Celebrating the progress of South Africa’s female DJs this Women’s Day. From early pioneers like DJ Zinhle and DJ Cndo to global Amapiano stars shaping the future of music and culture.
(The Post News)- Once exceptions in the male-dominated world of DJing, this Women’s Day, we celebrate and shine a spotlight on South Africa’s female DJs who are now running club culture. From trailblazers like DJ Zinhle and DJ Cndo to award-winning, chart-topping, festival headlining stars like Uncle Waffles, DBN Gogo, Lamiez Holworthy, TXC, and DJ LeSoul.
The 2000s club scene marked the beginning of DJing as a long-lasting career, offering both fame and financial reward. As this profession began to boom in South Africa, men appeared to be at the forefront of the new wave. DJ Tira and his group Big Nuz, Black Coffee, Oskido, Fisherman, DJ Cleo and others ruled the charts, alongside what seemed to be the only two women in the field — DJ Zinhle and DJ Cndo.
In a recent article, promoting Zee Nationfest, nicknamed “Bestieval” held today at Johannesburg’s Nasrec Expo Centre, DJ Zinhle reflected on those times, saying, “I felt we didn’t have sisterhood because there were so many men.”. She added, “When Cndo and I first started our careers, we knew we needed each other.” Her event focuses on sisterhood and features other female artists as headliners.
Today, South African female DJs have firmly established themselves not only as leaders in popularising and shaping newer South African genres like Amapiano but also as influential figures and trendsetters in the global music industry. The emergence of Amapiano provided a platform where female DJs could lead and play a part in the creation of this sound.
Amapiano brought recognition to Swaziland-born amapiano artist Uncle Waffles and the amapiano DJ duo TXC (Tarryn Reid and Clairise Hefke). TXC won the 2025 BET Awards Best New International Act, while Uncle Waffles was nominated for the same awards and for two Grammy Awards in 2023.
Individually, they have headlined numerous local and international festivals with thousands in attendance. TXC boasts over 600,000 monthly listeners on streaming platforms, while Uncle Waffles commands 2 million monthly listeners.
DBN Gogo is another prominent name not only in the DJ space but in the music industry, having been nominated for a 2024 MTV Europe Music Award (EMA) for producing the smash hit “Tshwala Bami,” which became a TikTok sensation with over 83 million views on YouTube.
DJ LeSoul started as a Gagasi FM radio personality and radio DJ but has since headlined massive club performances locally and internationally, most recently in New York, Nairobi, and Durban. Notably, Lamiez Holworthy, who has years of experience in the scene, won DJ of the Year at the 2025 Basadi Awards.
South African and Amapiano female DJs are a testament to what can be achieved through dedication, sisterhood and resilience – the very qualities that Women’s Day honours, sparked by the historic march of 20,000 women on August 9, 1956.
journalist-lukhona@thepostnews.net
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