Eastern Cape singer/DJ Zain’s music career was given a shot in the arm when he featured on Sphe and Naves’ smash hit, I do I do.
Zain, (real name Zama Mbanga) was among DJ hopefuls who auditioned for the popular SABC 1 show 1’s and 2’s last year.
The show sees DJs from all over the country battling it out in the hope of becoming the next big thing on the decks.
Zain made it to the top three of the show, after weeks of showing off his DJ skills.
Although the Port-Elizabeth-born muso did not win, he got the opportunity to work with judges Metro FM’s Sphe and Naves.
“The show gave me an opportunity to show what else I can offer and working with such big brands gave me the boost I needed,” he said.
The single saw him travelling all over the country during the festive season playing with the self-proclaimed “kings of the weekend”.
Mbanga said he was grateful to the pair and the exposure they had given him as it has allowed him to grow his brand as an artist.
The 26-year-old is currently working as an independent artist with a publishing deal with Sphe and Naves.
“The plan this year is to do a lot of features to grow my brand. Already I have done a song with Amaza and Zahara. It’s coming out soon and I know people are going to love it,” he said.
While Zain did not start off with dance music, he said he was grateful to his humble church beginnings.
“I am a PK and music was always a part of our family. The choir would practise at my house and at the time they didn’t have a keyboard player and I had to start learning how to play,” he said.
From his keyboard-playing days, Zain started exploring the various genres and fell in love with music.
In 2010, at the age of 19, he and two friends started their own group called Deep Sound Crew.
“We did a lot of productions for ourselves and we were featured on Micasa. Three years later, I decided to leave the group and do my own thing. However, it was only in 2015 that I started playing mixes on Umhlobo Wenene FM on Phumzile’s Jaiva Mzansi show,” he said.
Since then, he has worked with a number of artists including Umhlobo Wenene’s Pastor, The DJ. The pair will be shooting the music video for their single, Hurting Me. “I am not pressured to do an album – releasing singles makes sense to me. I have a lot of music that I could possibly put together as an album but I want to take it easy,” he said.
His single Mina Nawe is due to be released soon. — poliswap@dispatch.co.za
DJ Zain’s big break music to his ears
Zain, (real name Zama Mbanga) was among DJ hopefuls who auditioned for the popular SABC 1 show 1’s and 2’s last year.
The show sees DJs from all over the country battling it out in the hope of becoming the next big thing on the decks.
Zain made it to the top three of the show, after weeks of showing off his DJ skills.
Although the Port-Elizabeth-born muso did not win, he got the opportunity to work with judges Metro FM’s Sphe and Naves.
“The show gave me an opportunity to show what else I can offer and working with such big brands gave me the boost I needed,” he said.
The single saw him travelling all over the country during the festive season playing with the self-proclaimed “kings of the weekend”.
Mbanga said he was grateful to the pair and the exposure they had given him as it has allowed him to grow his brand as an artist.
The 26-year-old is currently working as an independent artist with a publishing deal with Sphe and Naves.
“The plan this year is to do a lot of features to grow my brand. Already I have done a song with Amaza and Zahara. It’s coming out soon and I know people are going to love it,” he said.
While Zain did not start off with dance music, he said he was grateful to his humble church beginnings.
“I am a PK and music was always a part of our family. The choir would practise at my house and at the time they didn’t have a keyboard player and I had to start learning how to play,” he said.
From his keyboard-playing days, Zain started exploring the various genres and fell in love with music.
In 2010, at the age of 19, he and two friends started their own group called Deep Sound Crew.
“We did a lot of productions for ourselves and we were featured on Micasa. Three years later, I decided to leave the group and do my own thing. However, it was only in 2015 that I started playing mixes on Umhlobo Wenene FM on Phumzile’s Jaiva Mzansi show,” he said.
Since then, he has worked with a number of artists including Umhlobo Wenene’s Pastor, The DJ. The pair will be shooting the music video for their single, Hurting Me. “I am not pressured to do an album – releasing singles makes sense to me. I have a lot of music that I could possibly put together as an album but I want to take it easy,” he said.
His single Mina Nawe is due to be released soon. — poliswap@dispatch.co.za
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