Fact, DJ Tira rocks reality TV

The man responsible for giving Durban its own sound, DJ Tira, is spreading his empire into reality TV, writes Munya Vomo

DJ TIRA is easily the Diddy of South African music. “Diddy” being the fact that he has crafted the musical careers of so many musicians over the years.

He is the man behind the mighty Big Nuz and talented DJ Cndo. Next to Oskido, no one in South Africa today knows how to churn out hits like Tira does. This is why it made sense for Mzansi Magic to do a reality show on the DJ and his crew. Coming to you tonight, Ezase Afro: The

Empire will follow the man and all the musicians in his Afrotainment stable.

“I look up to Diddy. I think in the beginning, after I won the Smirnoff DJ competition, in 1999, everyone talked about me having to move to Joburg. I saw myself as a young Lindelani Mkhize, and he was the boss at Sony that time. So I thought about moving to Joburg from Durban, but I had to realise that I needed to develop my city. Moving would mean starting over yet I could take Durban to another level. That has been my drive ever since,” he recalled.

So big was Afrotainment that Durban looks to them for what is now known as the “official Durban sound”.

“The Durban sound was only invented in 2004. That’s when the song Woza

eDurban was invented, through the help of Oskido. We were playing at one of the gigs in Durban when Professor and Tzozo were freestyling on an international up-tempo beat. At the time we did not have a studio so we had to go Joburg to record the music. We could not even release as artists because we did not know anything about the business side of music. Tzozo and Professor got signed by Kalawa Jamzee,” said Tira.

“In 2007, I was working on DJ Cndo’s album and when we were promoting her music and other music we’d put a sign on the CD that read ‘Fact, Durban Rocks’. Then we started making T-shirts and when we pushed events that brand grew and people began to see why we say ‘Durban rocks’. Since 2011, we have been holding the Fact, Durban Rocks parties every year.”

While spreading their empire, DJ Tira admitted that they had tried to appear on TV before, but it never worked out.

“We have been trying to get into reality TV, but with no success at all. I think before this show we had about three pilots which were all rejected. Fortunately, we met up with PAP Productions and it all worked out because they know what they are doing,” he explained.

Now that they are set to star in the show, DJ Tira is happy to share the ins and outs of the industry that we do not usually see.

“The first episode was shot in December 2014, so that’s how far back we are going. We are also going to see R Mashesha and him passing away. You get to see me and the members of Big Nuz react to the news and how we have to travel between Joburg and Durban for the funeral,” he said.

“On other days, my life is spread between the two cities. I have a house in Durban which has a studio so I record there. Then my family is in Joburg, where I have another house, where my wife and three kids live. So you get to see me hang with the kids and before I get to go to events.

“On the show you see how the members of Afrotainment operate from going to shows to trying to record music at crazy hours. They also see us at parties and how we basically divide our time. We are superfocused so we will play, but we remember to work,” he said.

While everything is working well with the show, DJ Tira admits that he still has a lot to learn about the TV industry.

“We just went with the flow and Thomas Gumede was always in our faces because he knows how it is done. I remember one time, I was in Mauritius for a gig and he heard about it and he wasn’t happy that I had not told him. He called me and told me that he would be on the next flight to Mauritius,” he said.

Ezase Afro: The Empire premiers tonight at 8pm on Mzansi Magic, DStv Channel 161.