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THE 100th ISSUE: 100 Innovations, Inventions & Icons From Africa

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IF YOU CAN SPARKLE IN THE entertainment world, chances are you can bring the same spirit to the boardroom as a CEO.



After 16 years in the music industry, Ntombezinhle Jiyane, popularly known as ‘DJ Zinhle’ and one of South Africa’s most-renowned deejays, is proving that right.



She has acquired equity in the international sparkling wine beverage, Boulevard Nectar Rosè, and has taken over as CEO.



In a recent interview with FORBES AFRICA, the artist, famous for her Umlilo music, spoke about how excited she is to be working with a brand she shares synergy with: “I love to celebrate, whether it’s at my house, whether it’s at a gig. Celebrations have also been



part of my life for the past 16 years as a DJ, and Boulevard fits perfectly into that. And I just thought I wanted to be part of people’s celebrations even more.”



With Covid-19, Zinhle has been forced to work from home like everyone else but says that this has not stopped her from putting in the long hours. Admitting that during the time of the lockdown, a great deal of adaption had to happen, Zinhle says she owes a lot of her success to her young and dynamic team who share the same values as her.



“Without my team, I don’t think I would have made it this far even with a lockdown in it; my biggest mission was to make sure that no one leaves the team, no one gets fired, no one is dismissed. Because now my team is so perfect, and they’re so dedicated.”



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DJ Zinhle 4

In The Right Spirit

At the 2020 FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Leading Women Summit in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal on March 6, DJ Zinhle shone in the spotlight, talking about her journey from rock-bottom to record-breaking. 



As the
woman responsible for South Africa’s My Name Is hit song
makes her way onto the stage, there is rapturous applause from a 1,000 strong
audience, gathered at Durban’s international convention center for the 2020 FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Leading Women Summit.



Zinhle
Jiyane, popularly known as DJ Zinhle, walks up to the solo stage with her
four-year-old daughter, Kairo Forbes, who she calls one of her “biggest
achievements”.



South
Africa’s award-winning DJ and media personality presents an inspirational
speech during the summit’s #SPOTLIGHT session.



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“You’re lazy. You’re extremely lazy,” cites Zinhle as the words that shaped her into the woman she is today.



As a
child, Zinhle, who hails from KwaZulu-Natal, was heartbroken every time she was
called lazy.



“I knew I was a creative at heart. My lack of interest in limited career options and the mundane robotic task of drying the dishes didn’t really appeal to me. That’s the thing that got me the title ‘vila voco’ (meaning an extremely lazy person in English).”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



Despite
that, Zinhle went on to pursue a BCom in marketing
at the University of Johannesburg. Graduating at the top of her class gave her the first dose of confidence.



“It was
possible. Although ‘vila voco’ might have been ringing in my head, at least I knew that it was possible to put in
the hard work and get
good results. That gave me all the confidence I need to
take over the world.
And that’s exactly what I did.”



READ MORE | <a href="https://www.forbeswomanafrica.com/woman/2020/03/11/lws2020kzn-the-forbes-woman-africa-2020-leading-women-summit-sets-the-bar-high-for-2021/">The FORBES WOMAN AFRICA 2020 Leading Women Summit Sets The Bar High For 2021</a>



Her new
found self-assurance propelled her to do more.



“In
2009, I launched Fuse Academy, the first and only DJ female academy in South Africa. Ten years later, the academy has
produced working DJs in
the industry that have contributed largely to the overall
entertainment
industry.”



After
eight years of resilience in the music industry, she finally scored her big break. 



“I had a song called My Name Is featuring Busiswa which became one of the biggest songs in 2012, not only in South Africa, but in most parts of Africa. This song was special to me because for the first time I knew what real success was. It was an exciting time for me as a woman”.



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Music
has always been the DJ’s first love, so while one hand was on the decks, she
tried the other hand at entrepreneurship.



“In 2013, I launched my jewelry business, Era By DJ Zinhle. Seven years later, my pride and joy is the first black female owned business to distribute through American Swiss.”



The hit
maker has been vocal about the importance of female empowerment. Her
involvement in a project seeking to do just this inspired her to put pen to
paper.



“In
2017, I joined a very important project called ‘It Takes A Village’ on SABC1 focusing on 11
young women who needed to deal with the demons
of their past. My role was to help them through this process, and help them find a better future for themselves. Spending time
with these incredible
ladies inspired me to write a book.”



Along with Nokubonga Mbanga, Zinhle published a book called Meeting Your Power that went on to become a best-seller.



READ MORE | <a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/arts/2019/04/10/noami-campbell-has-big-plans-for-africa/">Naomi Campbell Has Big Plans For Africa</a>



Her new
hit Umlilo featuring Mvzzle &amp; Rethabile is her
latest achievement. The song, which means ‘fire’, was one of the biggest hits
to come out of South Africa in 2019.



“I’m very
proud of this song. Umlilo was out for
three months and had already reached platinum. It had over five million streams
in two months. Over and above that, it was crowned the crossover song by Metro
FM and many other radio stations. The last time Metro FM had a female-led song
as the crossover song of the year was in 1997 when Brenda Fassie took it with Vulindlela.”



