When 23-year-old Thami Hopewell Nkambule takes a Sunday stroll through the streets of Pretoria, even African uncles taking out the trash stop to ask if he’s the funny man from TikTok. Also known as iHope, Nkambule has over 330,000 followers on TikTok, with over five million likes, and that’s counting. @ihopeofficial69 monkey up his sleeve sounds able-bodied:thinking_face: #tiktoksa #viral #meme #snaaks #fknarmy #ihopenation ♬ original sound – iHope Official His journey on social media started at the beginning of the lockdown in 2020, when he posted African videos, with clever puns and puns about the daily battle…
When 23-year-old Thami Hopewell Nkambule takes a Sunday stroll through the streets of Pretoria, even African uncles take out the trash to ask if he is the funny man from TikTok.
Also known as iHope, Nkambule has over 330,000 followers on TikTok, with over five million likes, and that’s counting.
@ihopeofficial69 monkey up his sleeve sounds valid :thinking_face: #tiktoksa #viral #meme #lazy #fknarmy #ihopenation ♬ original sound – iHope Official
His social media journey started at the start of the lockdown in 2020, when he posted African videos, featuring clever puns and puns about the daily struggles of a typical South African.
His online name, iHope, was inspired by his middle name and his mission to unite a diverse nation.
Nkambule describes himself as a failed artist turned content creator.
“After school I wanted to be an artist, a rapper,” he said.
Only now does he realize that his first TikTok video was a rip-off rap in Afrikaans, which went viral and reached 60,000 views.
(According to thetechwire.coma video must be viewed 300-500 times within half an hour of posting to be considered viral on TikTok).
Since then, Nkambule has posted more than 580 videos.
“The rap was something crazy, like ‘jou ma se g’† cat slap you flat’ [your mother’s a*hole, cats slap you flat]’ he recalls.
He said that when he initially signed up on TikTok, it was to boost his music career.
“I am a failed rapper. The content creator was just a side job and now it’s the main job, which is weird,” he said. Still, he was adamant that he wanted to rap.
Nkambule was born and raised in Pretoria, where he lived with his mother Selena in a Wendy house, while she worked as a live-in housekeeper.
Nkambule grew up in Afrikaans and graduated in 2017.
“I speak English, Afrikaans and a little Zulu,” he said. He is thankful for Afrikaans because it has opened many doors for him.
“But I want to look for my roots. I hate that.”
Nkambule is under fire for its content.
“They say, you think you’re talking African, but you’ll never be white, and black people tell me to think I’m better than them because I’m African and hang out with white people,” he said.
Nkambule said that’s what his ideal hope nation is all about. “They are several people united. I don’t feel like I have a place in South Africa, so that’s why I created it,” he said.
Nkambule said he felt a little cheated because he was not fluent in his culture or language.
“But there are many others like me who think they don’t fit,” Nkambule said.
He said he gets his fair share of haters. “But because I don’t focus on it, it’s minimal. I don’t have all the time to defend myself,” he said.
Nkambule said his biggest fan is his mother, who also played the role of father.
“My mom is very proud of me, she always asks me to send her my videos. Sometimes she asks for data to be able to watch my videos online,” he said.
“My mother did everything she could to raise me and she did it well.”
Nkambule said the De Clercqs, the family his mother worked for, were like his African fairy parents and he still visits them. They go to school events together.
Despite his success on the social media platform, Nkambule craved for more.
“It’s still a work in progress,” he added.
His favorite artist is rapper Eminem. “The fact that, despite his circumstances, he also made it big.
“He was told he would never make it as a rapper because he was white, and people tell me I’m black in a white market.”
Nkambule said he was looking forward to releasing an album and growing a following on YouTube with his music and content.
“I started rapping in 2018, but started writing rhymes when I was 10 years old,” he said.
Nkambule has written three albums about his mission with iHope nation.
“It speaks of the internal conflict within. I want to discover my culture and ancestors. It’s like I long to find where I belong,” he said.
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