Category: Entertainment

“When I fell pregnant at the age of 15, I went through emotional and physical pains,” said 21-year-old Ndivhuwo Nethwadzi, speaking about her recently released EP titled “Deep Down.” Nethwadzi is also known as Wendee.

Wendee said that “Deep Down” was inspired by her lonely battle against life experiences. “When my parents found out (that she fell pregnant) they got devastated. My mom was in tears, and it broke my heart. However, I kept everything to myself.”

While she was pregnant, she said, she experienced much regret and remorse, although she still performed very well at school and she never quit studying. “I used to receive humiliating words from people. If it was not for God, I would have probably committed suicide. I have realised that God gave me a strong character.”

She said the songs that are in her EP reflect what she has gone though in her life. “My ‘Deep Down’ EP is all about encouraging anyone else out there who might be facing challenges that there is always light at the end of the tunnel.”

The nine-track EP was produced by Veebeats Exclusive under Green Roots Records, featuring Wendee and four other artists: Scima, Chronic, Dizzy and Nellisiwe.

As the country celebrates heritage, Wendee said “I value my culture a lot. I feel like it's a big part of me. Because of it, my parents raised me with good morals and principles, which today make me. It's something I'm proud of, hence it's in my music along with ‘Deep Down’s’ artistry.”

 Being an upcoming female artist is difficult, Wendee said. “Generally, people do not take you seriously as an artist, and not having all the necessary resources to get your craft out there is a challenge to female artist.”

Born in Thohoyandou in Limpopo province, Wendee relocated to Johannesburg at the age of three. She started her musical career in 2008. She focuses on Gospel, Afro pop, Hip-hop and House music. She is currently studying BHS in Emergency Medical Care at University of Johannesburg.

Facebook: @Wendee

Instagram: @wendee_za

 Where to get her music: https://ditto.fm/deep-down-wendee

“COVID-19 lockdown has closed many financial opportunities for artists,” music producer Dunny82K said. “The best option for upcoming artists is to embrace social media and get recognised.”

Dunny 82k is working on a project to empower upcoming artists to be digitally recognised and earn a living during COVID-19 lockdown, he said, because lockdown regulations have blocked artists from making money through event performances.

Upcoming artists will be given an opportunity to record their songs for free at 82K Records, the versatile producer said, and they will find help to get exposure through social media.

“Our aim is to bring more artists together,” he said. “We will not charge them for recording, and we are allowing any artist to feature in the record label without being signed. The objective is to get more followers on social media. This will help more artists to become recognized and make money at the same time.”

82K Records will also provide professional video shooting for the artists, said Dunny82K. “We will then upload the content to social media. This will definitely help upcoming artists grow. In this COVID-19 period, artists need to have strong marketing strategies to survive.”

The idea is to bring together various artists and combine their social media followers. “If we combine followers of at least 25 upcoming artists, we can help musicians reach out to many people. This will definitely help artists go forward during COVID-19 pandemic.”

Dunny 82K is a DJ and music producer based in Cosmo City. He is also a Film Score Composition engineer, and sound and music designer for video games. He currently works with upcoming artists on another upcoming Dancehall project titled Bad Girl Riddim.

DJ Shaz Deep is a rising force in the underground scene, best known for her creativity as a producer and her skills behind the decks.

Born Thabisile Sharon Mthombeni, DJ Shaz Deep was raised in Siyabuswa village, KwaNdebele in Mpumalanga province. The 24-year-old started DJing at the age of 16.

“I developed a love for music at an early age,” she said. “My brother is a DJ, and he used to go with me whenever he was performing in the township events. I could learn a lot from him in terms of being a DJ.”

Being a DJ is nice, but hard for a teenage girl, she said. “At first, it was not easy for me because I was very young to perform in the clubs, especially at night. It was also not easy to become a licensed young, female DJ.”

In 2015, DJ Shaz Deep began to produce music, mainly focusing on Afro-House and Deep House music. Being a female music producer is very challenging, she said.

“Men usually take advantage of women in the music industry,” Shaz Deep said. “It takes a lot of passion and hard work to survive as a female producer. It is really challenging. I would like to encourage other upcoming female musicians to stick to their passion, instead of sleeping with men in order to make it in the music industry. We have to fight hard as female artists because men look down on us.”

 DJ Shaz Deep has performed live on Eyethu FM and SABC’S Ligwalagwa FM. She said she got inspired by Black Coffee. She recently released her EP titled Queen of The Ocean with five Deep House songs.

“Power cuts and lockdown restrictions are hitting us big time,” said musician Ciar Diko about the challenges  he and his collaborator DJ Tweelite Webster are facing as local artists during the period of lockdown, which is heavily accompanied by constant power cuts.

“We are currently operating in a situation whereby we cannot generate any income, and due to power cuts, it is difficult to work on music production,” he said. “It is a situation when some people get depressed,” he noted. “However, the lockdown made me more creative and I also managed to grow my social media platform. The sad thing is that all my bookings were cancelled.”

On the other hand, Deep House music producer, DJ Tweelite said he managed to keep his production going on while at home. “I have been working on many projects from home,” he said. “I managed to get in touch with a lot of artists from local and overseas. I am currently working with Beverly Jainely and Shaz Deep.”

Inspired by Black Coffee, DJ Tweelite has been working with quite a number of artists from countries like Australia and Finland. He said he is hoping to work on a big project with Ciar Diko.

“I like Ciar Diko and he has a very good voice,” he noted. “He has a very good, growing fan base, and I think we can come up with something that can be pushed locally and internationally.”

The duo said that despite the challenges of the lockdown and power cuts, they are ready to start their project as soon as possible.