INTERVIEW: DJ Zinhle on her new show, becoming a mom again and Murdah Bongz

I’m about to say the most cliché thing anyone can say about a pregnant woman but it has to be said: DJ Zinhle is positively glowing.

The entertainer recently revealed both a second pregnancy and upcoming reality show and The Citizen sat down with the star to unpack the latest stop in Ntombezinhle Jiyane’s journey: a reality show created for BET Africa called Unexpected.

Knowing how South African celebrities feel about the media, I went into the interview very apprehensive and sceptical.

You see, as a South African journalist, you have to be prepared for a celebrity to offload their general anger towards the media on you even if you personally have not slighted them in your reporting. However, that was not the case with Zinhle, who, despite a day of speaking to countless reporters about her show, remained cheery and polite for her chat with The Citizen.

In addition to the fact that she sat through interview after interview, DJ Zinhle is at an advanced stage of her pregnancy. As someone who recently grew a human inside her own body, I can attest to the fact that nothing compares to the sleepiness and fatigue you feel while pregnant.

And yet, there Zinhle was, conducting interviews all while promoting a show that is still filming, and running countless businesses.

We began the interview by trying to understand why someone as notoriously private as DJ Zinhle would want to let fans into such a personal time in her life.

She recalls speaking to her manager and feeling as though revealing her pregnancy at this stage in her career would be detrimental to the business interest that she currently has. Namely, her deal with Boulevard Rose.

“When I found out I was pregnant, I told [him] and he said ‘so, what do you want to do?’” began Zinhle. 

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Her apprehension to publicise the fact that she was expecting also meant that her friends and family found out quite late into her pregnancy that another baby was on the way.

“We were still able to keep the intimacy of the pregnancy, it was still private, even though now, at a later stage, people have insight into what was happening.”

“I cannot hide that a lot of the moves I make are business inspired and this was another one of those moves,” she added.

Another motivation for doing the show was not wanting her second baby to feel like their birth story was not as celebrated as that of their older sister, Kairo Forbes.

“I also wanted to document it for my child because Kairo’s pregnancy was known very early so maybe they will feel like ‘but Kairo wasn’t a secret’…”

“It was super invasive. I think, more invasive than I actually realised,” said Zinhle about the process of filming.

She explained that the feeling was only offset by the trust that she placed in the team working on the show.  

This is not DJ Zinhle’s first show. In 2017, she lent her name and brand to an SABC1 show called It Takes a Village.

Building on that mantra, we then spoke about how important her support system is, not only in her life as a mother but in her day-to-day life as a businesswoman. 

“Listen, I don’t think I’d be able to do anything that I do right now without the support of the people I have around me.”

“Sometimes, it even feels like I’m a bit selfish because it feels like these people have to stop their lives to just carry my goals and my vision.”

One of the people in that support system is rapper, TV presenter and Era by Zinhle brand ambassador Nomuzi “Moozlie” Mabena.

The pair’s friendship is so close that Moozlie occasionally picks Kairo up from school, Zinhle revealed.

“Sometimes I feel as though women shy away from help, women want to be heroes, they want to do everything themselves.”

“I’m not saying that everyone can afford help, I’m saying that wherever there is help, you need to trust it,” added the star before rattling off a list of people she has in her corner, like her own mother, Kairo’s grandmother Lynn “Glammy Forbes” and her two nannies.

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Zinhle confirmed that fans would be getting a never-before-seen look at her family and how close they are as a unit.

“That bond with my family, for me, was a beautiful time to just mark this occasion because as much as I couldn’t share it with the world yet, it was important to just share it with the people that care about me.” 

Chief among those people that care about her is her partner, Bongani Mohosana of Black Motion, who goes by the stage name Murdah Bongz.

“I took advantage of Bongani’s love and affection and kindness and everything,” said Zinhle.

She advised expectant moms who are still with their partners to bathe in their partner’s love and care.

“To be able to share this moment in that way with him was special because he is so patient and so calming and kind and having him around was something I needed for the pregnancy.”

Another thing Zinhle allowed herself to do during the pregnancy was to eat and sleep. She closed the interview by saying that fellow expectant moms should do the same and not feel guilty about it.

Unexpected begins on Saturday, 18 September 2021 at 7.30pm (CAT) and will air on BET Africa (DStv channel 129).