There’s a new kid-on-the-block and he’s taking BW Amapiano by storm!
Thanks to the boundary-breaking power of TikTok, DJ Harry Cane is already penetrating the South African music market after gaining recognition and collaborating with the likes of Cassper Nyovest and Master KG.
After a lit listening session for his new collaborative EP with DJ La Timmy, Voice Entertainment caught up with the 25-year-old rising star.
Thanks for inviting us to your sesh, the tracks are amazing! We’re dying to know more about the man behind these dope songs. Let’s start with why you’re named after my favourite footballer?
My real name is Anthony Mogomela, born and bred in Francistown, Bluetown to be specific.
We played a lot of football in Bluetown and the guys nicknamed me Cane, mind you, this was before we knew of Harry Kane the English/Tottenham Hotspur footballer.
I met a man we called Mr Bolokang who gave me another nickname, Harry because I apparently resembled Harry Kane.
So, I decided to go by the name Harry Cane and when I went into DJ’ing, I became DJ Harry Cane.
When did you get into music?
It was in 2014, still in Bluetown.
I started off in a band called Ghetto Life Music as the lead vocalist, then I decided to go solo under the mentorship of Mr Disang and Mr Chengeti.
In 2015 I met DJ Rasbanda who introduced me to DJ Colastraw, who signed me under his label in 2016.
Most of my gigs were in bars and parties, but my first big performance was at Toropo ya Muka festival shortly after Colastraw signed me.
I’m told you have a special relationship with Township Rollers midfield maestro, Tsotso Ngele, who I see is here tonight – tell us more about that.
Rasbanda and I took a leap of faith and moved to Gaborone in 2017 where I met more DJs the likes of DJ Chabo and they became my reliable network, which was instrumental in getting me to where I am right now.
Mogakolodi [Ngele] and I met later that year and I introduced him to my sound.
In 2018 we co-founded a record label called MN Entertainment.
Seems you’ve been around for a while, take us through some of your biggest projects.
I have an album called ‘Sunsets’ which was a collaboration between myself and another footballer, Thero Setsile aka Hachi, released in 2021.
In 2022 I met Lesego Masole from Trekkers Entertainment who took me in and became my first Manager.
This year, we released ‘Hokoto’ which featured Cassper Nyovest and HBK Live.
I was then introduced to DJ La Timmy who was also under Trekkers Management and somehow we convinced him to hop onto Amapiano.
How on earth did you convince the Prince of Kwasa Kwasa to get into Amapiano?
It took a lot of convincing, but when you put together my undeniable talent as well as my Manager, Lesego Masole’s unmatched persuasiveness, magic always happens.
We locked ourselves up all winter to work on the EP, which is called ‘Mans and Cane’ and this is the final product; hope you liked it.
I did indeed – so are you and La Timmy a duo now?
Yes, we are Botswana’s own version of Scorpion Kings, La Timmy being Mans and myself being Cane.
Can we talk about social media platforms such as TikTok and how they have helped you as an artist?
Every international collaboration I currently have was because of TikTok.
Cassper Nyovest saw me on TikTok which resulted in the ‘Hokoto’ collaboration, and it was the same case when Master KG reached out to me for the ‘Dubula’ collaboration.
My story is a testimony of how life-changing social media can be for creatives.
What about scammers, weren’t you scared about that?
It did feel ‘too good to be true’ at first, but a bigger part of me was convinced it was legit, so I responded and even went to South Africa for the recording.
Sometimes you just have to take the risk and hope that things turn out well!
What challenges have you encountered in the industry?
At the top of the list is lack of professionalism.
Mind you, this isn’t based on personal experiences but a general observation I have made.
A lot of artists are just excited about the opportunity to hop into the studio to make music and disregard important things such as finalising agreements in a contract and that tends to backfire on them.
Another challenge is that there is a limited market for artist exposure.
Speaking of the limited market for artist exposure, what’s your strategy for countering this?
My manager and I are working overtime to build networks and also international relationships hence the Cassper Nyovest and Master KG collaborations.
Indeed, rumour has it that Master KG has proposed to sign you under his record label Wanitwa Mos, how true is that?
It’s still early stages of our working relationship, but fingers crossed that he considers me.
What are your expectations from Batswana concerning the new EP?
The EP is made up of seven Amapiano songs written in Sesubiya.
It’s a relatively new sound so I hope that Batswana will enjoy it as much as Mans and I do.
Five things people don’t know about you?
1.I am humble
2.I make a lot of jokes
3.I am a hard worker
4.I value people’s opinions
5.I love Chicken Licken