House DJ and producer makes waves in the music industry

A Danville house music DJ and producer has emerged as a rising star and a force to be reckoned with in the music industry.

Thamsanqa Mehlomakulu (28), popularly known by his stage name Sthamzen, was born in Sebokeng, Vaal, and moved to Pretoria in 2005, when he was 10 years old.

Mehlomakhulu completed high school in 2013 at Elandspoort High School and soon after went to university to study for a diploma in internal auditing.

As a boy who grew up in the township, Mehlomakhulu believed that breaking into the music industry was a far-fetched dream.

“My dad knew that I loved music, but he did not want me to pursue it as a career because he thought that people could not make a living from it,” he said.

He said his dad encouraged him to choose a stable career path so that he would not struggle in the future, as he was the one who made ends meet before they moved to Pretoria.

Mehlomakhulu said that despite his dad’s concerns, his upbringing had an important impact on his love and passion for music.

“I began deejaying when I was in high school using Virtual DJ, an audio and video mixing software,” he said.

He said he used to DJ for his friends at parties and other outdoor events.

“When I saw big South African artists at events, I would feel inspired because I imagined myself being a global star one day,” he said.

Mehlomakhulu was introduced to music production by a close friend at the university in 2014.

He said that during this time, he was taught how to make different mixes and how to produce his own songs.

“I tried to release an album in 2015, but unfortunately, it did not work out well because it was not mixed and mastered properly,” he said.

He said that after some time, he stopped releasing music so that he could work on improving his sound.

In 2019, Mehlomakhulu released his first official song, titled “Good versus Bad”.

He said that the song represented starting on a clean slate and that it came out at a time when he had found redemption through music.

“I was almost on the verge of giving up and felt like making music took a lot of my energy and strength,” he said.

He said that one of his standout achievements was collaborating with Nasiphi Booi, which opened a lot of doors to him in the music industry.

Mehlomakhulu received his first award for Best Male Artist of the year at the Image Magazine Personality Awards in 2023.

Early this year, he was awarded Best Dance Single for his song “Emini” at the Music on the Hill Awards (MOTHAs).

“In June, I was nominated for Best DJ at the Mzansi Arts and Media Awards (MAMAs),” he said.

Mehlomakhulu’s talent was also noticed internationally.

He caught the attention of Jay B. McCauley, the owner of Vagrant Soundz in Australia, which resulted in a collaboration between the two artists.

This connection introduced his music to a larger audience.

Tisetso Santos, a close friend of Mehlomakhulu, said that they met in 2014 during their first year at university.

He said that their connection became stronger when they both found out that they were DJs.

“We were both popular with mixing and played at student parties,” he said.

Santos said that Mehlomakhulu spent most of his days working on music to make sure that people who listened to his music were happy.

“I can strongly say that he is growing. It is important that he sustains this growth at all times and doesn’t drop the ball,” he said.

Santos wished Mehlomakhulu the best in his music journey.

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