Ex-convict introduces music single in new style

Mpho Ngwenya aka DJ Keres is a vibrant 34-year-old father to three children, two girls and a boy. He was raised by his grandmother in the heart of Tembisa.

DJ Keres obtained a diploma in ministry and a certificate in sound engineering and music theory.

In 1996, DJ Keres and his friends decided to pursue their passion for the entertainment world, through various platforms such as modelling and dancing.

He joined a kwaito group called Mosquitos back in the days, which gave him hope that he could change his life.

However, he later fell in with the wrong crowd, “amagintsa”, who spent their time doing crime. He stole music tapes for cars sound systems and gradually realised it was not enough. He moved on to stealing cars and dealing with hijackings, which led to his arrest on February 14, 2002.

During his prison days he would spend his time listening to radio, singing to his favourite rap and kwaito songs. His fellow inmates encouraged him to pursue music as a career and he realised his talent for music.

In 2003 DJ Keres applied for an ID and went to look for a job. He worked for an agency called Capital, which specialised in hospitality.

In January 2004 he got a stable job at Armscor, based in Pretoria, working at the coffee station and then moved on to working as a waiter until he became a chef.

In February he was transferred to Vodaworld, where he worked for only three months due to his criminal record. The police came looking for him, only to find that he was late for work on that particular day. He received a call from one of his colleagues informing him that the police were looking for him.

After the call he decided to run, resulting in him losing his job.

He went back to crime, but in August 2004 he was caught.

On November 30, 2004, he was sentenced to 16 years in prison. Eight of these years were spent in prison and the remainder took the form of community service.

While in prison he became a born-again Christian and joined an organisation called FFL (Fear Free Life), which was formed by ex-offenders.

This led to his journey of writing his own songs and teaching his fellow inmates how to sing and write songs. In 2007, he learned how to produce his own music and in 2008 he established his recording studio, which assisted other inmates to stimulate their passion for music. He later enrolled with Damelin for a certificate in sound engineering, which he completed in 2010.

His dream grew to the extent where he was promised to be signed under NOFISA, owned by Andy Magazz. Meanwhile, while he was still in prison, his music played on radio and he and some friends were in charge of organising functions, which included various artists from outside.

While still in prison, he established an entertainment and production company called KRS Music Production (Pty) Ltd in 2007. When he came out from prison, DJ Keres worked at Ndizani Media, where he did his first music project with the likes of Andy Magazz, Gwyza of Tkzee family, Khanyo and other artists.

As a DJ he played on the show called Browsing Around at Kasie FM.

He was later signed by Thami Mdluli at Thammy Music Publishing, where he released his album, Limit Braker, as DJ Keres & Chedow in 2014. He shared a stage with the likes of Black Coffee, DJ Shimza and DJ Tokzen, to name a few.

He later released his single Endleleni, which featured Uya, a vocalist.

In May 2015 he got a job as a sound engineer at ANN7 NEWS. He worked there till January 2016. He shifted his focus to KRS Music Production, where he signed a distribution deal with a UK-based company called Label Worx, which specialises in online distribution.

In 2016 he released a single called Umabank Book that was sampled from the well-known track Ma Bankbook by Mdu Masilela. Things started to shape up when he received a licensing deal with the company 4Jacks and A Jill, which ran until December 2017.

Apart from his music, DJ Keres established a clothing label called Iputsununu.

During his FFL days he had friends he could rely on. They invited him to jump into a production company that had recently been launched. Called Urban City Music (UCM) Production, it is part of the umbrella company Urban City Initiatives (UCI), owned by Collen Khumalo.

The new recording label is ready to guide up-and-coming artists and condition them to work hard and take their music to the next glorious level.

DJ Keres recently released a new single featuring the mother of his children, IMMAC T. The single, called Hustlers Anthem, introduces a new style, “iBhutsi”, which he feels is the next big thing after the Durban-born genre called gqom. The single has been released on online stores. It was taken from the album April Rush, which will be released this year.

He is also featured on two tracks, Hey!!! and Thick Mama, by Sthera from UCM Production.

People can follow and book him at Dj Keres on Facebook or through Instagram at djkeres_SA.

Alternatively, contact him on 061 856 4093 or 060 983 8758.