A cool 15 years of spinning decks

THOHOYANDOU – BREAKING into the entertainment industry wasn’t easy for Muthaduli Ratombo from Thohoyandou, who is known in the industry as DJ nIpRo.

DJ nIpRo holds a national diploma in management services from University of Johannesburg (UJ).

He says it was in 1999 at Khwevha Commercial High School when he was in gr. 10, that after a beauty pageant and the after party, he asked one of the DJ’s, DJ Quash who has since passed on, to let him mix one or two songs. “Even though I had no clue exactly what I was supposed to do or how the mixer worked, I had observed DJ’s in action many times, so I managed quite well,” he recalls.

He said the number one thing that motivated him to become a successful DJ was people who wanted to see him fail. “They are not aware that they have permanently hired me to prove them wrong every time. As long as I am a DJ, I will deliver impeccable results without fail.

He tells Express that his goal is simple: to elevate the whole entertainment industry to a higher level; to globalise South African entertainment.

He says the last 15 years have been super hard and stressful but also exciting.

DJ nIpRo was recently nominated in the best local club DJ category for the Fame SA Awards. “My journey as a DJ has been very unpredictable and is not really what I imagined. It keeps surprising me. When I started DJing I used to look up to the DJ who taught me how to play and he in turn looked up to some other bigger or more popular DJ.

“It took me a while to realise that I don’t necessarily have to keep looking up to someone, I just have to be that someone,” he explains.

“DJ Fresh helped me introduce myself to the market via his radio shows on Y FM and 5 FM and before that there was a DJ Flava at Univen Radio who also helped me promote myself.

Currently he is promoting his single Ndia nifuna featuring Jinika and Humbulani Ramagwedzha.

DJ nIpRo advises young people who want to follow in his footsteps that they should remember that it is not as easy as they think. “Make sure you know what you are getting yourself into, don’t do it for anything else besides passion because passion is priceless; no one can take that away from you.”