He recently found himself on the wrong side of the Twitter trends.
He's often praised for his music and giving new artists opportunities. But when he started promoting getting vaccinated on his Twitter page, some – including anti-vaxxers – were not impressed.
And then he went on to DJ at a packed gig and faced even more backlash.
But the Afrotainment record label owner, DJ Tira, stands by his views that people should get vaccinated.
"Get vaccinated, December is coming," he captioned a video of himself getting vaccinated a week ago.
Get vaccinated. December is coming. pic.twitter.com/A2CWcbMxNi
— 21 Years of Dj Tira (@DJTira) July 27, 2021
To some, this sounded more like an instruction than a suggestion and they were not happy.
Others thought he must be getting paid for a government campaign as he went on to post, (in a now deleted tweet), “Fact Durban Rocks 2021. No vaccination, no entry,” on the same day.
Durban Rocks is an annual event held in December that attracts party-goers from all over the country.
DJ Tira tells Drum that he has not changed his mind about what he said. But he doesn't want to be drawn further on the matter.
"I don't want to comment. I just want us to focus our energy on asking people to get vaccinated. That's what I care about," he tells us.
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The muso says he believes getting everyone vaccinated is the only way to get our lives back to normal, especially for those in entertainment who have not been performing and making money for the last 16 months.
"That's what I think will help the economy to get stronger."
A video of DJ Tira deejaying at The Cosmopolitan Lounge in Maboneng Precinct, Johannesburg at the weekend has fuelled even more controversy around him.
In the video, the venue looks full to capacity, no one is wearing masks and there's no social distancing.
While yap yapping about my name don't forget I don't own a venue, I'm a Dj I get booked to come and perform, get paid and go home. Be responsible and remove yourself from places that may be a danger to your health. Makoya Bearings #RockstarForever 21 Years of greatness ???? pic.twitter.com/fNbgEa4RzE
— 21 Years of Dj Tira (@DJTira) August 2, 2021
"It's really hard. We don't know what to do anymore.
"Hence the tweet the other day to push vaccines as a way to bringing back events but then most people don't want to get vaccinated," he says.
"We continue to suffer. It's a huge struggle. And for the record I don't own a venue, I go to an event to perform and leave. I don't have control of people wearing masks."
