DJ Zai Maya in tune with the sound of hip-hop and follows her heart
Yolande Godlo’s career reaching for the sky with slot on radio mix show ‘YTKO’
DJ Zai Maya has created her own lane in the hip-hop mix.
Her real name is Yolande Godlo and she was born in Boksburg on the East Rand.
Time Out catches up with her while in the studio where she is recording a surprise mix for her fans.
“My love for music began when I was as young as I can remember. I had no entertainment background but I didn’t let that discourage me,” she says.
She enrolled herself in school plays and even dance groups. “I was never the church girl but I was very expressive. I wrote songs about whatever I was going through and hip-hop was the sound I was in tune with,” she says.
The biggest step she took was in 2010 when she joined the Soul Candi Institute of Music and, two months into the programme, she says she was very good at mixing beats.
Within two months the course was completed and five days later Zai Maya landed her first gig at the Capital Underground nightclub in Rosebank.
Today she is a regular DJ at the Capital. “Doing what I love was just amazing, I didn’t think the crowd would fall in love with my music as quick as they did,” she says.
In 2014, Zai Maya’s career spiked when she was drafted into the YFM YTKO team. She still features weekly on the daily mix show with a mission to set your musical soul on fire with the hottest music from different genres.
Listening to YFM, one can pick up she has the hang of things. “I have my own slot every Thursday at 9am. I strictly play trending hip-hop tracks and I’m loving it,” she says.
Though she didn’t face much challenge getting into the industry, she advises aspiring DJs to “follow your heart and, whatever route you decide to take, be unique in your delivery”.