Welcome to the show.
-Thank you for having me. -This is-- You know what,
it's truly, truly, truly one of my pleasures
to have you on the show, because, um,
you have taken the world by storm.
I remember when you first blew up in South Africa.
You know, everyone was just, "Black Coffee, Black Coffee.
There's this guy, this Black-Black-Black Coffee,
Black Coffee, Black Coffee, Black Coffee."
And I was like, "Who is he? What-- Is it coffee?
"Is it a drink? Is there a new drink that's out?
What is going on?" And they're just like, "No, there's a DJ
and he's huge." And then you went from South Africa
and you went into the world and you've taken it by storm.
Why do you think you have blown up as much as you have
all over the world?
Doesn't it sound like your story?
-My story? -Yeah.
-No. -(laughs)
(laughs) No, no, no. You think so?
Um, no, no, no, no, no.
-Um... (laughs) -(laughs)
Um, um,
man, it's... resilience, you know?
Um, it's knowing hunger
and knowing that you have experienced it
-and you don't want to go back there. -Wow.
Um, it's working from nothing,
knowing that you have nothing to lose,
so whatever you gain is something.
Um, that-that is what has kept me going.
That is what has gotten me to where I am today.
What I-- what I also loved about your journey
and I've always enjoyed is that, like,
in South Africa and in Africa,
in many countries around the world,
there was always, um, an instinct
for people to aspire to create like an American
-or to-- or to create like a European. -Yeah.
What set Black Coffee apart for me was
you made the music of Africa,
the music of South Africa,
and the world fell in love with that.
Was that, like, a specific choice you made,
where you're like, "I'm not gonna make European dance music.
-"I'm just gonna make my music, -No.
and it's gonna be big in the world"?
D-Definitely. And it-it hasn't been easy.
You know? Um...
because sometimes there's hype that comes with the name.
-And then you get a big room. -Right.
Because the name is so big.
And then... but the music is... is so...
maybe too soulful for the room.
-Oh. Right, right, right. -You know, um,
so we've been through different phases,
trying to build, uh, that sound,
and, um, it took patience.
-Yeah. -You know, it took a... a lot... lot of time.
It took a... a good team behind me.
And it took love for what I do, man, to-to really push.
It really is soulful.
I remember at, uh, Coachella,
I was so excited when I saw your name
on the list of artists who were gonna be performing.
And, you know, a lot of people think...
Like, when there was dance, I remember my friends.
It's like, "Guys, let's go to Black Coffee."
And they were like, "What? What is...? What is...?
No, I want coffee with milk."
I was like, "No. This again. No."
'Cause everyone thinks that as soon as you say,
"Do you like Black Coffee?," people are like,
"Ah, a bit of sugar, a bit of..."
"No. DJ Black Coffee."
And-and so we went to...
We went to the tent that you were playing in.
-Yeah. -And my friend said to me...
He's like, "Man, I'm not a big fan of, like, EDM.
I'm not a fan of dance music."
I was like, "It's-it's different.
You're dancing to it, but it's not..."
'Cause people always think of, like,
-♪ Digga-da, digga-da, digga-da digga-da ♪ -I know. I know.
♪ Digga-da, digga-da digga-da. ♪
-That's what people think of. -Yeah. Yeah.
Whereas your music has a... And I'll never forget.
The whole tent was just like...
I mean, you had, like, a thousand people just, like,
-bouncing together. -No, it was. It was really nice.
-It was... You know what I mean? -Yeah.
It was Africa in the middle of California.
-Black, white, everyone dancing to your music. -Everyone, man.
That's what I love. That's what I really love.
Yeah. No. It was really beautiful.
-(applause and cheering) -It was really beautiful.
You...
You-You've done something really special for me, though.
Or in my opinion.
And that is, you've taken the success of your music,
and you've used it to inspire a new generation
in South Africa.
You started a project where you are building a school?
-Yeah. -But I think more impressive,
-you're building a neighborhood. -Yup.
What is that about? And why?
Um, we're-we're trying to and...
I'm-I'm gonna say "we," 'cause I'm-I'm working with..
with other people.
It's myself, it's Nelson Makamo who was here before.
-Right. The artist. Yeah. -Yeah.
It's Laduma, uh, Ngxokolo, who is coming.
-Right. The designer, yes. -Yeah, yeah.
You had... He is coming, right?
-What? Are you warning me? -I'm telling you.
(laughter)
He's-he's coming to this show.
Um, we... we try to change the narrative
about the continent where...
Maybe it-it is our fault,
where we-we've always seen Africa
as an inferior place.
Um...
all the best scenes were on TV,
which means that we're here in America
-Right. -or in Europe, and...
it took away so much from the continent,
and we tried to reverse that and...
and-and create a space in Africa
that will inspire Africans
to want to stay and create a future.
-Right. That's powerful. -(cheering, applause)
It really is powerful.
Because...
you have... you-you have this initiative,
-and it's called Africa Is Not a Jungle. -Yeah.
And what I love about it is, you say it's about Africans
creating for Africans and not always looking to Europe
-to create for them. -Yes, sir.
Which is a powerful statement to make.
When you look at your journey as Black Coffee,
I mean, you went out into a very competitive world--
deejaying is not, like, an easy thing to just break into,
especially when you have a different sound...
-What happened to your deejaying? -What? Me deejaying?
-Yeah. -Yeah, I u... I used to deejay.
-I know. -I actually used to create music as well,
and then I sent you a few samples,
-and nothing has... -Ah. -(laughter)
I mean, I'm glad you brought it up, not me.
Um, but I mean, I sent a few.
No one has ever gotten back to me about my...
Is this... is this what I think?
Yeah, I mean, there's nothing in here,
but we can act like we're drinking.
(laughter)
Just to get rid of the awkward situation, but, uh...
But yeah, what, like... what do you hope to achieve
with the music around the world?
You know, because I-I... I've always been intrigued
by the message that you have when you're playing your music.
We see you collaborating with people like Drake.
We see you, you know, uh, people like Usher.
We see... we see artists who you wouldn't even associate
with this genre saying, "No, I love Black Coffee
"because of his message
and how it pertains to music as an art form."
What are you trying to accomplish
all over the world with your music?
Um, A-A-Africa has a voice,
and over the years I feel like that voice has diminished
because of how, um...
the world has painted the continent.
You know, one of the things that used to happen with me,
uh, when I would get bookings back in the day,
they would want to put, like, bongos and African masks
-on the flier. -Wow.
-You know, uh, because I'm from Africa, so... -Right.
We all wear masks and have bongos.
-(laughter) -So...
it's something that we really fought for from the beginning,
to say: Look, we want to play on...
-the global... stage. -Right.
You know, uh, which is what you're doing.
-Right, right, right. -You know, um...
I would like for the world to see that voice.
I would like for the world to know that we are capable,
um, to be on the world stage.
This is why I continue to try and collaborate
with the greatest artists, being from Africa, though,
and still keeping the sound that I believe in,
-Right. -because we have that voice.
You know, so I'm trying to create different platforms
that will showcase that,
not just conversation but with action.
You're doing it every single day, my friend.
-Thank you, sir. -Thank you so much for being on the show.
-(cheering, applause) -The single "LaLaLa" with Usher
is available now.
You want to follow this man, Black Coffee, everybody.