DBN Gogo emerges Spotify’s EQUAL Africa artiste for March

South African Disc Jockey and music producer, Mandisa Radebe, professionally known as “DBN Gogo”, has been announced as Spotify’s EQUAL Africa artiste for the month of March.

Monica Kemoli-Savanne, Spotify’s Artiste and Label Partnerships Manager for East Africa, made this known in a statement in Lagos on Thursday.

Kemoli-Savanne said DBN Gogo was the only artiste in Africa so far to hold the EQUAL Africa ambassadorship twice, describing the development as a testament to her blossoming career.

She noted that DBN Gogo’s year on Spotify just got even more interesting, first announced as part of mint’s Artistes to watch for 2024 alongside Uncle Waffles, HoneyLuv, and others, to now EQUAL Africa’s March Ambassador.

“Spotify has added more than 6,900 women artistes to EQUAL playlists and supported over 1,000 ambassadors in their home countries including South Africa where the March ambassador DBN Gogo is from.

“This support has ranged from editorial to partnerships and marketing.

“How we show up on the continent for women and how we tell their stories is a priority for us, and artistes such as DBN Gogo are presenting positive narratives locally and to the world through EQUAL Africa,” she said.

According to Kemoli-Savanne, EQUAL artistes received 1.3 billion editorial streams within their first month of joining the programme.

She said, in total, the EQUAL hub had generated more than 31 billion editorial streams across 1 billion listening hours.

She said that in 2023 alone, more than 14.8 million artiste discoveries were made through EQUAL playlists, and EQUAL artistses received over 11,800 total editorial playlists add.

ln her response, DBN Gogo said: “Being a part of the EQUAL Africa programme is something I am truly grateful for.

“Being recognised and celebrated as one of the many women pioneering in South Africa music is an honour.

“The industry being male-dominated just exists as a fact in my world, not a barrier to entry. I have set my own standard.”

Revealing the African artistes she grew up listening to, DBN Gogo said “I grew up listening to all the South Africa greats, Boom Shaka, Thebe, Jimmy Dludlu, Malaika.

“The influence of kwaito and Afro-pop is quite heavy in the present dance and Amapiano genre.”

Also, describing her music style, she said: “My style is quite diverse, I wouldn’t say it is one thing. A mixture of Amapiano, 3 step with Gqom as well. I like to experiment.”