DJ Cleo

The dance music mastermind DJ Cleo was one of the defining figures of South Africa’s electronic scene in the 2000s. Born Tlou Cleopas Monyepao in 1979, DJ Cleo learned to play bass guitar and keyboard in church, helping birth an eclectic production style that spans the boom-bap hip-hop he contributed to Pitch Black Afro’s 2004 debut Styling Gel and the synth-laden kwaito of Brickz’s 2005 smash “Sweet My Baby”. In his extensive catalogue of solo albums (which began with his 2004 debut, Eskhaleni), DJ Cleo explores the spectrum of electronic music as he moves through serene deep house into explosive, electro-inspired dance-floor jams. It comes as no surprise that DJ Cleo is always able to incorporate emergent sounds into his music, be it gqom and trap in the 2010s or amapiano in the 2020s.