The Nambian's Natasha Uys caught up with BBStarGame's Mampi Mukape on Tuesday (29 May) after her eviction from Upville on Sunday night and shares their chat with us here.
On behalf of all uhdikts (addicts) we'd like to send a shoutout of thanks to The Namibian, to Natasha for sharing with us and to MemeJ who liaised hooking us up.
Without further adieu, presenting the interview ...
Twenty-five-year-old Zambian R&B singer, Mampi became the first celebrity housemate to be evicted from the Big Brother Upville house on Sunday.
After forming a close bond with Zimbabwe’s Maneta, the pair were nominated by some of their fellow housemates for gossiping too much.
After spending three weeks in the house, Mampi will probably be best remembered for her signature style of dancing, dubbed ‘thunder thighs’.
I indulged in a bit of gossip with the dancing diva ...
Natasha: What was the best thing about the Upville house?
Mampi: Getting to meet different people from different places and sharing our different cultures. It was lots of fun getting to know all the different housemates, living with them and exchanging our cultural values.
Natasha: And the worst thing?
Mampi: It was definitely challenging and not as easy as it seems. Watching the show from home is very different from actually doing it and being part of it. It’s a psychological and mental game, not a physical one. Having cameras on you 24/7 is so annoying, especially when you want to pick your nose, or other little habits that you don’t want people to see. You can’t run or hide in the house.
Natasha: What did you learn about yourself through the experience?
Mampi: Nothing really, apart from the fact that I learned I can be a bit of a bully. It’s fun to bully people sometimes. Not everyone, just some people in the house.
Natasha: Who did you most dislike and why?
Mampi: Goldie. I believe she was very plastic and she was pretending too, too, too much. I think she’s trying too hard to be sweet. I don’t think she’s really a sweet person. When you look in her eyes you can see a lot of anger there. I think she’s the biggest pretender in the house.
Natasha: Do you think you and Maneta’s gossiping may have played a role your nomination and eviction?
Mampi: Yes, but at the end of the day, it’s a game. A game of gossip, hatred, backstabbing and betrayal. You choose which one you do. They will keep evicting people for different reasons, maybe some lie and some are unpredictable. It’s the name of the game. I don’t look at it as gossiping.
I found someone I could confide in, it only looked bad on TV but every single person loves gossiping and they will still continue to talk about each other. It’s fun. Being out of the house, I am still saying the same thing. So in the house it is considered gossip, but on the outside it’s an interview. It’s just my opinion anyway.
Natasha: Do you feel you made the right decision, entering the house?
Mampi: Everything happens for a reason and out of every negative, you can make a positive. You mould yourself. I don’t think entering the house was a bad idea at all. I had so much fun and I think it was the right time for me to go out. Mentally I felt ready to go. I realised at some point that it was not easy at all so, all in all I think everything worked out the way it should have. The timing was perfect.
Natasha: We loved your dance moves, where did you learn to move like that?
Mampi: (Laughs) I don’t know! I love to dance and never expected people to copy my ‘thunder thighs’. That’s my signature back home, I am actually better known for dancing than for singing.
It’s something that amuses people. Funnily enough, I only discovered my talent for dancing at 17. I guess it’s just something I was born with.
Natasha: What did you think of our Lady May?
Mampi: I really liked her so much. She’s actually the first person I related to when I got into the house but after a while I felt she changed. Perhaps it was when I got closer to Maneta, maybe she felt abandoned. I was disappointed that she nominated me but I don’t blame her, it’s the nature of the game.
I tend to think that people nominate those they are threatened or irritated by. I don’t think I irritated her because we never argued or had any differences. So I have to think that I was perhaps a threat to her. We share vocal skills and I would love to do a ‘collabo’ with her, more than anyone else in the house.
Natasha: Future plans?
Mampi: I plan to get back to work and continue recording except this time I want to make an international album. I am known in Zambia and now it is time to cross borders and take my music to the rest of Africa. I hope to visit Namibia soon.