Entertainers must work together - DJ Tendaness

At 19-years of age he has made a name for himself in the local entertainment industry by scooping two consecutive Tihlabani Awards for Best DJ.

He has also won a trip to the UK after winning the Sprite DJ Competition where he got to watch Black Eyed Peace among other international stars.

This is none other than the young hip hop spinner DJ Tendaness, real name Tatenda Mandaza, who lives with his parents at Ezulwini but currently stays with his grandmother at Nkoyoyo just outside the capital city.

During the Tihlabani Awards Tendaness was competing against much acclaimed spinners in DJ Toxic and Stitch.

"I did not expect to win this time around more so because I had won in the previous one and the competition was tight," he said in his deep voice.

"Swaziland has got talent my brother, no doubt about that," he continued.

"However, we still have a lot of work to do in improving our entertainment industry. It is very much fun I must say but we still have a long to go in getting people to appreciate Swazis as main acts," he noted.

Tendaness believes that Swazis need to work together under one roof in mutual support if that is to be achieved as we are a small country.

"However, I strongly believe that we still need international stars for our local gigs something which not only pulls a huge crowd but also benefits us locals in terms of local entertainers’ profiles," he elaborated .

Speaking about how he started manning the turntables he says it all started when he was in high school.

"This was in 2006/7 when I developed an interest in becoming a DJ from a friend of mine. However, he never took it seriously but it became a part of me and took it up thus far," he continued.

Tendaness, at the moment, is pushing his mix tapes through internet where he is marketing his craft internationally.

"I’m getting a lot of recognition judging from the number of downloads and hits online," he proudly declares.

The hip hop maestro is also working with Swazi Jive on the upcoming Hypnotik Hip Hop festival which is set for House on Fire in June.

He will also be performing at the Bushfire Festival wherein during his set all Swazi artists selected to perform at the hip hop festival will be announced.

The spinner who is a former Waterford College student describes himself as someone who is an extrovert and opens up very well when with people he knows.

"I am also an outgoing person who loves fun and definitely can’t live without music. I also love ladies," he says with a broad smile.

"I love a lady who takes care of herself. She’s got to have nice body features-you what it is, (laughs), a beautiful face and a good personality," he says.

The opposite of that is what Tendaness considers a huge turn off.

If there are things Tenderness just cannot live without, he says, is his laptop, midi controller (for dee-jaying), cellphone, his collection of caps, and family and friends.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: