The local entertainment scene in the Alfred Nzo region and the South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal has had a shortage of females for a while with promoters and event organisers highlighting the fact on social media platforms. In the bottom tip of the small town of Bizana just five minutes away from Port Edward one female DJ has been quietly building her name in the past year in a male-dominated industry.
DJ Mayo, 27, is a radio and night club DJ that has a rather inspiring tale having won the Ugu Youth Radio presenter search in 2016 and has since worked her way to gaining a residency at the renowned holiday destination, The Wild Coast Sun Casino and Resort and also, deservingly headlining the Ladies Night on Thursdays at BizTown Lounge, Kwa Nikhwe in Bizana. DJ Mayo whose full name Yonela Tshabane is the second born of three siblings, an older sister and a younger brother. Her passion has always pointed her to the limelight. Growing up as a child, she dreamt of becoming Miss South Africa and inspiring the youth to reach for their dreams.
Pondoland Times’ Mawande Genu caught up with the tenacious Yonela “DJ Mayo” Tshabane for an inside scoop on her plans for the future and a few intimate quizzes so you can get to know her better.
Mawande Genu; Let’s start with an ice breaker. How would you describe DJ Mayo?
Yonela; DJ Mayo is a self-drive, curious and courageous young lady who believes that life is way more than just the dusty streets she’s from. She is an easy-going person, approachable and I believe she is brave, especially when it comes to the things she loves and believes in. She will always take a shot in achieving those things.
Mawande Genu; What would you say is your style of play as a DJ?
Yonela: I am versatile and flexible because in a single set I always try to give the crowd different kinds of moods. Like I can comfort you, make you fall in love and make you dance in the set. I strongly believe that DJing is more than just playing music, it’s creating a vibe and connecting with people. So…, I would say I am pretty much, nostalgic.
Mawande Genu; Have you always wanted to be in the entertainment scene?
Yonela; Pretty much! Growing up I wanted to conquer the Beauty Pageant scene and become Miss SA. I have always loved the idea of inspiring people. So I use to enter beauty pageant competitions but as I grew I came to realize the fact that as a dark-skinned girl who is a third shade shy of being Lupita Nyongo dark and a third shade shy of being light skinned my chances of winning those competitions were very low. It was the common society standard, I guess. After realising that, I switched and wanted to be a teacher.
Mawande Genu; Who inspired you to take up DJing? :
Yonela; Honestly, I would love to say that I inspired myself. In 2016 I went for the Ugu Youth Radio auditions, they were searching for a presenter and I won. I then thought of the next thing I could do while doing radio. That’s when the idea of DJing came along. Then, only after that, I started following DJs like the likes of DJ Zinhle, DJ Leila, Ms Cosmo and DJ C’ndo whom I had the honour of sharing a stage early in my DJing career.
Mawande Genu; It is safe to say that DJing is a male-dominated trade worldwide but coming home to Bizana and The South Coast this fact is ten times Worse. What challenges have you faced as a Female DJ trying to break through in a male-dominated scene?
Yonela; The first challenge nje is that no one takes you seriously. The fact that the industry has been dominated by men for the longest time has created a stigma that if you DJ as a female you are looking for attention. The men are not okay with sharing their gigs or the stage with a female. I have to work twice as hard to prove myself. This puts a lot of pressure on me and another thing, people are reluctant to pay for the craft and time.
Mawande Genu; There Have Been whispers in the grapevines that promoters and events organisers book females for sexual favours. have you ever came across such?
Yonela; For sexual favours! I would be lying. One thing about them though is that they don’t want to pay. Most of the promoters I have dealt with in the past ten months I had to fight with to get paid. You literally have to pay for everything from your own pocket. They don’t want to pay for basic things like food, drinks and transport. With transport is one of the greatest challenges in our small towns because you cannot request an Uber or Bolt. You now, as a female have to ask for lifts from strangers who wouldn’t hesitate to take advantage of your situation. But we wake up every day and pray that things will change someday.
Mawande Genu; To close it off, what are your goals, dreams and aspirations for the Future?
Yonela; I aspire to inspire before expires, that’s my motto. When I occupy a space all I want to do is to ignite something from someone. Inspiring someone to go for their dreams no matter how crazy people think they are. I want to be the reason for someone giving something they love a chance. With God permitting my goal for 2022 is to go back to radio.
I also want to uplift and equip the youth with skills like DJing, News Reading, Voice Over Artistry, and Radio Broadcasting. I dream of owning an academy where we will do all this and also teach marketing and personal branding skills.
