When kwaito was thriving, he produced kwaito hits. When gqom music was big, he dabbled, and recently with the rise of amapiano, he has been able to adapt. In a few weeks, he prepares to release his new project titled Eskhaleni Street Music Vol 1, a compilation of street music done the true Cleopus \u201cDJ Cleo\u201d Monyepao way.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the project, I feature new talent only, unknown artists and a prot\u00e9g\u00e9 producer named Ceeka Dabule,\u201d he tells Drum.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere will also be two major remixes; one of which is the official Sista Bhethina remix with Mgarimbe, Hulumeni, and Ceeka Dabula,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n
His last project was Eskhaleni Yanos vol 1, which he released in October 2021.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was an entirely Gospel-Amapiano album featuring the song the remix \u201cGcina Impilo Yami\u201d with Bucy Radebe, which was nominated for best remix of the year at the South African Music Awards,\u201d Cleo says.<\/p>\n
He has been in the music industry for almost three decades and tried his childhood dream of being a football player. But that was brief before he quickly went back to what he had mastered.<\/p>\n
DJ Cleo has remained relevant with the old and new school music lovers and says his secret is making music that appeals to all people.<\/p>\n
\u201cDiscipline has kept me relevant,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the trick to staying relevant is to do music that people want to hear. Also, music is all I can do, I have no plan B,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n
In 2020, Cleo revealed that he went back to university and is currently studying doing his BA Degree in business Management and Media Studies.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday I embark on a journey that I\u2019ve ignored for almost 20 years. I\u2019m nervous and excited. It\u2019s going to take a lot of dedication, hard work, sweat, and tears. I hope I can inspire many people out there. I\u2019m ready. See y\u2019all in 2023 on graduation day,\u201d he shared with his social media followers.<\/p>\n
The My Soul Says Yes DJ tells Drum that he went back to school for his personal development.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was all for self-betterment and empowerment,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am not seeking a job or plan to go work at a nine to five office. I like challenges. After this, I might decide to go for my Honours and finish my pilots Licence,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n
Cleo also doesn\u2019t believe that school is for everyone.<\/p>\n
\u201cGetting an education has zero importance, for me. It\u2019s all talent-driven. People don\u2019t love your education; they love your music. That\u2019s why anyone can take a chance in it because there is no education required for talent and a love for music.\u201d<\/p>\n
He comes from a home where education is important.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother had two degrees, so does my younger brother and my dad was a taxi driver. That impacted me in a big way,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Family is important to Cleo and his parent’s love for each other impacted the way he sees the world and treats others.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy dad was very respectful to my mother and never ever abused her in any way and that\u2019s the path I\u2019ve led all my life,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were both successful in their own right and I think I mirror that well, I achieved success without education and now I\u2019m pursuing a degree.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cleo says balancing studying and making music requires discipline and living a well-balanced life has not been easy.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s hard; one always suffers. When I started studying in 2019, my music suffered and Covid-19 came in and reset everything,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 2021 my studies suffered hard, but I managed to scrape through. Now I\u2019m chasing the cum laude.\u201d<\/p>\n
Like many students who rely on funding, Cleo pays for his own fees.<\/p>\n
\u201cI pay my own fees and still owe a lot of money. Lockdown really almost disturbed me but made a plan. I will have to settle so that I can be eligible to graduate,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n
He also holds a Confederation of African Football (CAF) coaching badge.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a CAF D license and CAF C license. I want to eventually get a B license and goalkeeper coaching license because of my soccer passion,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
He also had an ABC Motsepe league soccer team.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe sold it during Covid-19 because we could no longer afford to run it anymore under the tight restrictions,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was sad to have to let go of the talent we had nurtured for three years. But we will bounce back soon with another team.\u201d<\/p>\n
While others look up to him as a source of inspiration, he also has his mentors, veteran radio jocks Ashifa Shabba and DJ Fresh and in music management, he admires Muthaland Records founder Lance Stehr.<\/p>\n
\u201cI also mentor a lot of people. I believe in giving back. I have had many artists at my label whose careers I contributed towards. Right now, I am mentoring Ceeka Dabula,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
As an artist who has seen many trends come and go, he loves the direction South African music is taking with the rise of Amapiano and popular culture.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s beautiful, open for all. There\u2019s enough room for all of us to co-exist. People that should be here are here and rightfully so as per their constitutional right to free trade,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
DJ Cleo says he has learned to be respectful and not be \u201cdistracted by things of the world\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI learned to respect the game and be focused on all times,” he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cI learned from others\u2019 drunken stupors how not to behave. The game needs you to be sober. I still don\u2019t drink, smoke, sniff, or spliff and that has helped me outlast many and keep going for so many years. The game needs you to be sober,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t be rigid in your existence in the music industry, learn to adapt. I\u2019ve adapted very well.”<\/p>\n
Cleo says with experience comes making some mistakes and he has made his own.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was wrong to think that everyone is as committed as I am. I\u2019ve had to cut people off because of lack of commitment,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was wrong to think that people would understand that I\u2019m an introvert and that this is just a job and not an extension of my personality. Hence people think I\u2019m full of it when I\u2019m actually introverted and suffer from social anxiety.\u201d<\/p>\n
To young and aspiring artists, Cleo believes advises them to stay away from narcotics.<\/p>\n
\u201cStay away from drugs, stop wasting your money at Diamond Walk. Invest your money. Tomorrow someone else will be hotter and more relevant. Also, do all interviews, don\u2019t be selective and only want to focus on big stations and platforms. Community stations count too, hence they exist.\u201d<\/p>\n
His plans are to make more hits.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to keep making people dance, and work towards that Grammy. It\u2019s been my lifelong ambition and it\u2019s just a dream deferred. I also want to see the motorcycle club make more meaningful contributions to charity, in and out of South Africa,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
He is an award-winning DJ and producer who has seen many music trends come and go. In all the years, he has managed to stay remained relevant.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12963,"featured_media":15131,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,31],"tags":[7,14,32],"class_list":{"0":"post-15134","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"category-music","9":"tag-apie-project","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-music"},"yoast_head":"\n