House music maestro DJ Cleo declares that he is ready to settle down and proclaims that he might have found 'the one'.
At age 36, Cleo reveals to Sowetan LIVE that he's ready to make an honest woman of his girlfriend. Cleo opted to keep mum on her name, only referring to her metaphorically as 'flower'.
According to Cleo, her vernacular name translates to flower in English, thus he tattooed a flower on his inner upper arm to pay homage to the lucky lady.
"My girlfriend's name means flower. She's the one. Putting a flower [tattoo], is safer than putting her name [Laughs]," Cleo jokingly remarks.
"I'm happy with 'flower'. The relationship is going hundreds. I'm at that stage where I'm thinking of plucking the flower and going to plant it elsewhere within our clan and make it official."
Cleo also opens up about his three kids, two girls and a boy.
"The kids are hundreds also. I just try to protect my family by not mentioning them in the media. It has worked for us. I'm a good dad," Cleo adds.
Working with Mmatema Moremi
On the last season of Idols SA, Cleo penned and produced finalist Mmatema Moremi's debut single Because Of You – a female empowerment anthem. He says he fell in love with Mmatema's voice during the Top 16 stage of the singing competition show and started to be vocal about it on social media. As fate would have it, he was then asked to work closely with Mmatema on her freshman single.
Although he is proud of the song, Cleo insists that he wished they could have been given more time to work on the song and tweak certain aspects he felt were flawed.
"If I had more time that song would have sounded differently. We were given like three days," Cleo points out.
Cleo mentions that he has remained in touch with Mmatema and would like to work with her in the future. However, he says don't expect a collaboration between them anytime soon, since Mmatema is caught up in a lot of tedious 'contractual red tape'
"She's not a free agent. She belongs to someone else. That's why she doesn't have a video. That's why you don't see her on TV. There is contractual red tape to say she can't even be seen out there, because it's conflicting with her contract. Basically all the spotlight must be on the winner for six months and then she can do whatever," Cleo explains.
Professional soccer star
Two years ago, Cleo opted to take a music break and ventured into the world of professional football.
"I'd say 2014 was a bad year. I went into football unarmed. I didn't have an agent. I was ridiculed by the media and by everyone. To this day some of the publications would start a paragraph as 'failed soccer player what-what'. It doesn't bother me. I know I'm a success story. The soccer led to other great things," Cleo maintains.
"I wanted to do what my heart wanted. Not what you want, not what my neighbour wants and not what my followers on Twitter want."
Cleo affirms that soccer has always been his calling. In fact, he holds that soccer came first before music. He says his professional footballer phase circa 2014 wasn't a complete waste of time. He explains that he started with an amateur team and ended up going through three PSL teams - Bidvest Wits, Moroka Swallows and Tuks.
Losing his father
In December last year, DJ Cleo lost his dad Samuel Monyepao following a battle with diabetes. He says this dark period strengthened his relationship with his mother.
"It was a very painful experience. I'm not sure if I have dealt with it. I'm a guy you know and we have this thing that guys don't cry. I shed a tear or two, but I didn't cry. Even the funeral reminded me how torn families are. There were lots of talks."
The conversation then shifts to his relationship with his younger brother. Cleo divulges that although there is no animosity between the two of them, they are quite estranged.
"He's weird. He's an ideal child, educated. But we don't connect at all. He doesn't call. He doesn't return calls. We can go for two years without speaking. It bothered me to a point were I had to accept that this is how he is and I can't change him," Cleo shares his frustrations.
The year of the Lection
This year Cleo says he's focused on turning Hip Hop newcomer Lection, currently promoting his latest single Cava Senzani, into a household name. After 16 years making music, in September last year, Cleo dropped his long-awaited comeback album Eskhaleni 10.
The 12-track album features the acclaimed DJ Clock, Generations: The Legacy actress Letoya Makhene and Idol SA alumni Musa Sukwene.
Through his sports management and scouting agency DCF Sports, two of his biggest soccer players are Innocent Nemukondeni and Dalyan Hawes.
