Weekend Turn Up

Weekend Turn Up meets the King of Gqom … DJ Lag

Let’s go, fam! Let’s meet the one and only DJ Lag, powered by adidas. Exclusive, online and up close. One of the original pioneers and creators of the unique gqom sound coming out of Durban, DJ Lag (real name Lwazi Asanda Gwala, born in Clermont in 1995) has been on the scene since 2013. After a quiet start, he found his genre – or rather helped birth it – bringing gqom to the world’s attention and putting a whole new music genre in the playlists and on the platforms. He…

Weekend Turn Up interviews Yashna International – and all we can say is “Yass, Yashna, yass!”

Multi-genre singer/songwriter Yashna International, queen of boss energy, hates coffee and heels – but loves music and has a passion for her craft that you have to respect when you realise the many successes she achieved despite the challenges. Weekend Turn Up never found out why she couldn’t live without coffee, but the heels thing makes sense when you know the reason behind it. “Life would be so much better if there was no pressure of having these heels,” she says – and tortured toes and cramping calves around the…

Weekend Turn Up, powered by adidas, chats with Clout Internet Boyz

Clout Internet Boyz is a five-member group from Durban, with friendships and beginnings that started in high school. The crew is shaking things up on the hip hop/rap circuit there, here, where you are and on streaming channels. Core members of the squad are Brawley, Alone, LeoDaLeo, Votron and SoulKit who, together with other collaborators and guest artists (including ex-crew member Blxckie, of course) drop like there’s no tomorrow feeding those channels and fans with their unique sound and content. Watching our exclusive interview, you’ll soon spot the differences in…

MC Reggie works hard – and laughs harder. An exclusive interview from Weekend Turn Up

Weekend Turn Up’s interview with MC Reggie didn’t exactly go as planned. It was way more fun. Five things he can’t live without? Seven, actually – but gotta love his enthusiasm. And his optimism. And his work ethic, which would kill-off anyone less committed and energetic. This Durban musician is a prolific song dropper. And he’s totally independent: no co-signs or record label to account to. He’s in total control of all his work, shoots his own videos and arranges his own events. Respect. Even though Durban/KZN seems to be…

Priddy Prince is on the block. A Weekend Turn Up exclusive interview

New rapper on the block – Priddy Prince aka Lil Giant (real name Elias Domingos) – powered by adidas, is driving everyone crazy with his hip hop/rap lyrics and talent. Born in Cape Town in 2005, he started rapping at the age of seven. Inspired by his older brother – who continues to inspire him, “he got me” – he decided to pursue hip hop as a career. The internet has helped many local artists get discovered, especially during lockdown. Priddy Prince became noticed in July 2020, a month before…

Kiki x Chucky talks exclusively to Weekend Turn Up. Let’s go!

Kiki x Chucky has always been a performer. His music crushed it at crèche, performed in every end of year concert throughout his school days and knew for sure that this was going to be his life journey. So ‘scuse his ego, it’s been a long, self-managed ride from being a little kid with a big name (Liam Michael Jordhan Marsh) in kindergarten to becoming a sportscene 2020 Put Me On finalist and going on to be acknowledged as the hardest rager in South Africa. The Johannesburg-born lyricist is acclaimed…

Role model Miss Pru got it all – by herself, and on her own terms

Powered by adidas, Weekend Turn Up interviewed Miss Pru (Prudence Sebalo), an award-winning, self-created, self-managed DJ, radio show host, singer, songwriter, producer and business woman. If ever an aspiring artist wanted a role model, they need look no further than Miss Pru. Born in Sedibeng, in the Vaal Triangle, she was influenced by music from an early age, jazz in particular, although the genre that she makes music for right now is hip hop. But not the US/gold chains kind of vibes, “I bring an African element, an African influence…

031 Goats – how can they be this hot when they’re chillin’?

Weekend Turn Up interviewed 031 Goats to check out what’s behind their energy and innovation and found that each of them is motivated by different reasons. Yet it all comes together seamlessly in their work because they’re all on the same mission: to be remembered forever, worldwide, as people who revolutionised the dance and music industry. This power squad from Durban broke out from the Gqom and house scene to elevate the hip hop and dance game. And Aylo, Tayo & Zile have already left a permanent impression on urban…

MajorSteez – Weekend Turn Up meets the “next up” hip hop majors – Powered by adidas

It takes years to become an overnight sensation – something this hip hop and R&B duo learned the hard way. Currently acclaimed as “the new faces of new wave”, “the next best hip hop duo”, etc, MajorSteez has actually been around since 2015 (originally as a trio), paying their dues and putting in the work. Brothers Sihle and Sandile Mabena gained traction with Lies, featuring Costa Titch and Uncle Vinny; Slime – with Blxckie and a short shot from The Big Hash – then went insanely viral with Asbonge, in…

Weekend Turn Up meets up with Sbahle SA – the powered by adidas socials sensation

You know how some voices just wrap their arms around you and you don’t want them to ever let you go? How some verses tell a story that could be yours? Come with us and meet Sbahle SA (real name Sbahle Cele) and you’ll get plenty of both. The first artist to be signed last year (2020) by Blaq Diamond’s label, Umuthi Records, the Umlazi-born singer has been singing since she was in primary school. And experience tells. She spent years performing covers of other singer’s songs – impressively, she’s…