DJ Tira on downgrading financially due to Covid-19

The South African DJ said it is of high importance to him to live a comfortable life without racking up debt.

DJ Tira release new album titled ’21 Years of DJ Tira’. Image: @DJTira

The importance of investing and using money wisely has been DJ Tira’s biggest lesson in 2020.

In a recent interview with The Citizen, DJ Tira (Mthokozi Khathi) explained how he had to downgrade his spending this year due to the huge losses he faced, caused largely by the Covid-19 lockdown.

According to Tira, many of his shows were cancelled and he, therefore, lost out on the income he would have made from those shows.

“The lockdown has given me a wake-up call on how to spend my money wisely and generate new ways of making an income.

“Many of the plans I’ve had for this year I’ve had to rethink or put them on hold, because of the new normal Covid-19 has forced DJ’s to operate in. I was forced to spend less money on clothes, my leisure activities had to decrease,” he said.

The South African DJ said it is of high importance to him to live a comfortable life without racking up debt.

Tira said individuals should not be pressured by social media to live a life which they cannot measure up to, but instead they should remain focused on building a life which is comfortable and debt-free.

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“Often at times what the ‘soft life’ people display on social media is not true. It’s easy to hide things and only show people what you want them to see. You don’t have a full view of the person’s finances, only a glimpse of the make-believe big picture.

“I urge everyone to engage with counsellors who will assist them in handling their money wisely for the new year to come.”

DJ Tira said for the year 2021 he is looking into working on more projects which will not be impacted by Covid-19. He said virtual events would be the idea that drives these projects.

Despite the KwaZulu-Natal provincial government’s decision to ban all major events this festive season, DJ Tira, in his capacity as founder of the annual Fact is Durban Rocks Festival, said the event is set to take place at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Thursday, December 31 and will be streamed in an effort to allow people to attend virtually.

The local artists who are scheduled to perform at this year’s event include DJ Simmy, Sjava, Sun-El Musician, Shimza, Focalistic, Master KG, Nomcebo Zikode, DJ Bongz, Songz, Zakwe & Duncan, Zakes Bantwini, Dladla Mshunqisi, Babes Wodumo, Mampintsha, Tipcee, Joocy and Beast.

While 2020 was a year of loss for many, it wasn’t all that bad for Tira.

At this year’s KZN Entertainment Awards, he shared the Special Achievement Award with the likes of Black Coffee and Ladysmith Black Mambazo

He is also known for winning the Best Kwaito Album award for his Ikhenani album which he dropped in September 2019 at the South African Music Awards (Samas).

Also in 2019, News 24 reported that DJ Tira was promoting his music in New York.

He then shared a video on his Instagram of him in studio with radio presenter Ebro Darden for an interview on Beats 1 Radio.