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Ntombezinhle Jiyane mostly known to South Africans as 'DJ Zinhle' has been a DJ in South Africa for 15 years. Mzansi first fell in-love with her when she released a hit - 'My Name Is' - alongside Busiswa Gqulu in 2012, she has been never looked back since then and has been doing great things. To date, she still is recognized as one of the best female DJs in South Africa. We take a trip into her life before she was famous.
1.DJ Zinhle was born in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in Dannhauser and growing up she had to walk to fetch water and used candles at home, she says that this was just how her upbringing was like. Both her mother and father were teachers, this instilled a great value for education in her.
2.In 2002, she moved to Johannesburg to study, her initial plan was to study Sports Management (since she was quite an athlete growing up) but upon arrival she was told that the course was full. Advised by her friend, she took Marketing Management instead. She registered in 2002 and graduated in 2004, top of her class! Yes, she was that good!
3.One shocking thing about DJ Zinhle is that, during her college days, never for once did she visit a club. It was only after her final paper in college that she went to a club. This is surprising, considering the fact that she is now a DJ, not just any DJ but one of the best in Mzansi. You might be wondering how she ended up a DJ, well, her brother Zakele (Zak) was a music lover and he used to de-stress through mixing vinyls. It was from there that DJ Zinhle started falling in love with music, her brother showed her how to mix , she practised quite often and she finally blossomed.
4. After her graduation, DJ Zinhle worked for Clearance which specialised in make-up then, this is a job that she she says she did not enjoy. She was a tomboy and did not understand the whole point behind applying make-up. It was during this time that she also taught Marketing at the University Of Johannesburg. In pursuit of finding 'the dream job', she had to go for 7 interviews at South African Breweries, it was only then that she was offered the position of brand manager.
5.DJ Zinhle actually tried out presenting and acting (on etv's Rhythm City) and in her own words, she says she "sucked". She says that she knows now that that is not for her, she is a DJ by heart, through and through.
DJ Zinhle is passionate about women empowerment and we are happy to see her doing amazing things, she opened up an academy for female DJs - FUSE Academy - which is aimed at empowering talented young women to become DJs. We are proud of her and we look forward to seeing more of her great work. May this Queen continue to shine her light up high!