As far as I can remember I’ve always wanted to be a Gangsta… This is not that story, but I came close to being a dj, well if you consider a bunch of teenagers huddled at a friends house after school just because amongst ourselves we had managed to hookup a makeshift setup of old turntables, a gemini mixer connected to an old Hi-Fi sound system trying to emulate the sounds we had heard on Voice of Soweto later Y-FM or late night SABC radio stations when they would be playing some sound the dj’s then and people around the township termed “International”.
We were drawn to it by different things, some partly the geekiness, the music and the cool factor that went with being a guy that can mix music. It didn’t matter where we were doing it, be it at your fathers stokvel or the odd 21st birthday of that kid on the other side of town, where speakers were pumping sounds that transported you to a race course way before J&B Met was ‘cool’.
Your crew would be too embarrassed to even be associated with you after that mess and off course you would blame it on that mixer that was ripped out of a PA sound system, but you never stopped! for who, for what? The struggle just fuelled the passion in you to keep at it.
Going back home meant traveling late nights hoping that you don’t get jacked off your hard earned vinyls from House Afrika or the ones that you bummed off that friend that got tired of his Barbra Turker and decided that he was going to play Hip Hop because he couldn’t serve the two anymore, lines were quickly drawn erased and drawn back again… you were either with or against the movement, well not quite… You need to understand that to us it was about the music, the euphoria invoked by making a set work, whether it be it Hip Hop, House or Kwaito.
© Jeff Rikhotso
You finally got home and getting in the wee hours of the morning… past the drunkards, crazy drivers and dice games… that is a story for another post. Anyway those are what I would like to call ‘the days.’
The bug still tingles sometimes but I get my fix with the odd mix on the computer… how shameful. (my young self would be judging me right now) I can never call myself a dj but someone that embrasses good creativity be it in digital, design, graphics, film, literature, photography, art, advertising, music and life.
We grow up and realise our passions, and I can assume that Swedish House Mafia went on to harness theirs, into being Rock Star Djs and I respect them for that. Dj Fresh and Euphonik put me on this Documentary last night on their show, I must admit that I dont listen to the show regularly, but thank the Gods I did.. It is hard to look past the incredible editing, inspiring shots, that captures the mood of the culture and the obvious message that these guys are living their passion. This is obviously a trailer but check out the full documentary if you can.
The bug still tingles sometime…