Below, watch Cleo explain the meaning behind his body art:
DJ Cleo ready to settle down
House music maestro DJ Cleo declares that he is ready to settle down and proclaims that he might have found 'the one'.
At age 36, Cleo reveals to Sowetan LIVE that he's ready to make an honest woman of his girlfriend. Cleo opted to keep mum on her name, only referring to her metaphorically as 'flower'.
According to Cleo, her vernacular name translates to flower in English, thus he tattooed a flower on his inner upper arm to pay homage to the lucky lady.
"My girlfriend's name means flower. She's the one. Putting a flower [tattoo], is safer than putting her name [Laughs]," Cleo jokingly remarks.
"I'm happy with 'flower'. The relationship is going hundreds. I'm at that stage where I'm thinking of plucking the flower and going to plant it elsewhere within our clan and make it official."
Cleo also opens up about his three kids, two girls and a boy.
"The kids are hundreds also. I just try to protect my family by not mentioning them in the media. It has worked for us. I'm a good dad," Cleo adds.
Working with Mmatema Moremi
On the last season of Idols SA, Cleo penned and produced finalist Mmatema Moremi's debut single Because Of You – a female empowerment anthem. He says he fell in love with Mmatema's voice during the Top 16 stage of the singing competition show and started to be vocal about it on social media. As fate would have it, he was then asked to work closely with Mmatema on her freshman single.
Although he is proud of the song, Cleo insists that he wished they could have been given more time to work on the song and tweak certain aspects he felt were flawed.
"If I had more time that song would have sounded differently. We were given like three days," Cleo points out.
Cleo mentions that he has remained in touch with Mmatema and would like to work with her in the future. However, he says don't expect a collaboration between them anytime soon, since Mmatema is caught up in a lot of tedious 'contractual red tape'
"She's not a free agent. She belongs to someone else. That's why she doesn't have a video. That's why you don't see her on TV. There is contractual red tape to say she can't even be seen out there, because it's conflicting with her contract. Basically all the spotlight must be on the winner for six months and then she can do whatever," Cleo explains.
Professional soccer star
Two years ago, Cleo opted to take a music break and ventured into the world of professional football.
"I'd say 2014 was a bad year. I went into football unarmed. I didn't have an agent. I was ridiculed by the media and by everyone. To this day some of the publications would start a paragraph as 'failed soccer player what-what'. It doesn't bother me. I know I'm a success story. The soccer led to other great things," Cleo maintains.
"I wanted to do what my heart wanted. Not what you want, not what my neighbour wants and not what my followers on Twitter want."
Cleo affirms that soccer has always been his calling. In fact, he holds that soccer came first before music. He says his professional footballer phase circa 2014 wasn't a complete waste of time. He explains that he started with an amateur team and ended up going through three PSL teams - Bidvest Wits, Moroka Swallows and Tuks.
Losing his father
In December last year, DJ Cleo lost his dad Samuel Monyepao following a battle with diabetes. He says this dark period strengthened his relationship with his mother.
"It was a very painful experience. I'm not sure if I have dealt with it. I'm a guy you know and we have this thing that guys don't cry. I shed a tear or two, but I didn't cry. Even the funeral reminded me how torn families are. There were lots of talks."
The conversation then shifts to his relationship with his younger brother. Cleo divulges that although there is no animosity between the two of them, they are quite estranged.
"He's weird. He's an ideal child, educated. But we don't connect at all. He doesn't call. He doesn't return calls. We can go for two years without speaking. It bothered me to a point were I had to accept that this is how he is and I can't change him," Cleo shares his frustrations.
The year of the Lection
This year Cleo says he's focused on turning Hip Hop newcomer Lection, currently promoting his latest single Cava Senzani, into a household name. After 16 years making music, in September last year, Cleo dropped his long-awaited comeback album Eskhaleni 10.
The 12-track album features the acclaimed DJ Clock, Generations: The Legacy actress Letoya Makhene and Idol SA alumni Musa Sukwene.
Through his sports management and scouting agency DCF Sports, two of his biggest soccer players are Innocent Nemukondeni and Dalyan Hawes.
Below, watch Cleo explain the meaning behind his body art:
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