Africa report
South Africa: Black Coffee back home with a Grammy
Audio 02:31
DJ Black Coffee live in Soweto.
Sacred best electronic album and crowned with a Grammy in Las Vegas for his album Subconsciously.
Back home, the DJ decided to give a series of concerts in South Africa.
© RFI/Claire Bargelès
By: Claire Bargelès Follow
3 mins
Back home for South African Black Coffee, after winning his first Grammy on the Las Vegas stage earlier this week for his album
Subconsciously
.
To celebrate, the South African star is performing across the country all weekend, in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
On Friday night, he was in Soweto, cheered on by his fans.
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From our correspondent in Johannesburg,
Before going on stage, Black Coffee, crowned with his victory at the Grammy's, is welcomed as a hero in the parking lot of this concert hall.
For the DJ with square glasses and a well-trimmed beard, this return to the country was necessary.
“
It's really nice to be home, because this is where I feel at home.
We have such a culture of
house music
, one of the biggest in the world, so performing here is always a lot of joy, but also challenges.
But I love it!
I said yes for a lot of sets this weekend, to be able to mix well at home before leaving
, ”he confides.
Despite modest origins and an accident in his teens that left his left hand paralyzed, Nkosinathi Maphumulo, his real name, has built a career and become an icon of South African house music.
At 46, the DJ was honored in Las Vegas for
Subconsciously
, best electronic album of the year, on which he collaborated with big names like David Guetta and Pharrell Williams.
He became the first African to win a Grammy in this category.
His journey also inspires Natefo, 19, who came to see him mix.
“
I'm here to celebrate Black Coffee, we're so proud of him!
The world is now hearing about South African music, and what local DJs and artists are capable of
.
There are other young people who look up to Black Coffee and think that if he was able to win a Grammy, they can also do it with hard work.
So I think it opens new doors.
»
Subconsciously
had however been criticized here, as being too international and commercial.
But for long-time fan Sibusiso, it's what makes South African music so popular today.
“
Yes, it's more international, but that's the goal.
He wants to take this
house music
to the next level, and have it heard every day on TV.
Me, I say that you have to be open, to work with other artists
.
South Africa can become a real music library if Black Coffee continues like this.
»
So far, almost all of the seven Grammys won by South Africans have been awarded in the "World Music" category.
But Black Coffee wanted the continent to be represented in other categories as well.
“
I have always been very critical of the way we are grouped, as Africans, into these categories, created to compete with each other.
On this continent, we have the talent to compete with the best in the world,
he assures us.
No need to limit ourselves.
So this album in particular, I knew I wanted to do it that way, so that it wouldn't be possible for anyone to put me in a “
world music
” or African
category .
»
The South African stopover will be short-lived for the now international DJ, as he is expected by next month to mix in Ibiza.
►
To read also: Grammy Awards: three big winners, the duo Silk Sonic, Olivia Rodrigo and Jon Batiste
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