Punk Mbedzi: From humble beginnings to international success

They say when the sun falls asleep and the moon graces the skies, the world comes to life and the crowds start dancing to the deejay’s playlist.

Joseph Mbedzi (aka Punk Mbedzi), music producer, deejay and owner of an events company, Under Bridges, has made it his job to be a protagonist for hundreds that live for the weekend to dance away all the realities of a long week.

The dusty streets of Westernburg on the outskirts of Polokwane, Limpopo, was where he developed his passion for music.

“I remember growing up my late brother Moloko used to play house music. We gelled over music, it gave me joy. He later bought software and that’s when I fell in love with the creation of music,” says Mbedzi.

He has memories of experimenting with music during his primary school days at Pietersburg Comprehensive School.

“When I was still in primary school I wrote music, created mixes and my friends encouraged me to do more of it,” he said.

Picture: Facebook

Life in the vibrant streets of the township came to an end when he turned 13. He moved to the quite suburb of Ladanna which gave him an opportunity to do a lot of introspection that shaped his humble and yet bold personality.

“Moving out the community-spirited place where I made close friendship bonds was a bit challenging.

“The move to Ladanna made me more reserved, and the quiet scenery gave me more time to do introspection and helped me understand my personality better. It played a role in me being content with myself,” said Mbedzi.

A change of scenery was not the only transition he went through as he had been under the care of his father for the early years of his life. He then moved under the care of his mother whom he never used to see much of as she was not well.

“When I grew up my mother was not around and I never understood why.

“It was not properly explained to me that she was not well. When I moved in with her at first there was a gap as she had not been present for the foundation years of raising me, but we started getting to know each other better and the relationship grew stronger,” he said.

“Growing up, my father was a traditional African man and barely showed affection that I needed as a child. This gave me a sense of emotional independence at an early age but my mother was able to close that gap as she was more affectionate.

Picture: Facebook

“I think showing affection is important for any child.”In 2011 he matriculated from Tom Naude Technical High School and the following year moved to Johannesburg. He enrolled at the University of Johannesburg for a degree in mining surveying after receiving a bursary.

“This was the most challenging part of life. The transition from my happy high school years to studying something I was not passionate about – it was emotionally strenuous,” said Mbedzi.

In 2014, while preparing for his final year exams in October, his brother passed away.

“I did not take his passing well and it affected my studies negatively. Then in 2015 my father passed away and that was hard to deal with.

“In 2017 I completed my studies and graduated. My mother was there and she was so proud of me. Seeing her face made me feel content and proud of my accomplishments. But earlier this year my mother also passed on.”

His faith gave him a sense of peace through the difficult times of losing his loved ones.

Picture: Facebook

After Mbedzi graduated he went back to doing what he loved, which is creating. He started an events company, Under Bridges, named after a friend’s unreleased song, which coordinates music events called the Rhythm.

The events explore different musical influences and the music culture in different cities and provides a unique experience that shifts from the traditional eventing experience.

His success in coordinating events led to him partnering with a well-established brand BudX by Budweiser. The partnership focused on Mbedzi bringing in international DJs like Suraj, Euggy and Dylan-S to South Africa, and showcased local acts such Da Capo and Lemon & Herb.

“I would say the partnership has been a blessing to me. Our visions in terms of what we wanted to achieve were aligned,” he said.

“My goal is to leave a solid mark for young black creatives for them to see that they can also own internationally recognised companies. I want to change the narrative that we are unable to achieve this. I now have a team as I realised to leave a legacy, I needed support,’’ said Mbedzi.

He is going to release a house music project called Morgan Honey next week on digital platforms.

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