Rubbing shoulders with an idol is atop many artists’ bucket lists and so is sharing the stage with them. Depending on the idol the former is a tall order and the latter is highly unlikely to the extent that only a handful of artists can attest to having experienced sharing a stage with their idols. Enter, stage-right South African Australian Rapper, Neo Pitso. The artist with a larger-than-life personality and a respectable repertoire has managed to stack up a list of respectable names, made up of his idols, on his performance résumé. Melbourne
Back home they told me to reach for the stars
Their jaws dropped when I supported Nas Melbourne
The above lines are delivered with bravado and appear in his song Happy To Be Alive. The self-proclaimed ‘Australian Rap Highness’ can claim bragging rights after sharing the stage with none other than Hip Hop legend, Nas. As if that wasn’t enough he can also add; The Game, Cassidy, Bone Thugs & Harmony, Montell Jordan, Chingy, Cassidy, Scribe, and many more music heavyweights to that list. In a growing market like the Australian industry, many wanted to know just how he managed to secure these shows without a single project released at the time. We can only speculate as he has largely remained mum. Melbourne
One could assume that he was able to support his idols on back-to-back tours as a result of good fortune and being at the right place at the right time. Whilst that may be correct to a limited extent Neo has proven to be quite the Maverick and has figured out a way to turn his goals into gold.
Touring with idols and becoming associated with one of the best tech companies, isn’t something many artists can pull off. This Modern Melbourne Man, however, isn’t just any artist. Without an album or mixtape, Neo was also able to become a BlackBerry ambassador. How was he doing this? Not only did he get the opportunity to be flown around the world courtesy of BlackBerry he got to rub shoulders with Formula1 champ Lewis Hamilton and R&B superstar Alicia Keys. At this point keeping score would be futile. One could safely make a sound argument that Neo has ironically become a celebrity, by way of association. Melbourne
He’s a musician, a maverick, and as it turns out, a mentor. Starting in 2015, Neo became a keynote speaker. He delivered speeches at various conferences and eventually at schools and universities, talking about his musical adventures, achievements, and how he went from relative obscurity to fairly well known and respected in music circles. Although I could not source videos of his speeches online, photographs and social media snippets paint a clear picture. Neo is adored and performs often, for hundreds of African students who aspire to follow in his footsteps or use his blueprint to achieve their own dreams. Melbourne
At first glance, it’s easy to dismiss his efforts as merely existing to feed his ego. A deep dive, however, reveals something different altogether. Neo Pitso sponsored a prize at high schools in his hometown in Africa, where 1 student was nominated for the Leadership Award. As part of the award, the student receives a certificate and cash prize of $1000. As part of his continued humanitarian efforts, Neo also hosts and sponsors a charity event focusing on different themes each year. The last two events were: Share a smile save a child –assisting orphanages and Daughters with Dignity which focused on women empowerment and included a sanitary pad drive. Melbourne
It has become abundantly clear that the artist has used his own success to help out members of his community. Although far from flawless this is the quintessential Modern Melbourne Man of 2022; a musician, maverick, and mentor. Melbourne
Follow Neo Pitso on his accounts below:
Instagram: @TheOnlyNeo
FaceBook: Neo Pitso Worldwide
YouTube: https://bit.ly/3tpupMy