Latest news with #Drum
News24
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- News24
Senior Oat opens up about financial struggles - ‘I just want bookings'
Senior Oat's soul-stirring melodies once lit up the airwaves, resonating deeply with fans who found solace in his music. His 2022 anthem 'All in You' became a beacon of hope for many. So, where has the talented artist been? After a long period of being quiet, Senior Oat recently broke his silence, bravely sharing a candid post on his Facebook page about his financial struggles and how difficult it has been for him to score gigs or bookings, sparking widespread concern. Read more | 'It represents healing' - Cici opens up about her new album Mafadi 'Albert' Mogale, popularly known as Senior Oat, is a South African deep and soulful house music producer and DJ from Limpopo. He rose to fame in 2022 with his hit single 'All in You' featuring Kemy Chienda, a song that took the nation by storm. Speaking with Drum, he opened up about the harsh realities of the industry, his journey, the emotional toll of his struggles, including the lessons he learned along the way, and what's next for his career. How are you feeling given your circumstances and challenges? I'm okay, and I'm hopeful that everything will work out, so I can safely say I'm fine. This has been ongoing for quite some time, but I just didn't expect it to escalate this quickly. I thought I had it under control. 2022 was my biggest year with the 'All in You' single, and I thought that was my breakthrough, but after that, things started going south for me. I haven't been getting gigs or bookings. We were and still are begging for bookings. What made you take the hard decision of posting about your financial struggles? I was just hit by the reality of how things have turned and decided to pour my heart out. I didn't even tell my manager that I was going to post that, but it was just my emotions. I woke up one morning, I think it was around 3 or 4 AM, and I posted that as I asked myself if I bottle this, how long will I be able to do that? Rather, I ask for help because people won't know if I keep quiet. I poured my heart out on that post, then I went to sleep. When I woke up, it had garnered a lot of reactions from people than I had imagined, and many were sharing it. I'm not looking for donations or financial handouts. And this is not because of pride or anything, but just my work ethic. I want to work for my comeback doing what I love, and I have no problem with people getting donations, but I would prefer putting in the work, and that would be achieved by getting gigs. As a deep or soulful house DJ, do you feel like the industry has shifted in a way that's making it harder for artists in your genre to get bookings? In my opinion, the deep house community almost feels like a 'cult', I'm saying this in the sense it's not too saturated but here people know people, they know each other and when there's gigs, they book each other based on their relationships, and if you don't have any connections, you will not get bookings. Additionally, most deep house DJs don't view my music as deep house, and I think that's where the problem is. They don't think I make music worthy of being labelled as 'deep house,' according to them. There was even a debate on my music, as they say or call my music 'deep house lite,' and maybe in their eyes, I'm diluting what they've been working hard to achieve for this genre. What do you think artists need to do to stay relevant in today's music industry, especially when it comes to bookings? After the 'All in You' era, I haven't released that much music, and I also think that was due to the pressure I was getting back then, it was too much as people expected my next album or single to do similar or even better in numbers than 'All in You,' and I think I let fear and the pressure consume me back then, yes I still released music, but not better than 'All in You'. I think for anyone to get bookings or consider getting booked, you need to have more music out there. But for you to stay relevant, you must not be scared to be different and be who you are. Don't get pressured by the rising numbers of artists, but instead make sure you find your niche and master it. And not everyone's going to be a fan of your music, but make sure to take care of your supporters by giving them music that will feed their soul, and that's how you will stay relevant. What are some of the lessons you've learnt in the industry? One of the many lessons I've learned is not to be too trusting in this industry. You can work with someone for 4 - 5 months, and they'll betray you in the 6th month. Also, it hit me amidst all this that I haven't been taking my career as a 'career.' I just took it as a hobby and that's what got me here now. I'd give out favours because I trusted and knew people, they would just come to me when they were hosting shows to ask me to perform at their events and promise to pay me, and I'd take their word because I know them, but when it's time to pay, they'd not deliver on their end of the bargain. Now, I've decided to take my career as seriously as it is and have limitations to the favours I give out, because when you're going through the darkest of days, you're alone. Do you have any new music or collaborations on the works currently? Yes, I have a new EP single coming out this Friday called 'The purge,' and then an album slated for late September. During the creative process of my EP and the album altogether, the overarching theme of forgiveness has been a guiding force in this process and work. I have learned to forgive, heal, and move on, and I have poured all my heart and soul into my upcoming projects. Do you have any message of hope to anyone going through a hard time? In my 2022 single 'All in You,' I say, 'When I look into the mirror, it's Your grace I see, it's Your mercy I see, it's Your love I feel. To anyone going through something, do not give up. Faith is very important. Always keep your eyes fixed on God. Continue doing what you love but keep God in mind. And if you have a dream, chase it, for as long as you've dreamed about it, you can achieve it with hard work and God by your side.
