Mellow and Sleazy have pushed against all odds to become SA's most coveted amapiano duos, having been raised in rough neighborhoods rife with crime, drugs and violence. 

Real names Phemelo Sefanyetse and Olebogeng Kwanaite, the stars are from Soshanguve and Ga-Rankuwa, in Tshwane, respectively. They stepped into the music industry at the beginning of the pandemic and they have since rose to superstardom. It's all thanks to their collaborations with DJ Maphorisa, Felo Le Tee, Focalistic and Young Stunna. Their hits include Nkao Tempela, Salary Salary and Chipi ke Chipi.

“I met Mellow at tertiary two years ago. I have always been into music production and creating beats. Before amapiano, I used to produce trap songs and a bit of kasi hip-hop. One day I was hanging out with my friends and Mellow happened to be there because we both liked trap, we sort of clicked,” Sleazy, 21, shares.

“Our love for music grew as we spent time together. We ultimately decided we needed to form a group in the amapiano space. We then hit one of our friends up and asked if we could use his makeshift studio. We recorded a few amapaino songs that never saw the light of day.

“We continued making songs until we mastered our skills. Late 2020, we knew we were ready for the world to hear our jams and somehow we became an instant hit."

Late last year, the pair started noticing how influential their sound was becoming. They were not only performing in SA but across borders and all the way in the UK.

“It is very important for us to keep doing what we do because that takes us off the streets and away from doing things that would land us in prison or cost us our lives. We chose to do something that doesn’t find us against the law,” 20-year-old Mellow says.

“When we first started, we knew we had to get a huge following on social media for people to stream our music online. We would host virtual performances and when the country opened we started getting booked for gigs. We recently did a gig in the UK and to think boys from townships of Pretoria would be making it this big is still mind-blowing to me."

With their faces now easily recognisable, Mellow and Sleazy can't even make it to their local shopping centre without being recognised.

“Where ever we go, people know us. We often stay indoors when we are visiting our families back in Pretoria. We can’t even go to the spaza shop without fans ambushing us or demanding our attention,” Mellow says.

Away from the spotlight, the duo are homebodies who enjoy making music and evolving their sound.

Mellow is an introvert who prefers to keep to himself, while Sleazy is the social butterfly.

“We want to see ourselves grow bigger than what we are right now. We plan to start collaborating with Nigerian stars because Afrobeats is where the future sound is at,” says Sleazy.