Online Reporter
After relocating from the US to his hometown Estcourt in KwaZulu-Natal in August, DJ Mpiloz, whose real name is Philani Manyoni, has been on a mission to find ways to sustain himself outside the music industry.
Ahead of his return he launched a shisanyama in his neighbourhood last December.
“With music there are times where things don’t go according to your plans and you don’t have gigs, so I decided to start something that will keep me afloat,” he told TshisaLIVE.
“It was very hard, especially when you’re renting space from someone. The owner of the space can decide to change when people start supporting you. It does have issues but overall I’m happy to get support from people.”
He’s also gearing to launch a clothing line called Ixhiba.
“I have two other clothing lines under my belt, Rondo and Deep Family. The latest line is inspired by a hub where I used to stay at my grandmother’s house. I decided to add something people related to when we were kids.”
This doesn’t mean he’s ditching the music scene, however. He has a new single out titled Pholisa featuring Tebza De DJ and Buhle Nhlangulela which has been on high rotation on radio stations.
“You need to find something to sustain you beyond the music industry. The music industry does not have a lot of money.” – Times
Mathew Masinge