News24
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- News24
‘I've never not had a job' - Pabi Moloi flexes work ethic ahead of new show
Oupa Bopape Though Pabi Moloi keeps the door to her private life shut, she's relentlessly shown up for her career. From being a child star on KTV to being a multifaceted media personality, there is nothing she hasn't done. Pabi has appeared in commercials, MC'd on international stages, sparked engaging conversations on our airwaves, and dominated our screens for over three decades. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Pabi Moloi (@pabimoloi) Recently, she also ventured into a podcast with her comedian brother, Khabane Moloi, titled 'It's a brother and a sister', marking a whole new leaf in her career. She tells Drum of how fortunate she's been over the years. 'I'm very fortunate. I've never not had a job. I've been on television concurrently with radio, pretty much my entire career. It has taken the last two or three years for me to realise, 'Oh, I think I want to build something for myself.' My brother's also creative, so we work together seamlessly to build what we want, in whatever way. And I'm also 41 [years old]. You get to an age where you don't want to say other people's words [anymore].' The success of the podcast has, however, coincided with the developing news in her private life, particularly her divorce. Read more | Reality TV star Nozipho Hlophe opens up about living with five autoimmune conditions Given how stressful divorces can get, her supporters have expressed concerns about her subsequent drastic weight loss on TikTok, with some wishing her well. Addressing those taken aback by her fitness journey through the ordeal, she says, 'I've been gyming since I was like 26. I started gymming on Instagram. If you go onto my Instagram and go far back, I've got gym videos. So people being shocked by my gym videos now shocks me also. I've been lifting these weights'. Despite all the chatter around her divorce and weight loss, it has become evident that you can't keep a good woman down. Stepping into a whole new door of opportunity, Pabi hosts the 11th season of a reality TV series premiering on S3 (previously SABC 3) on Thursday, 17 July at 7pm - The Insurance Apprentice (TIA). The series follows a week-long journey of contestants from the insurance industry who are given tasks that harness skills, attract more people to the industry, and educate the world about insurance beyond the call centre walls and funeral policies as they debunk the prevalent narrative that, 'All insurance companies do is collect money and evade payouts by all means necessary'. Read more | She's back! MaMkhize returns as president of Mbabane Highlanders AM FC As it makes its debut on S3 after ten seasons of airing on YouTube, Pabi elates over the show. 'It's thrilling. It moves fast. It's also, you know, you find your favourite contestant and then you follow your favourite contestant and you find out how far they go. So all of it is very exciting. It's been produced so incredibly, and I think that you'd be doing yourself a disservice by not watching.' 'It's very exciting. I think that there is so much to be known and understood behind the scenes in the insurance industry, that many of us have no idea about. And so bringing this to the fore, making it on a public profile, on a public platform, allows us to see just how hard these guys work and how challenging all of these tasks that they're put to to make sure that we also understand what's happening behind the scenes,' she adds.