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On March 6, Zinhle also won the 2020 FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Entertainer Award.

Forbes LWS2020KZN-3918

DJ Zinhle: The ‘Lazy Kid’ Who Achieved Platinum Success

Comedians are B-grade celebrities in South Africa,” says Tumi Morake, a comedian famous for her brassy honesty, stand-up shows, Comedy Central Roasts and adverts with Vodacom.
“And yet I have a lot of disposable income. A lot,” she admits.
South Africa’s entertainment industry is fast growing, and bringing in vast amounts of money. Zinhle Jiyane, known as DJ Zinhle, says: “The South African entertainment industry has proven to be one of the most influential industries and its growth is something we can’t ignore.” And she’s right.
Musicians, actors, deejays and entertainers, as well as other creative industry performers, contribute 2.9% to the GDP, according to the Cultural and Creative Industries Federation (CCIFSA), and the creative economy contributes 3.6% to the total employment.
Jay Badza, a self-described brand architect and manager of some of South Africa’s biggest stars, including Bonang Matheba, predicts the industry will grow “in leaps and bounds” in the next five years.
“We’ve got a very healthy industry, and social media has tipped the scale to the entertainer,” says Badza.
Other experienced managers agree, such as Nomndeni Mdakhi, founder and managing director of Edits Communications, and DJ Zinhle’s manager. She predicts the industry will expand its footprint into the rest of the continent.
Morake admits that a ‘gig’, from stand-up to emceeing, to a mixture of the two, can earn a comedian of her calibre anything from R15,000 ($1,050) to R45,000 ($3,176) for an evening’s work.
Taffia Keight, a partner at Whacked Management, representing many of South Africa’s comedians, including Morake, says: “Depending on what other deals are done on an artiste’s behalf, [comedians] could earn between R12,000 ($850) and R250,000 ($17,000) a month.”
Comedy is a relatively new money-maker in the South African entertainment industry, and even in that sphere, it’s possible to earn a quarter of a million rand monthly – much of it through corporate gigs. Comedian Celeste Ntuli estimates she earns up to 40% of her monthly income through corporate emceeing and advertisements.
For a celebrity like Bonang Matheba, the numbers are much bigger. Nicknamed Queen B, Matheba is an A-lister through and through. She has over a million Instagram followers and is the first face of Revlon out of the United States – “A dream come true,” she says – and has her thumb in a lot of pies: she presents on Top Billing and Afternoon Express, hosts a radio show on Metro FM and has her own lingerie line at Woolworths. On top of this, she can earn anything from R30,000 ($2,120) to R100,000 ($7,060) for four hours’ work, depending on the client, hosting events like award shows and more.
Matheba’s flawless weave is a custom-made wig from Patrick Missile, and costs R15,000 ($1,050) – and that’s not including maintenance costs. For an event like the South African Style Awards, she says she can easily spend R55,000 ($3,882) for her look for that evening alone.
“My designer dress will probably cost around R50,000 ($3,530),” says Matheba, “And I’ll spend an additional R2,000 ($142) on my nails, and another R4,000 ($283) for hair and makeup for the evening – that includes having the makeup artiste at the event to touch me up.”
These are considered business expenses because, as Badza says, “An artiste is expected to be glitzy and glamorous.” Her luxury spends are holidays; 10-day trips to Mauritius, London, Paris and islands off the coast of Mozambique.
Other big earners are in the music industry. A DJ such as DJ Zinhle can earn up to R35,000 ($2,400) for an hour’s work, and can do up to five gigs between Friday and Sunday.
“You can just imagine how much she makes in a weekend,” says her manager Nomndeni Mdahki. And that’s just if she stays in the country – for international shows, also sold by the hour, the rate can easily go up to R50,000 ($3,530). Transport and accommodation are, naturally, included. Then there are celebrities expanding briskly into the international market, like DJ Black Coffee, who has been named several times by others in the industry as an example of a South African entertainer doing it right, with a growing international audience. He was not available for comment on this piece.
But even with these numbers, South Africa is lagging behind international entertainment industries. Nigeria is enormous, and South African celebs are clawing their way to Lagos, and not New York.
“The continent is opening up,” says Mdahki.
“Look at artiste collaborations, Channel O and the MTV Music Awards. In the end, it’s a numbers game. The more people you can bring in, the more money you can make. You want to develop a wide footprint out of South Africa.”
The trick for further growth is for celebrities to treat themselves like businesses, and use their social currency to expand their careers.
“Artistes don’t have to rely on the SABC anymore to become successful,” says Badza. With social media accounts, they communicate directly with their audience, and corporate and other clients look to those numbers to rate their popularity.
Mdahki agrees: “Social media is giving the power back to the talent.”
Morake, with over 55,000 Twitter followers, says celebrities need to remember that they are a brand. But perhaps most of all, the biggest key to growth, says Ntuli, is for South Africans to appreciate their own entertainers, like Nigerians appreciate theirs.

Tag: DJ Zinhle

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

THE 100th ISSUE: 100 Innovations, Inventions & Icons From Africa

In The Right Spirit

DJ Zinhle: The ‘Lazy Kid’ Who Achieved Platinum Success

‘$2,400 For An Hour’s Work’