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Background:
A DJ from South Africa who survived a life-altering accident on the evening of Nelson Mandela’s launch, Black Espresso has gone on to headline the world’s largest phases. At BoF VOICES 2025, he talks about reshaping perceptions of the African continent. “In the event you Google an image of Africa, it’s not going to be probably the most constructive image you see,” he says. “To be a DJ in South Africa, it’s one of many hardest issues as a result of virtually each DJ is wonderful. To be a DJ on the worldwide degree is approach more durable as a result of I come from a continent that was, or possibly nonetheless is, not seen as the way it really is.”
In dialog with BoF founder and CEO Imran Amed, Black Espresso traces the work behind international credibility, rejects pigeonholes and shares how he’s opening doorways for the following wave.
Key Insights:
- To compete past South Africa, Black Espresso says he needed to work on the music and the optics of Africa on the worldwide stage. The answer was rigorous self-presentation: “While I used to be rising as a model, style performed a really large function for me. I used to be very acutely aware of how I offered myself,” he says. “The larger the model, the extra intentional I used to be. It took a whole lot of work,” that blend of sound, type and self-discipline underpinned his transition from native star to worldwide headliner.
- The evening Nelson Mandela walked free modified his life ceaselessly. Struck in a crowd by a taxi and left with a nerve injury harm, he channelled his restoration into music and silence into resolve. “[Mandela’s] launch from jail marked the start of a distinct journey for me, the primary day of the start of Black Espresso,” he says. Talking publicly concerning the accident solely years later, he refused pity and insisted on being seen first as a musician with “ardour and love for music.”
- Black Espresso is blunt about structural bias. “On the Grammys, as an alternative of giving Tyla a number-one pop award, they may create a brand new style or class the place it’s finest African,” he says. Reflecting on his personal expertise on the BET Awards, he recounts: “We have been all given our awards on Friday and we weren’t invited on the primary present on Saturday.”
- His recommendation to younger creatives is easy and radical: “Simply hearken to your voice. That voice is the voice that may make you the best.” The mission is just not solely visibility however parity – shifting African expertise from a side-room to the primary stage.
