Written by: BLSSD Music
Article source: Supplied
BLSSD Music – a young man’s journey from partying and drinking to founding and running a successful, Christ-inspired online music community on YouTube with over 127k subscribers.
Born in Zimbabwe, Tshepo travelled between South Africa and various parts of the UK for most of his life. When the Rance family moved to Kenya, Tshepo decided to stay at his school in Surrey, in South East England, as a full-time boarder.
Tshepo Rance (above), founder, head curator and creative director at BLSSD Music has been running his online music business for over three years.
“I was thirteen, going on fourteen. It was a period of significant growth and maturing for me. I had to start taking international flights and navigating the different airports by myself to visit my family. I was also solely responsible for my own time and my performance at school,” says Tshepo.
Self-identified as ‘Christian by label only’, and with a lot of freedom at a young age, Tshepo lived a life contrary to that which he believes God intended for him. He indulged in and focussed solely on worldly desires, embracing a ‘live-hard-die-young’ lifestyle that included partying, drinking and smoking.
This eventually led to a health scare which made Tshepo realise the impact of what he was doing to himself. At this point, he cried out to God for mercy but after his medical tests came back clear, he fell back into his old habits.
“I only went to church when I was visiting my parents in Kenya or South Africa and would ‘do my time’ to please them. I wouldn’t pay attention and would often fall asleep during sermons,” he says.
That all changed when he was visiting his family in Cape Town, South Africa for the summer holidays in 2016. Thanks to his mother’s intercessory prayers, Tshepo felt moved to attend a youth service with a friend. “It all clicked from that point,” he says, “I was well and truly on my path with God. I got baptised and was attending church back home in London regularly.”
A year later when he went to visit his family over the Easter holidays in 2017, Tshepo decided to create BLSSD Music. “I felt conflicted by the themes in the music that I was listening to at the time and the God that I was now serving,” he explains. “Easter is a special time of the year. As Christians, we commemorate Jesus’s death on the cross for our sins and celebrate His resurrection on the third day. Realising and accepting this truth, I was truly reborn; I was resurrected with Christ,” he continues.
Now, Tshepo’s life revolves around his passion for music and Jesus. The Swansea University law graduate lives in London and has devoted all of his time to BLSSD. He finds and curates music, edits videos, designs artwork, sets up campaigns, and builds and maintains relationships with musicians. To relax and draw creative inspiration, he visits exhibitions at art museums and galleries such as the Saatchi Gallery and Tate Modern. He also plays the keyboard and maps out instrumentals for songs in their production phase during his downtime.
“I’m not a musician myself,” Tshepo explains. “I do, however, find joy in the art of making music, as well as finding and curating it. It’s my time with God where I can be with Him and worship Him. BLSSD Music is my opportunity to share the musical gems that I find, that I spend hours searching for. It’s also a form of spiritual healing for myself and, I hope, others,” he continues.
Tshepo believes that his purpose is to walk with God and spread the gospel far and wide. “I have such a passion for music and the incredible independent musicians who make music unapologetically for Jesus. I have no doubt that this global platform will continue to grow as more and more people hunger for God’s good news in the form of music,” he says.
Tshepo’s family has played an integral role in building BLSSD Music to the point it’s at today. “My brother, Kabelo, is six years younger than me and he’s the one that showed me the ropes on YouTube when I first started the channel,” he says. “My mother keeps me accountable and committed to my deadlines, and my interest in diverse music genres comes from my father. He also helps source collaboration opportunities and joint ventures for BLSSD,” he adds.
Every BLSSD music video begins with a relevant Bible verse. It is Tshepo’s way of spreading the good news. When asked what his favourite Bible quote is, he mentions Mark 8:36: “What gain, then, is it for anyone to win the whole world and forfeit his life?”.
“I acknowledge that this world can offer you everything that you think you may need – the cars, the houses, the money, the clothes… This verse is a reminder that my relationship with God is indispensable. I give all the glory and honour to God for the successes we have experienced so far. To indulge in worldly things that are contrary to the Lord only means that at the end of it, you fall short of a relationship with God. We are here for a limited time; how does that compare to eternity?” he concludes.
BLSSD Music truly is a worldwide phenomenon. Thanks to the borderless nature of the internet, musicians from across the world have featured their work on the channel. BLSSD Music also has subscribers from all over Africa, especially Southern Africa, the USA and Brazil to France, England and New Zealand.
To find out more, follow BLSSD Music on YouTube, Spotify, Instagram, Soundcloud or Twitter. To get involved contact blssdmusicgroup@gmail.com or submit your Christ-inspired music on their SubmitHub link.
BLSSD Supply, an online merchandise and clothing store, will also be launching later this year. Follow them on Instagram (@BLSSD.supply) if you want to be the first to know about early-bird specials and giveaways!
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Date published: 14/05/2020
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