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Bongani Ndlovu, Showbiz Correspondent
THE year 1999 was special as it marked the end of a millennium and at the same time, it marked the beginning of DJ Joe tha OG’s journey in Zimbabwean showbiz.
Born Xolani Ncube on December 11, 1977 in Mpopoma, Joe tha OG is remembered by many for hosting Afternoon Sessions at nightspots such as Visions, Crush and Oxygen at a time that Urban Grooves was gaining popularity in the country.
Last week, the DJ celebrated 20 years in the music industry and he relived some of his most memorable moments.
Driving around the city, he poured his heart out. Looking at him, he has aged but his eyes light up the moment you ask him to talk about his musical journey.
He, however, bemoaned the state of deejaying in the city. He said DJs nowadays do not care about making their name in the industry by setting the trends.
“As DJs back then, we were more organised than these boys who’re all over the place but not creating names for themselves. If you ask those we performed for, they still remember us. Our names are still out there,” said Joe.
He said most DJs now are more concerned with making money.
“I think people are only looking for options that can give them money and as such are not passionate about the music and the craft.”
Delving into his career, Joe said his musical influences were from the likes of Hitman, Peter Jones and Tich Mataz. He said his passion for the arts began when he was in Form Three at Mpopoma High School where he formed a four-member dance crew called Rave Ambassadors in 1994.
“In Form Three, I was very much into music that I formed my own dance crew called Rave Ambassadors. The crew had Ndodana Ndlovu, Dingilizwe Sithole, Khulumani Malinga and we performed mostly at our school. We later graduated and started performing at other schools such as Milton, Eveline, Montrose and Townsend,” said Joe.
He said during the same time there was an afternoon session craze at Easy by Night (ex-Hustlers now #Hashtag) and that is where he met Bayethe Malinga who linked him with his big brother, DJ Gqwetha. He said DJ Gqwetha was part of Black Boyz Crew who influenced him to take up deejaying as a career.
He said Black Boyz Crew used to wear designer clothes from the UK and as such were admired by many youths.
Joe said when one of the Black Boyz, Bongani travelled to South Africa and did not return one weekend, that opened a slot for him.
“I was given a warm-up hip hop slot on the decks and to my advantage was the fact that I loved the genre. I knew the songs that would get people jumping in the club.
“Being a DJ is a journey, you slowly hype up the people and that’s what I did. When Gqwetha came for his slot, he found the dance floor packed and he was shocked. As he was playing, some people started requesting that I return to the decks,” said Joe.
He said he later became a permanent member of the group which unfortunately crumbled when some members left for the United Kingdom in 1999. Joe said he then formed the Black Troop DJs and linked up with Dr Mbengegwi, the proprietor of Visions Night Club (now the defunct Club Forty 40). This is where he started his own afternoon sessions.
He said on the first week, they just had 50 patrons but after about two years, he had his biggest afternoon session during the Trade Fair weekend.
“In 2001 during the Trade Fair weekend, we had our biggest show at Visions. We had 1 500 people paying for the afternoon sessions. Mbengegwi’s kids had to help me collect the money. That was the last time I did afternoon sessions as a year later, I ventured into night sessions,” said Joe.
In the early 2000s in Harare, the late Charlie Fresh was fast-rising and making a name for himself. Little did Joe tha OG know that the two’s worlds would meet and they started working together in 2003.
He described the late Charlie Fresh as a talented, aggressive person who got what he wanted and knew what he was doing in showbiz.
“Charlie Fresh came onto the scene in 2003 and at first we could not get along as he was that kind of guy who was forceful and always knew how things were done. I was a reserved guy who had his own opinion of how things should be done. He later realised that if he wanted things to work for him in Bulawayo, he had to befriend me,” said Joe.
The two worked together at Visions Night Club, Walkers Pub and Jock and Saddle until they mooted the idea of afternoon sessions.
“While we were at it, the dream of Oxygen grew. We realised that we didn’t need a club but hall for the afternoon sessions. We started at Greenroom Tower block where we targeted kids from affluent families who could afford what we were offering.
“We had kids from Girls College, Convent and Falcon College. We weren’t selling alcohol,” Joe said.
He, however, said due to some rowdy elements at Greenroom, they were forced to shift to Selborne hotel. They were forced to move again to Mzilikazi Gardens after complaints.
Joe said they made a lot of money from these ventures which enabled him to buy furniture and even paid fees for his siblings.
“Oxygen took care of us in so many ways. I was solely in-charge of my younger brother’s fees at Matopo and EATC. It bought me furniture.”
The two parted ways in 2011 and Joe said he started doing Winter and Summer Carnivals at different nightspots around the city.
Joe has now partnered Nonhlalo Dube, an award-winning playwright and they run a business called Hot Meals.
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