DJ Maphorisa is touted as the success and legendary producer-DJ who introduced the world to Kabza de Small and defined the now dominant house sub-genre of Amapiano. Through Kabza de Small and his own record label, Blaq Boi Records, they have been responsible for some of the biggest Amapiano stars in the game right now. The likes of Young Stunna, DaliWonga and Nkosazana Daughter.
Read more: More On Kabza And DJ Maphorisa's 'Arrest'
Read more: More On Kabza And DJ Maphorisa's 'Arrest'
While this has meant he receives his flowers while he is still alive, it has also perpetuated the ongoing and growing speculation that he is a gatekeeper within the music genre. A suggestion which recently was perpetuated by controversial podcaster and producer-DJ, MacG.
MacG calls DJ Maphorisa a gatekeeper
MacG’s Podcast and Chill with MacG, Sol Phenduka and Ghost Lady Monday episodes are goated in South Africa. It is the Monday segment that earns the YouTube channel its highest live numbers as it can have over 15 000 viewing the premiere of each episode.
During one of the Monday episodes, MacG accused DJ Maphorisa of being a gatekeeper in Amapiano. He alleged that any Amapiano artist that was looking to make a name for themselves or even get radio play need to get Maphorisa’s approval.
MacG was so intent to prove his point during the conversation when Sol Phenduka seemed to not agree that he called Reason aka Sizwe Alakine, who jumped on the genre through DJ Maphorisa’s endorsement. More so after it is believed that Sizwe Alakine worked his way into Phori’s good graces after penning his verse on the Amapiano classic Izolo.
Sizwe when asked the question directly failed to be unequivocal in his response which only further fuelled the allegations by MacG. Moreover, MacG, who recently released his Amapiano EP, Song I Put My Name On made it clear that he was not afraid of DJ Maphorisa and whatever he will try to stop his success with his upcoming EP.
DJ Maphorisa dubbed a gatekeeper after MacG threats\
Whether it was a self fulfilling prophecy or just coincidence, DJ Maphorisa recently went on an Instagram live addressing the allegations made by MacG. Instead of addressing the matter, DJ Maphorisa seemed more concerned with his image and went on to threaten MacG and seemingly all the MacG fans who were commenting and also suggesting that DJ Maphorisa was a gatekeeper.
On the one hand, there were a few supporters of DJ Maphorisa that supported his sentiments. These supporters also used the messy reputation that Podcast and Chill with MacG has as another reason that DJ Maphorisa must stay true to his words about the next time he sees MacG that his “soldiers” must rough him up a little.
But for the most part, the early comments on the whole situation seemed to believe that DJ Maphorisa’s stance and comments only work to support MacG’s allegations. This is as the comments from tweeps seem to suggest that if Maphorisa did not believe that he was a gatekeeper, then the matter would not offend this much. But that if he is the gatekeeper that he was accused of being, his recent antics only make it even more apparent that what Maphorisa is really angry about is that MacG only “outed” using his large public platform.