DJS GRATEFUL FOR DECEMBER BOOKINGS

MBABANE - The festive season has been a good one for some local entertainers.

It takes much effort to be a well-known artist. However, the fruits that are tagged to the title when one makes it in the field are worth it.
The ability to command a huge number of fans because of the content that they deliver plays a vital role in determining how much one can make from the industry. Eswatini has some local artists who had a busy festive season with a number of performance booking.

Season

It is worth noting that in 2020, around the same time (December) the festive season was close to non-existent as COVID-19 had halted the entertainment scenes.
There were no live shows and this led to most local event organisers exploring the virtual world through streaming their shows. Their efforts to keep the sector alive were successful as most fun lovers seem to be adapting to the new way of having fun, however, this was of no good to the event organisers as this did not give them any source of income.   In the turn of events and fast forward to 2021 festive season, entertainers are singing a different tune as the nightclub scene was back in effect and to top it off, there was no curfew, meaning most hot spots operated until the wee hours of the morning.  The publication interviewed some of the most booked and busy artists who had gigs back to back during the festive season.

Gigs

Ayacity, a DJ whose real name is Ayanda Motsa and has recently released an Extended Play (EP) last year November, said he had an epic festive season as this was the first time in two years getting booked for gigs almost every day.  He shared that he was booked at least five times per week last year December.
 “My gigs would normally start every Thursday to Sunday. Per week I would get at least five bookings. Last month was epic for me as a DJ. I was promoting my EP and delivering every weekend. It was crazy but fruitful, we really needed such bookings, as we all know how COVID-19 halted our plans and the whole industry at large,” he said.   When asked about the reception of his first EP, he said it has been warmly received and has managed to get a spot on the top 20 iTunes charts.

Project

“So far so good, my project is being recognised by so many well-known musicians, the likes of Lady Du from South Africa.  I am excited about my project and I am planning to do a South African tour promoting my craft. This year will be a great year,” he said. DJ Matamza, Thami Zwane, who recently won the Best DJ of the Year under MTN SWAMAs belt was also one of the local artists who had multi bookings, this according to his gig guide and posters that had been circulating around that time.

Speaking to the publication, Matamza said he was booked more than 15 times during the festive season.   He went on to confirm that the festive was busy and because of his bookings and recognition that eventually landed him an award. It is worth noting the SWAMA awards were hosted on the last week of December 2021. “It was a hectic season for me, I had so many bookings. It was actually refreshing as 2020 was more like a nightmare for us as entertainers. Despite the challenges caused by the current COVID-19 pandemic, we were able to rise above it all and launch our courier business.

Balancing the business side and my craft was hectic but I had a fruitful season,” he said. DJ MBO, real name Mbongeni Sithungo, said he was also booked and busy and that he was grateful for the opportunity of being back behind the desks doing what he loves. Sithungo said the gigs came at the right time where the industry was suffering a loss because of the unrest and the current pandemic which forced the temporal shutdown of the sector.  

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