Black Coffee's African Dream

DJ and producer BLACK COFFEE has long been one of SAs hottest exports. Now hes inviting other African artists to share the world stage through his latest business venture. BERND FISCHER finds out more

- Bernd Fischer

NKOSINATHI MAPHUMULO is a busy man, as I witnessed on a recent winter day in July, when I met the record producer and DJ – better known as Black Coffee – on set for his GQ cover shoot in a small studio in Jo’burg. The music-meets-business man had a meticulously planned schedule ahead: directly after our time with him, he’d be hosting – through his record label Soulistic and his streaming service GongBox – a panel discussion on the future of music and digital content in Africa, followed by an evening appearance at the Axe Party of the Year. We were pressed for time and the DJ’s mannerisms, though subtle, expressed that.

Despite being surrounded by a lively entourage on set, Black Coffee comes across as rather reserved. He changed outfits and poses when required, but appeared to just want to get the job done. When the shoot wrapped, he sat down, about to get groomed for his next scheduled event, and gestured to me that he was ready for the interview. I sat next to him while he stared into a mirror, focussed, and had his hair and face attended to.

Just a few days before landing in Jo’burg, the DJ had played Tomorrowland for the first time. He was also right in the middle of his second consecutive Hï Ibiza club residency on the Spanish party island, which began in May and wraps up early October. While acknowledging how fortunate he has been, Black Coffee isn’t close to being satisfied.

‘I have a lot of those,’ he said, when asked whether he recalls a specific moment in his career when he realised that he finally ‘made it’.

‘To say I’ve made it, you know, I don’t think I’m there yet. I just feel that I’m very blessed to have the team that I have that works tirelessly to make these things happen for me,’ he said modestly.