News24
12-07-2025
- News24
Tebogo Thobejane launches GBV foundation and reveals emotional struggle - ‘I'm not safe'
South Africans have endured a week of explosive headlines and shocking revelations. Leading the news is Vusumuzi 'Cat' Matlala, an alleged crime kingpin accused of trying to murder his ex-girlfriend, Tebogo Thobejane. He's also alleged to have corrupt relationships with government officials. These allegations have rocked the entire nation. On Friday, July 11, 2025, Matlala and his co-accused appeared in the Alexandra Magistrate's Court to face more charges in his case that's been postponed to August. In a candid interview with Drum, Tebogo Thobejane revealed how the incident has devastated her mental health. Despite Matlala being behind bars, she admitted she still doesn't feel safe. Read more | Tebogo Thobejane pleas for privacy as ex-boyfriend's attempted murder bail hearing postponed In October 2023, Tebogo survived what she alleges was an assassination attempt by Vusumuzi 'Cat' Matlala. The attack occurred while she and a friend were driving on the N1 highway near Sandton, Johannesburg. Their car was riddled with bullets, leaving Thobejane shot in the foot and her friend with a serious spinal cord injury. Thobejane says she's not the same person she was before the incident. She can barely recognise her own emotions anymore and often feels numb. Without any support system in place, she's struggling to cope with the trauma alone. 'I don't know how I'm feeling honestly, and there's still no one supporting me, not even the government and what's annoying me at this point is that I've seen all these men protecting themselves but have no time to check in with us, the victims, as to how we're doing, and the sad part is that we can't even go into witness protection because the police are involved,' she said. She recently launched her Bothlale Foundation (meaning 'wisdom'), a foundation dedicated to helping GBV survivors and victims. Her inspiration for this work stems from her desire to support others who have endured similar experiences. 'I've had a hard life, and they've tried to silence me.' When asked about her case against ex-partner Vusi Matlala, she declined to share details, citing ongoing court proceedings. What she did make clear: she is proud of standing up for herself. 'I can't engage on that because of the ongoing court case, but all I can say is that I stood my ground and everyone saw that this guy is crazy,' she said. Read more | Wife of attempted murder accused Vusi Matlala released on R20,000 bail in Tebogo Thobejane case; husband remains in custody She believes that the day she and her friend were shot at has profoundly altered the course of her life. 'She was sitting next to me in the car when they shot my car, and the bullets went to her. That girl saved my life, and, sadly, hers got completely ruined.' Asked about her optimism in justice prevailing in her case, Tebogo sounded confident that the law will take its course and that she will get the justice she deserves with her case. However, she can't shake away the feeling that her case is being used as a pawn for what Lt-General Mkhwanazi exposed about her ex-partner and his affiliations with the SAPS officials. 'I know justice will prevail, but at the same time, there's a bigger picture here, and I think I'm being used as a mockery. I just feel like people are running a mockery, and it's deeper than me. He's in much bigger trouble, but my case is the one that got him arrested, and then they found out about everything else that's just been revealed, which I don't know anything about,' she says. Tebogo shared that due to the incident, her mental well-being isn't in a good place and that despite the perpetrator's incarceration, she still doesn't feel safe at all. 'My mental health isn't well, I'm not safe, the government is not protecting me, nobody cares about me, and every single day I pay for private security, but what gets me is that everybody, that is the cops, they're protected but not us,' she iterated. Read more | Murder-accused Vusumuzi 'Cat' Matlala found in possession of a cell phone during a prison raid Thobejane believes that there's more that SAPS could do to protect her. 'They say their protocols don't allow that, so I need to have private security. They're busy fighting amongst themselves, not concerned about the victims lingering in the background.' Thobejane says that all the misconceptions people have about her are not true. 'People say that I'm doing and selling drugs, and that I'm dodgy, which is not the case. We got shot at, and people need to focus on that,' she tells Drum. Tebogo concluded by sharing a message to people who are in abusive relationships, saying that her foundation (Bothlale Foundation) is a safe space they can go to, as it's all about empowering each other. 'Nothing's linear, as you can't tell someone what to and not to do, and this is why I started the foundation, it's a space people can run to without judgment.' View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tebogo Thobejane (@tebogocthobejane)
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Drum and Bass On the Bike returning to Bournemouth this Sunday
A popular ride-along "travelling festival" is set to return to Bournemouth for the sixth time this weekend and riders are encouraged to come and join in on the fun. Drum and Bass On the Bike, started and organised by Dom Whiting, will start at Vitality Stadium at 2pm on Sunday June 29. The official route is due to be announced via social media later in the week. Last year more than 1,000 people joined the "moving festival" on bikes, scooters, skate boards and roller skates. The 28-year-old is known for the event which he now holds internationally, after beginning it during lockdown. Rides are held in various places across the country but Dom said Bournemouth is one of the "standout cycles" each year. Riders are encouraged to join in with any mode of transport are welcome to bring their own speakers with them, or join in by simply up to the online livestream. Dom, who is from High Wycombe, began biking around London while on a modified bike with decks and speakers after being encouraged by a friend. He said of Bournemouth's event via his Facebook page: "This is my favourite weekend of the year. See you all Sunday!"
