By: Charles Myambo
Karine Sho-time Thornton is a global icon who owns the big media brand known as Shotime. He works with some of the biggest celebrities worldwide. At present, he is Soulja Boy’s business partner. Karine is a recording artist, an AnR, an actor, a businessman, and an influencer. He has starred in over 10 movies that are available on IMDb. Karine is verified on Instagram, Facebook, and several other social media platforms. The Motimagz correspondent for USA celebrity news, Charles Myambo (CM) set with Karine Thornton Shotime (KT) for an interview. Below are some excerpts from the interview conducted.
CM: Karine you have been quoted saying “failure is not an option, success is a form of survival for me”. How and where did you cultivate that mindset from?
KT: My mother told me that I never raised you to live on your knees for anyone. And sent me that quote a few months ago!
CM: Today you are an award-winning business mogul, media tycoon, and big AnR for huge record labels. How hard was it to achieve all these impressive feats?
KT: Many of my friends like D Teck from Knonvict Definitely linked me to new business Opportunities! Another thing Charles is that I have acted in over 10 big movies. You can see all of them on my IMDb profile. Shotime which is my company has partnered with some of the biggest brands worldwide. Achieving all of this was not easy. The main components are hard work, a strong mindset, resilience, and tenacity and the most important by far are God.
CM: You have worked with just about every famous celebrity that comes to mind. How did you push the “Shotime” brand to be so big and impactful?
KT: I definitely work hard and I push myself every day, it’s in me to go to the level! I always create my own opportunities when denied by anyone!
CM: Is “Charity” something that you feel strongly about and if so how do you think we can inspire more people to do their part and help contribute to charity worldwide? What role does music have in charity awareness?
KT: I think I want to do more, not many are giving back the way the community needs the support! I would to do more given the opportunity! With the huge platform that my brand Shotime has, I’d love to support any charity awareness campaigns I can worldwide.
CM: Your business repertoire is undeniable! Your media company Shotime represents several huge celebrities and you are currently partnered up with Soulja Boy as one of the directors of Kandiid. How do you balance all of this and still organize events like battle rap league?
KT: It’s not hard to balance my career because people waste so much time in a day I use my time effectively so partnering up with Antoine McLaughlin and Soulja Boy with the Kandiid app as the Director of Music Engagement! I am also signed to Sony entertainment and have partnered with some of the biggest brands on the planet. I’m quite grateful for all the good that’s happened in my life. It was not easy to get this big and nothing is taken for granted.
CM: Still on the subject of business, what do you think of some of Zimbabwe’s leading business influencers such as billionaire Strive Masiyiwa, Shingi Mutasa, Trevor Ncube, Dr. Divine Ndlukula, Pokello Nare, Misred and Fadzayi Mahere?
KT: Amazing people inspired me to be greater and it is so powerful for them to set a standard and be the example! All these entrepreneurs you mentioned are simply remarkable. Trevor Ncube resonates with me the most since we are both media moguls. Both Trevor and I own our own publications and I understand just how difficult it is to run a fully functional media outlet. Trevor has done exceedingly well with NewsDay and his Alpha Media publications.
Strive Masiyiwa is certainly an African ambassador who has done very big things for Zimbabwe and Africa as a whole. I also learned that he is the richest black man from Southern Africa with an estimated net worth of 4 billion dollars. Dr. Divine is another tycoon and she is very inspirational. Pokello, Misred, and Fadzayi Mahere are social media superstars who are doing such an awesome job in giving the youths of their country something/someone to aspire to be like.
CM: More on the music side. What do you think of Zimbabwean musicians such as Gemma Griffiths, Jah Prayzah, Tinashe Kachingwe, Winky D, EXQ, Enzo Ishall, and Jah Master?
KT: I love that you asked me to research a bit about Zimbabwean artists and influencers prior to the interview. I certainly learned a lot and hope Zimbabwe can get more global recognition because that beautiful nation certainly deserves it. EXQ, Jah Master, and Enzo have wonderful turn-up music suitable for any party occasion. Winky D and Jah Prayzah are arguably the two biggest names in the Zimbabwean music industry and I can see why.
Their music sounds very different from anything I can think of and I mean that in a good way. Gemma and Tinashe both make their music in English and each of them deserves more recognition. Here in the US, a lot of us know Tinashe since she was raised in the US and rose to fame in the US. I didn’t know about Gemma but I’m glad I found out about her.
