how to play the piano, and also met his musical teacher and voice trainer, Mrs. Marlin Watkins.
He joined the band NVGS, and with the band, they toured Limpopo Province, playing music around the province. He later formed his own jazz band, which is where he learned music composition and music production as a band leader. They performed at the Greater Phalaborwa Jazz Club and around the Limpopo Province.
In the year 2000, Keith Ramaila moved to Johannesburg after he arranged to meet with Vusi Mahlasela to have him listen to his demo, with the hope that Vusi Mahlasela would help him find a record deal. Things didn’t go as planned with Vusi Mahlasela because of his busy schedule, but he managed to get some mentorship from the legend.
Music brought more frustration, and he was losing focus and direction as things were not going well in finding a record deal. In 2005, Keith Ramaila decided to enroll at Boston City Campus College with help from his elder sister, Mmanto Ramaila, to study IT. He finished his diploma as a Software Specialist and a Web Design Course.
In 2007, he managed to record an Afro Jazz demo, which he took to Sheer Sound to meet with Karabo Motijoane (Sheer Publishing Manager), who was impressed the first time he listened to the demo and wanted to sign him on the spot. Keith Ramaila got a joint record deal with both Sheer Publishing and a record label called Khula Records under Rob Luce in 2007, and his first Afro Jazz album titled "Mama" was released.
The album was never promoted and given attention for marketing, which pushed Keith Ramaila to ask to be released from the contract. However, things got sour with his managers, and he was forced to wait for five years for the contract to come to an end so he could carry on either on his own or be signed by other record labels.
In 2014, Keith Ramaila released his first dance album titled "My Jazz in House" on his own as an indie artist, but that still didn’t work out for him. However, it gave him lessons on how to self-manage and run his own label, Bokang M Records.
In 2017, he got a distribution deal with Static Plastic and a publishing contract with Phat Kat Music, and his work was administered by EMI Music, which brought him more attention and career growth after the release of his second album titled "Tomorrow." The album enjoyed its own successes; the single "Maria" from the same album was in the Top 100 of the Afro/Latin/Brazilian genre of Traxsource Charts and also managed to be in the Top 10 of the same category. The song stayed in the charts for 55 days.
In 2018, he released an album distributed by CD Baby titled "Patience" as an indie artist under a new name, "Flair Q," but still under his own label, Bokang M Records, which he enjoyed a bit of success as a full indie artist. Since then, he has never looked back and has now gained more experience in music production, composition, and more courage, with huge lessons from all his failures. He has now gone back to releasing albums under his original name, Keith Ramaila.
Keith Ramaila was born in 1979 on the 28th of November in Pretoria, at Ga-Rankuwa Hospital, in a province that is now called Gauteng in South Africa. However, he is originally from the Northern Province, now called Limpopo, where his parents were born. He was born at a time when his father was still working in Pretoria and moved to the then Northern Province when his parents moved back home. He started his primary education at Banareng Primary and finished his matric (Grade 12) at Khudu High School in 1997, in a place called Ga-Sekororo, in a small village called Lorraine near the town of Tzaneen.
Keith Ramaila discovered an accordion in his father’s wardrobe and started learning how to play keys, which got him interested in music before he even discovered his love for singing. Luckily, he was surrounded by churches in his neighborhood and started visiting them to learn more about how to play the real piano and keyboards.
His mother saw his love for music and encouraged him to join the Church Male Choir. Upon joining the church choir, he gained a deeper interest in music, now that he discovered his singing capabilities, and remained in the male choir for all his high school time.
He then moved to a nearby town called Phalaborwa, in a township called Namakgale, after finishing his Matric (Grade 12), as his parents were staying and working there. This is the place where Keith Ramaila met professional musicians like Malatji the Prince, who taught him how to play the piano, and also met his musical teacher and voice trainer, Mrs. Marlin Watkins.
He joined the band NVGS, and with the band, they toured Limpopo Province, playing music around the province. He later formed his own jazz band, which is where he learned music composition and music production as a band leader. They performed at the Greater Phalaborwa Jazz Club and around the Limpopo Province.
In the year 2000, Keith Ramaila moved to Johannesburg after he arranged to meet with Vusi Mahlasela to have him listen to his demo, with the hope that Vusi Mahlasela would help him find a record deal. Things didn’t go as planned with Vusi Mahlasela because of his busy schedule, but he managed to get some mentorship from the legend.
Music brought more frustration, and he was losing focus and direction as things were not going well in finding a record deal. In 2005, Keith Ramaila decided to enroll at Boston City Campus College with help from his elder sister, Mmanto Ramaila, to study IT. He finished his diploma as a Software Specialist and a Web Design Course.
In 2007, he managed to record an Afro Jazz demo, which he took to Sheer Sound to meet with Karabo Motijoane (Sheer Publishing Manager), who was impressed the first time he listened to the demo and wanted to sign him on the spot. Keith Ramaila got a joint record deal with both Sheer Publishing and a record label called Khula Records under Rob Luce in 2007, and his first Afro Jazz album titled "Mama" was released.
The album was never promoted and given attention for marketing, which pushed Keith Ramaila to ask to be released from the contract. However, things got sour with his managers, and he was forced to wait for five years for the contract to come to an end so he could carry on either on his own or be signed by other record labels.
In 2014, Keith Ramaila released his first dance album titled "My Jazz in House" on his own as an indie artist, but that still didn’t work out for him. However, it gave him lessons on how to self-manage and run his own label, Bokang M Records.
In 2017, he got a distribution deal with Static Plastic and a publishing contract with Phat Kat Music, and his work was administered by EMI Music, which brought him more attention and career growth after the release of his second album titled "Tomorrow." The album enjoyed its own successes; the single "Maria" from the same album was in the Top 100 of the Afro/Latin/Brazilian genre of Traxsource Charts and also managed to be in the Top 10 of the same category. The song stayed in the charts for 55 days.
In 2018, he released an album distributed by CD Baby titled "Patience" as an indie artist under a new name, "Flair Q," but still under his own label, Bokang M Records, which he enjoyed a bit of success as a full indie artist. Since then, he has never looked back and has now gained more experience in music production, composition, and more courage, with huge lessons from all his failures. He has now gone back to releasing albums under his original name, Keith Ramaila.
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