DJ Cleo

Good news for house music fans is that producer extraordinaire, "All Star" DJ Cleo, has released his debut album.

This is after he blazed a trail on the kwaito, house and hip hop scenes producing Mandoza, Mzekezeke, Pitch Black Afro, RJ Benjamin, Jeff Maluleke, Brown Dash, Zola, Nana Coyote, Platform One, Adilah and Doc Shebeleza.

The album, entitled, ES'KHALENI has 12 pumping original tracks and is also produced by DJ Cleo. "This album is long overdue. I started running out of space on the computer since I did the first song in 2001! There is a high demand for it from my fans," he says.

ES'KHALENI features a remix of "Go on Living Your Life" by the legendary Stimela. The second track is "Batlokwa," which is the tribe that DJ Cleo belongs to. RJ Benjamin lends his excellent vocals on three of the tracks.

"The rest of the tracks are my interpretation of what the dancefloor really needs," he says.

DJ Cleo started off as a DJ for Ashifa Shabba's Club Y Show on YFM in 2000. In a mere four years he has become one of the most in-demand producers in South Africa.

He was also instrumental in producing and defining The Unrestricted Breakfast Show hosted by DJ Fresh on YFM. DJ Cleo left YFM and started record company Will of Steel Productions in 2002. His first artist was Pitch Black Afro, whose debut album Styling Gel was produced by him and has become the biggest selling SA hip-hop album of all time.

For the last two years he has produced The SAMA Song of the Year, a category that is voted for by the public. He is very popular in clubs around the country having built up a good reputation as a DJ. DJ Cleo can mix kwaito, house and hip hop with the greatest of ease. He has DJ'ed in the USA and the UK. —Courtesy Calabash Music