Sesh Squad…Welcome back! We enjoy bringing you people that we feel you need to keep your eyes on because we’re all about shinning the light on young talented individuals in music, who’s hustle and drive stands out. We do not gate-keep talent. This month we get to introduce our current fave, on his birthday month, so clearly this was written in the stars…so without wasting any time, come through and meet afro house producer, remixer and DJ Mdumiseni Hadebe who professionally goes by Afro Swanky.
Getting to know Afro Swanky
So, who is Afro Swanky? we’re glad you asked. Born in Ladysmith KZN on the 14th of October, currently residing in Johannesburg, Afro swanky describes himself as a creative and a survivor who loves to eat chocolate cake. He also describes himself as "introverted" which we did not believe because entertainers are seldom seen as introverted. After we asked this Libra gent to let us in on an interesting fact about himself, he said “lmao women make me nervous. The gwababa is too much”.
Afro Swanky’s first introduction to house music was through his older cousin, who had bootleg CD’s that they would enjoy together when he was young. At the age of 12, he finds himself at a wedding. While he was hanging around the DJ, the bug hit him and after that, there was no turning back. House music became his entire life.
We then understood what he meant when he said “nothing has made me feel whole like a being a DJ. Even Producing is a by-product of that feeling. Afro Swanky mentioned that since he was academically gifted people around him thought he would take up a career as a doctor or lawyer but he says none of those career paths made him feel the feeling he feels when the DJ’ng bug bit him.
Into the Musical heart & mind of Afro Swanky
With that introduction into house music, music production became the natural projection, so we asked him to give us a description of his music style and he’s response was and we quote “ Afrotech! Afro House! Afro Tech!”, and yes with all the exclamations! We hear you loud and clear sir. He mentions that he loves this genre wholeheartedly which is why he has made this style his chosen poison. Afro Swanky further shares that his music is infused with elements of house, piano, tech and afro beat. We then asked who he draws inspiration from and he shared that Black Coffee was his musical inspiration because to him, Black Coffee was the first pro DJ he was exposed to when he was a kid and after listening to one of his earlier mixes, he was clear that that’s what he wanted to do.
Being in the entertainment industry is like being in an exhilarating thrill ride at gold reef city, there are highlights, lowlights and challenges. So we asked Afro Swanky to share his life experiences with us, the highs, lows and in-betweens. He shared that being in the entertainment industry comes with some negativity. So he ensures that he tunes it out. He also goes to say “proper relationships are hard to build and you can never go to the next level without any of these. No matter how hard you work”. Afro Swanky continues to talk about his lowlights which involved having contractual and conflicting issues with his record label 036 Records and his distribution company. He also mentions that he is currently having challenges with trying to get his facebook page back because Meta disabled it as his song “Cloud 9” was gaining traction.
On that same rollercoaster ride we have the high moments, and his high moment has been being the youngest resident DJ in his hometown when he was 15 and being resident DJ at popular establishments such as “Chapters”, “KwaSontshikazi” and “Mixit Jazzclub”. He goes on to further say the best thing about being in the industry is meeting all sorts of people, travelling the world and having an amazing way to express yourself, which is through music.
So…Is Afro Swanky satisfied with where the SA music scene is right now? The answer “Yes and no, creative wise you should measure yourself in SA standards. We’re the innovators but growth wise, you’ll find overseas” well said sir. Afro Swanky hopes to see SA embrace new talent instead of rotating the same line ups at events. With Amapiano ruling the streets right now and it being a genre that he’s calling “expandable” and people are clearly having fun with it, he admires where it’s at and what it’s done and says that the Amapiano guys have embraced new talent very well, and he believes that that’s why that genre is where it is today.
As a DJ who also produces, we had to know whether does Afro Swanky think it's important to be a DJ If you’re a producer? He plainly said No. This Si Sessionsers is a first for us. He then goes on to say “the thing about this industry is that there is no one size fits all. It’s important for a person to do what is best for them”.
What are Afro Swanky's future plans?
So on that note of what’s best for you…we asked Afro Swanky to let us in on some future plans. “An AfroTech event is in the works! It’s a space I’ve been meaning to see myself in for a long time”.
His record label is also making a comeback and he says we should look out for “NGOMA: Afrotech & Deep house Sessions”.
Afro Swanky signing out
It's time for Afro Swanky to sign out, and as per usual, we let our artist spotlighters do so with their favourite quote, so here is Afro Swanky signing out - “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower”.
Be Sure to follow his socials to keep up with his journey, music and more!