From as early as her pre-school years, she excelled in pageantry, musical theatres and other artistic extramural activities.
By the time she was out of high school, she had already made up her mind on studying media holistically. This is when she discovered that she’s driven by music. Before she knew it, she was into events coordinating, pursuing DJing as a career.
Starting off, Nomalanga Mabena became an MC and radio presenter at her local town radio station, Emalahleni FM and her provincial station, Rise FM.
Because she has always been a caring and motherly figure in her friend group, her friends called her mommy but to spice it up, it turned into Mami which then became her stage name – DJ Mami.
“My journey officially started during the Covid lockdown, I did my DJing lessons then and got my first gig when the country’s restrictions eased up on SABC 1’s Get Together Experience that was in 2020,” she tells Drum.
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Ever since then, the Witbank-born DJ has won the award for being the most influential brand in Mpumalanga which she obtained at a provincial music workshop.
“That one is the closest accolade to my heart that I’ve achieved because this will inspire more females that it’s possible and me attaining it was because of my hard work and dedication in my brand while helping others too.”
The producer and voice-over artist is now an ambassador of the All White Music Festival taking place in Mpumalanga on 4 November.
“I’m really humbled because it shows that my brand has grown to a level where influence is top tier in what I do and that I do them giving hope to creatives across all platforms that we can achieve anything while still working with what we have in our province,” she says.
Along her journey, she has stumbled upon a number of challenges.
However, her biggest has been the need to motivate herself and stay consistent in her work.
“It’s a day-to-day struggle of not giving up no matter how you feel.”
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“I want to have my own music, have gigs globally and a DJing school. I’m inspired by the fact that I’m not close to where I want to be so with that I keep going, thriving and pushing.”
As the third born in her family, she has received all the support she can imagine. For this reason, she says she celebrates her wins with her parents and spoils them rotten.
To everyone who aspires to be a DJ, she shares that the perfect time to work towards your dreams is now.
“In anything, start with where you and with what you have, and the rest will follow. There will never be a right time to start and also if you can do that thing at 3am in the morning at ease then you’ve definitely chosen the right career that you genuinely and trust me, money will also follow."
