“If opening up the industry was a person, it would definitely be DJ Dimplez.”

These are the words of the DJ’s booking agent, Cindy Nyamakazi, as she paid tribute to the fallen star.

DJ Dimplez, real name Tumi Mooi, passed away on Sunday after suffering a sudden brain haemorrhage, which is a type of stroke. 

The death of the hip hop DJ and businessman this past Sunday rocked Mzansi a week after another hip hop star, Riky Rick, was laid to rest. 

“In the past years of working together, Nyamakazi said Dimplez had used his popular hip hop concert Pop Bottles as a platform to put upcoming artists on a bigger stage. That's  why he ran varying competitions to find the stars of Mzansi,” she said. 

“He elevated young recording artists who are not known within the industry. So what Pop Bottles would do is host competitions and then we pick people that we think are ready to be on the stage,” Nyamakazi said

She said DJ Dimplez had always been passionate about opening up the industry.

“I remember one of the competitions we had, we hosted Moja Cafe, Costa Titch was there, SBK and Touchline were there who all went on to be recognised acts in the country,” said Nyamakazi. 

DJ Dimplez organised that after each win the artists would not only perform on the Pop Bottle’s stages but also record their music with well-established artists in the country, one of which was Gemini Major. 

“Costa is a perfect example of this. Once he won, he performed on the stage, which turned into one of his biggest performances ever. And that is where he was actually spotted by Riky Rick,” she said. 

Nyamakazi adds that DJ Dimplez went on to feature the upcoming artists on his last album Kubu. 

“He was trying to get the kids to not only know the music side but the business side too, which is important in growing within this industry,” she said. 

R&B and hip hop artist Faith K, who signed with Warner Music SA, said she could confidently attribute her big moves to Dimplez. 

Faith K said she was introduced to him randomly at a club through a mutual friend during a time when she was doing events and considering music her side hustle.

“I worked with him on Pop Bottles and because he was so approachable, I sent him one of my songs and he was immediately excited to work with me,” said Faith K. 

“He immediately became my mentor and a friend. His death is a huge loss to all those who are upcoming because he really looked out for us.”

Memorial and funeral arrangements are yet to be announced.