Sony Music Entertainment Africa announces the key appointment of Lutendo Kungoane, famously known as DJ Sliqe, as the Head of Hip Hop/R&B at Sony Music Entertainment South Africa. About the appointment, Managing Director of Sony Music Entertainment Africa, Sean Watson, commented: “There’s an amazing quality about a creative like Sliqe’s choice to join us. It’s about his vision for the music he loves and where he can make the most difference from for his fellow artists. It’s apparent he wants to invest his time and energy in making a difference for his music community out of a role in A&R. It’s a sign of his selfless commitment to his peers and something we’re very excited about supporting!” When asked how he feels about this new venture, the award winning producer said: “I thank God for the opportunity. I give my sincere appreciation to Sean Watson for entrusting me with this new responsibility. I’m excited to work with the Sony Music family and create magic for South African Hip Hop and R&B.”
Born and raised in Gauteng, Lutendo Kungoane, also known as DJ Sliqe, began his music journey in Grade 10 as the school DJ for socials and events. His first breakthrough came from being a resident DJ at the hottest clubs on 7th Avenue in Melville, which opened the door to bigger platforms and he soon started playing at events all over South Africa.
DJ Sliqe made history on the 4th of June 2016 by becoming the first local hip-hop DJ to win a South African Music Award (SAMA) for the ‘Best Remix Category’ with his hit single “Do Like I Do” (Remix) featuring L-Tido, Riky Rick, Kwesta, Nadia Nakai, Reason and the late -hip hop heavyweight, Flabba. He continued his winning trajectory at the S.A. Hip Hop Awards and took home the Best Mixtape Award for Inja Yam (Vol. 1). A&R Director, Spiro Damaskinos commented “Having signed & worked with DJ Sliqe for many years now, we’ve seen first-hand what a great producer he is, and also what an important role he plays in the local scene. We are excited to welcome DJ Sliqe into the A&R team and look forward to working with him to take the local Hip Hop scene to the next level.”
The award winning DJ’s experience in the music industry has been invaluable and the work he has done with various artists on his albums has resulted in a seamless rapport with him and some of the biggest names in South Africa including Kwesta, Riky Rick, Shekhinah, A-Reece, Yanga Chief, AKA and many more. Sliqe’s ability to recognize, curate and produce successful repertoire in some of the most important genres in the business is a unique skill that distinguishes him from his peers. In his new role Lutendo will head up Sony Music’s investment in Hip Hop and RnB in South Africa. He will be responsible for leading our strategic approach to those sectors of the market through the discovery, acquisition and development of new talent as well as steering the careers of those already signed to Sony Music.
DJ Sliqe joins the latest member of the A&R Team which includes long time Sony employee, Spiro Damaskinos and Clement Phaswane, famously known as Trancemicsoul. Trancemicsoul’s meteoric musical journey is as inspiring as it is deserving. From humble beginnings in his bedroom in the late 90’s he has since graced club rooms and stages from Pretoria to Barcelona. Trance discovered vinyl at the tender age of 17 when he saw DJ’s spinning wax at a school social and soon after began collecting and spinning records at home. After school he studied video post-production and then moved over to music production itself where he has carved out a niche with releases on prolific labels such as Seasons Limited, GOGO Music, Adaptation Music, Peppermint Jam and Peng, to name but a few. Taking cues from House, Jazz, Down-tempo, Hip-hop, Kwaito, Broken Beats, Lounge and Electronic sounds Trance describes his sound as melancholic and deep and soulful and the world has taken notice. In 2013 he was chosen by the Red Bull Music Academy to journey to New York where he spent two weeks attending lectures, studio sessions and events as part of the Academy schedule. Since his return to South Africa he has played some of the country’s premier festivals including Rocking The Daisies, Oppikoppi and his unforgettable European debut at Sonar in Barcelona.
When asked how he felt about DJ Sliqe joining the A&R Team he said: “I believe Sliqe has proven himself and his addition to our team is going to unlock a lot of opportunities for a lot of artists in the hip hop and R&B culture.”
