Selects: DJ Lag

Selects: DJ Lag

Birthed in Durban’s townships on ad hoc home-computer set-ups, and originally circulated on cell phones via WhatsApp, gqom's unvarnished, minimalist, drum-heavy sound was built for underground clubs and parties—the rawer, the better. But over the last decade, artists such as DJ Lag (born Lwazi Asanda Gwala), who helped invent the genre in his teens, have ushered it to the forefront of South Africa's dance music scene. (It didn’t hurt that the producer/DJ, now in his mid-twenties, brought some of that flavour to Beyoncé's The Lion King: The Gift soundtrack in 2019.) On the cusp of releasing his debut LP, Meeting With the King, Lag chose to showcase a few of his latest tracks in this Selects playlist, along with some formative influences and current favourites by other artists. “Lento”, by Speedy & Professor, “was one of the tracks that made me love music, and gave me motivation that I'll make it one day,” he tells Apple Music. And “Iparty” by Mshayi & Mr Thela featuring T-Man "is the track that I always play on my sets,” he adds. “It's a good track to start with.” Hear all his Selects—which run the gamut of current South African electronic sounds, from gqom and amapiano to Afro-house and beyond—and add anything you like to your library.

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