Isaac Pheko
29 September 2008
Francistown — Gregory Sekga is one of the busiest DJ's in the city. He goes by the alias, DJ Greg. Even though he says that dj'ng is not his day job, he is doing much better than most of his rivals.
He seems to have the Midas touch, a promising music career and a business that is growing from strength to strength is testimony to this.
"I stared deejaying while I was studying for my BA degree at the Design Centre in Johannesburg,I was acquainted with a music group called Black hole and they taught me all I know about deejaying. I started to play in South African clubs back in 2000 with Black hole, which consisted of a number of sound engineering students," said Sekga.
He said that he was fortunate enough to play in big events like the Smirnoff party and Castle Loud in South Africa. He revealed that he is still invited to South Africa to play at places like Gold Reef in Johannesburg.
I play different genres of music, but I am a house DJ. I also enjoy playing oldies. Sekga said that he is in the finishing stages opening a DJ school in Francistown. He explained that the school will be the first of its kind in the country.
He said that seven students have already enrolled for a three month course. Sekga said that six of his students are men and one is a woman.
"When I was playing at shows and parties and clubs, young people used to approach after a show. They would ask me how they can start a career in dj'ing. That is when I spotted a niche in the market and I decided to start a DJ school.
I am currently looking for a place where I can operate my school, the problem is that in a school like this I need a sound proof building because of the noise. My next move will be to set up another DJ school in Gaborone and DJ Trax will be heading it.
Sekga said that dj' ing is not an easy business to get into because the equipment is very expensive and exposure is also a problem. The DJ school will provide students with equipment and other materials to hone their skills.
He said that his students will also have a network of clubs and parties where they will play and improve their skill under his watchful eye. Sekga is also an entrepreneur, he runs an events planning company aptly named Events Live.
The company does promotions, advertising launches and road shows to name a few. Sekga, who seems to be blessed with business acumen, says that he carefully planned his business and his music career so that they compliment each other. He also revealed that he funded all his businesses from his own pocket.Sekga said that DJs in Botswana are not taken seriously as professionals. "Some of the DJs in the country do this as a fulltime job and some clients do not pay them properly.
People have to understand the sacrifices that DJs make, the logistics of carrying heavy equipment from one place to another is not an easy task," he said.
He said that dj' ing as a full-time job has no longevity. He said it is like being a footballer; one can easily become irrelevant as time moves on. He also says that digital DJs who use computers to perform do not have room for creativity.
Sekga's advice to up and coming DJs is to avoid over exposure and disappear from the limelight for a while like Robert Greene wrote in his book '48 Laws Of Power', "absence creates value".
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