Let DJ Zinhle rock you!

Dannhauser born, Zinhle Jiyane is a female house music DJ who is making people dance to her tune. If you’ve never believed the saying, being in the right place at the right time, then this DJ is proof enough. It’s been only a few years since Zinhle got into the DJing world, but already she has become one of the few female DJs who has so far created a good image and name for herself.
Zinhle’s love for DJing started in 2004 when she’d mess around with her brother’s DJing sound system he co-own with his friends. Like a joke, her first unofficial gig was when she went to an event with her brother to help set up the sound system. After everything was setup, the DJ who was billed to play was late. Zinhle then stepped to the stage and played a few house songs while waiting for the DJ.
This was the beginning of a promising DJing career! Soon after she finished playing, those attending the event started calling her a DJ – and the sister just rode the waves. But for someone of her age, already she’s being associated with heavyweights DJs like Oscar ‘Oskdio’ Mdlongwa. But wait… What is it that Zinhle did to get her name out?
She said back then when she started, females were not confident enough and didn’t have a strong belief that they could rock like any DJ. “I think when I started; I decided that I would be in everyone’s face, I wanted to be everywhere and be in front of the right people.” Zinhle said being where one wants to be is about networking, projecting one self in the right direction and having confidence in what one does. “We are female DJs and we have a point to prove.”
Commenting on the challenges she faced as she was building up her career, she said one challenge that caused a lot of headaches was not being given a chance to showcase her capabilities. “People don’t have faith in female DJs; we quite often get undermined because people think we are not capable of doing what male DJs do.”
Talking about the strategies she has used to break into the industry, she said when she began with her mission she realized that there was an opportunity to blow up immediately – especially if doing it the right way. What right way was she referring to? For Zinhle, she realized that to get where she wanted to be she would firstly need an opportunity to DJ and as soon as she got that she had to then network with the relevant people.
So far, the DJ said she has created an image that people are able to associate with good things. She has strived to always make people relate her name with quality. “I don’t want people to say ohhh its DJ Zinhle, she’s looking great today. I want them to say, it’s DJ Zinhle and she’s definitely going to rock.” She said people must not feel pity for female DJs; they need to expect the best from them because there is nothing different with what they are doing than what males do.
There is no doubt that Zinhle has capitalized on what has come her way, and on that route she met Oskido, who she still works with to this stage. Though working with Oskido has opened many doors for this DJ, above all, she has the talent; she can work the crowd with her DJing and song selection skills. “I’ve managed to build a foundation for myself; I always apply quality to my work because it pays my bills. I’ve managed to convince people that I’m good at what I do because I know I do it to my best.”