Duo aims to heal wounded souls through music

Ngcebo Mdima and Karabo Motlogelwa are living their lifelong dream of being the first SA commercial gay couple to DJ under the stage name The Billionaires.

The dynamic duo has been in the music and publicity scene for the past decade and is responsible for the promotion of some of SA’s celebrity brands such as Prince Kaybee, TNS, Lady Zamar, DJ Ganyani; DJ Bongz, Nomcebo and Zakes Bantwini.

Being members of the LGBTQI+ community, the couple’s vision is to heal souls and hearts that are wounded when they play on stage.

They recently dropped their afro house single Yok’ba which features Toshi and Mzux Maen.

Who are The Billionaires?

Motlogelwa: We are a couple who is venturing into the DJing space. We met in 2016 and fell in love with each other and started dating. I have been living and loving Ngcebo for the past six years.

How did the name come about?

Motlogelwa: We wanted a name that would be catchy and easy for people to remember. We also wanted to align with the name so that one day we are real billionaires. So, we’re trying to manifest in the name. We also thought of brand alignment – when they see the name Billionaires, they must think premium, hence we chose the name.

How did you get into the world of public relations and publicity?

Mdima: I am from KwaMashu in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. Over a decade ago I came to Johannesburg to pursue entertainment. I started as an intern at Isidingo and worked my way up as an assistant director. But I felt that I didn’t belong in doing television publicity work, so I redirected my vision into music. I contacted DJ Ganyani and asked to work with him as his publicist because I wanted to learn more about music.

He responded so positively and from there I ended up promoting more names. Karabo shortly joined in the artists' reputation but somehow earlier this year I had a feeling that he and I should start our own thing as DJs judging from the amount of PR and marketing we’ve done for so many big names.

Four months ago we started learning how to DJ and also started learning the ropes of registering our music on Risa. Now we have a single that’s blazing the airwaves.  

Having had exposure in the public relations world for the past 10 years, why are you venturing into DJing?

Motlogelwa: We chose music to connect with people and we are doing so through music. We didn’t want to just be stuck in the studio doing music but we wanted to produce music that will allow us to interact with the crowd, and feel and heal them on the dance floors.

Mdima: Karabo and I are spiritually inclined. We like to see people get moved and taken by the music. We love seeing their bodies in motion spiritually through our music and connecting with them on that level.

Why is it important to highlight the fact that you are a gay couple in the DJing space?

Motlogelwa: We want to show people that there is another side to the LGBTQIA+ community. We can be a couple that works together in unity and not in competition as we are portrayed in society.

Gay couples are often shown in a negative light, so with us being on a DJing platform, we hope to change the narrative that our relationships and love never lasts.

Mdima: I believe it’s time to embrace and support each other. It’s not all about competition but shining together.

seemelam@arena.africa