News24
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- News24
‘Being a father is a blessing' - Tbo Touch on raising his sons
Having children is every man's dream, but being an actual father takes fortitude, selflessness, and sacrifice. This is something renowned broadcaster, entrepreneur and philanthropist, Tbo Touch, whose given name is Thabo Molefe, knows all too well. He is a father to two boys, Ruri and Suri, but they are based in Australia. Although the distance between them is vast, he doesn't allow it to interfere with him being present as a father in their lives. He chats to Drum about the joys, the ups and the rewards of being a father. Father's Day is a reminder of the conscious decision that some men have taken to become fathers to their children and the commitment that will last a lifetime. It is also a time to enjoy the joys of being a father that is able to shape and carve a beautiful path that will one day lead them into reaching their full potential. Read more | Priddy Ugly opens up about fatherhood, second bundle of joy and new music Having a busy schedule as he does, being a father to his boys overseas is a challenge, one that he embraces wholeheartedly although he concedes that it's rather a mammoth task. 'I fly out to Australia every fourth or fifth week. It's not easy, but I don't regret one minute of being with them. Being a father is a blessing, because I've been entrusted with the responsibility of shaping them into becoming men of purpose. It basically means that I have the opportunity to teach them lessons that will mould them,' he says. Being a parent doesn't come with a manual, which is why he believes he is doing his best to be a good father to his children. 'I was raised by parents who did their best to give me everything they could and there's a conception that taking your child to the best schools or private schools means they will come out well. But that's not true at all. A child needs to be taught values by his parents, so that they can fit well into the society. Materialistic possessions don't make great fathers, but love, care and attention are what make great fathers,' he explains. 'Fathers have to be present in their children's lives, not about materialistic possessions'. Through his annual replenishment concert, which is also taking place this year, he also is shaping his kids' beliefs, especially since his father Rev Molefe gave him the gift of salvation. 'My kids were not born into Islamic religion or born into a family of non-believers, so they have no choice but to follow my beliefs and they already do, because I show them through my style. When I tell them I want something and that I'm praying about it, I'm teaching that nothing manifests without God, prayer and a fight. I teach that nothing that is worth achieving comes easy,' shares the star. Read more | 'That man raised me' – The River cast breaks down at Presley's memorial Being a father to two sons has always been his dream, and although he is not ruling out the possibility of adding into his ability, he maintains that the choice lies with the mother. 'I'm not opposed to the idea, but the choice remains with the mother. I would rather have two boys and two girls, I don't like odd even numbers, it creates conflict. But yeah, I'm living my dream. I have always wanted to have two boys'. Although he has such a hectic schedule, he doesn't take the responsibility of being father to his sons lightly, because he has been entrusted by God to shape them into becoming men who will take on his legacy. 'Those boys my legacy and they will forever carry my surname, when they get married, their wives and children will take on their surnames, which means the Molefe legacy will continue for generations, so it's important that they understand the importance the role they play in growing the Molefe legacy,' he concludes.
