DJ Sbu on how he's still on top of his game

For more than two decades, DJ Sbu's name has remained on people's lips – whether as a TV and radio broadcaster, musician and branching out into business. Real name Sibusiso Leope, along the way, he has come back from public scandals and controversies.

He said his listeners have grown with him over the years.

"It’s been amazing. My listeners on Radio 2000 are the grown version of the listeners I had at YFM years ago, I called it the 'grown YFM'. The people who listen to me are the same people who listened to me at YFM. But we are now parents, we’ve got children and we’re all grown up with responsibilities," he told Sowetan.

Known as a hustler and someone who pushes the boundary, DJ Sbu said he had to develop a tough skin over the years.  

"I’m humbled because I’m the type of person who will try things and if they fail, I move on. I never get attached to things that I build, I’m not afraid to fail. Having been in the public eye for so many years, I’m not embarrassed about what people are going to say," he said.

He attributed his hustling spirit to his mother.

"I grew up seeing her push her cleaning service business. She’d gather up women in the neighbourhood and would buy them uniforms for a tender she received. In between tenders, she’d have another hustle where she’d have a fast food business as well as a salon. Your children don’t do as you say but as you do. So, from an early age, my mother was and always has been the best symbol of a hustler," he explained.

Asked about his entrepreneurship journey and where it's headed, DJ Sbu said his experience has been humbling especially for someone who started businesses when it wasn’t as fashionable as it is right now. 

"[My partner and I] knew that we were in for a challenge. We were discouraged, we were told to change the flavour [of MoFaya], the can or the logo. We were highly criticised, [no one seemed to have faith in us], but with all of those challenges and resistance, it's amazing to see when people [finally] believe," he said.

"As entrepreneurs, we tend to see things that other people don’t see yet. Our job is to convince them by doing the work – if you convince them verbally, a lot of them won’t get it. They need to see and believe in the thing that you’re trying to make them buy into. So keeping at it, even when no one believes in it, is very important."

The Remember When It Rained hitmaker said he'd want to be remembered for fulfilling the meaning of his name, Sibusiso, a blessing that becomes a blessing to others.

"I don’t need to force anyone to remember me because my music won’t die ... it’ll be there as a reminder of the man that never stopped dreaming," he said.