Chabo the truly botlhoko house DJ

Gasebalwe Seretse
Correspondent | Wednesday May 15, 2013 00:00

 

Showbiz had a chat with this DJ whose instant success has seen him being a much sought-after entertainer nationwide.'I started developing the passion for deejaying while I was still at junior school.  Whenever I attended a party with my mates, instead of dancing, I would often go up to the DJ and observe him spinning at the decks and that's how I learnt the art,' the 23-year-old from Makaleng told Showbiz.  His passion for deejaying pushed him to plead with his older brother, Kennedy, to buy a music set for hiring out in 2009 and this enabled him to practise as much as he could in the confines of his room.

At some point, DJ Chabo was part of the Truly Botlhoko team of DJs, which is now defunct and he remains the only active DJ out of the crew.The marketing student at Damelin says that his greatest breakthrough came in 2011 when he met well-known DJ Gouveia who invited him to play a set with him at a house party in Gaborone West and the rest, as they say, is history.

It was DJ Gouveia who introduced him to the then manager of the now defunct Lizard Lounge and the manager allowed him to play a solo set at the club despite the fact that it normally hosted Hip-Hop DJs.'That was the first time I ever played before a sizeable crowd on my own and I must have made a huge impression because the manager called me to perform again the following day,' he said.

DJ Chabo asserted that the year 2011 was a formative year in his career as an entertainer because it was during that year that he was able to perform alongside the likes of popular South African entertainers, DJ Cyndo, Micasa and Black Coffee.  He also proudly tells Showbiz that it was in the same year when he was able to be an opening act for hip hop/ motswako artist, HHP also from South Africa.

'I later managed to meet him backstage and he told me I was good.  He was so impressed he also bought me a drink,' said the teetotaller entertainer.  Last year also proved to be a good year for the DJ because he got to perform alongside big South African acts like Black Coffee, Micasa, Liquid Deep, and Donald Moatshe.  It was in the same year that he got his first gig at Botswana Television's (Btv) Flava Dome - and he has been a regular at the show since then.

'One of the producers for the show heard my mix on DJ Gouveia's show on RB 2 and liked what she heard.  She then invited me to bring her a mixtape and they keep inviting me to appear on the show to boost its ratings,' the youthful DJ says.

The DJ, who said that he is working on a single called, Let Me Go, pointed out that apart from DJ Gouveia, he looks up to DJ Sly and La Timmy as some of the local artists who inspire him.  Internationally, he admires South Africa's Black Coffee, who is a highly regarded DJ despite his handicap. When Showbiz asked him what he uses for inspiration, the artist said that it is his passion and love for the art.

'I don't drink liquor and neither do I smoke. Believe it or not I am not in this industry to be followed by groupies,' he said, adding that those who aspire to be DJs should not only do it for the fame that it might bring them. The DJ said one of his pastimes is hanging out with his childhood friends, probably a sign that fame has not gone to his head.