5fm’s Hip Hop DJ, Ms. Cosmo, sat down with ZAlebs over some hot chocolate (ok she had water whilst we had hot chocolate!) to find out what life is like when you DJ for one of the biggest radio stations in the country.
Welcome Ms Cosmo, we are excited to have you! Kicking things off on a technical level, what are your thoughts on the relevance of C.D’s nowadays and do you feel we still need them?
Look we’re living in the digital era so everything is obviously moving with the times. I’ll also admit that I’m also a digital girl myself from laptops to IPads and IPhones, I’m practically a walking Digimon. I’m pro going digital, which isn’t to say that C.D’s should not be produced anymore as there are those who still love to have that experience of actually going to a music shop and buying that hard copy. Also to access a C.D for some is much easier than it is to access music via computers especially for those who do not own Apple products so I wouldn’t necessarily rule out C.D’s as they still play a significant role in our music but also we cannot ignore the fact that going digital has become the fastest and convenient way to have and create music and also music on computer doesn’t get scratched in relation to an actual C.D. Like I said I’m not completely ruling out C.D’s but digital is definitely the right way to go.
Speaking about going in the right direction, ZAlebs thinks the greatest highlight in your career was when you were one of the opening acts for Kanye West’s Castle Lite Sub-Zero Experience concert can you tell us more about that experience and did you actually meet Kanye?
Unfortunately no, none of us met him! They kept his whereabouts-top secret I think that it was partly the artist and the promoters’ choice, but it was ok because I still saw him walking up and down back stage, which was ok for me. Overall it was an amazing experience because that concert was a huge platform for me to play on, people had the opportunity to see what I do but also witness the flexibility I have within my performances because I could’ve easily gone on stage and played for 30minutes but I chose to make things different by having a drummer and dancers on stage making it more of an interactive performance rather than me just mixing and playing tracks on stage.
We’ve seen a great improvement in our artists in terms of live performances but it seems as though promoters aren’t giving artists their money’s worth. What’s your take on how promoters treat local artists in comparison to international artists?
It’s unfortunate that whenever an international artist comes to perform here, we, as the local acts, always get the short end of the stick. In terms of performances in general you’ll always find promoters who will try to negotiate a lower price with us or they’ll always instigate the idea that we’re not worth a certain sum of money just because we’re local artists and it can be a bit disheartening because we’re actually real artists who work hard on our crafts so as a promoter you’re really aren’t helping when you’re selling us short. It happens quite a lot and half of the time it’s mostly the promoters fault and not that the artists in themselves are being divas, all we ask for is appreciation for the hard work we put in to entertain people, we don’t sleep at night because we want to make sure that what we put out is exactly what people want to see. A good example was when 2 Chainz came to perform in the country, Kuli Chana and AKA had a difficult time whilst performing for instance the lighting wasn't correct, one of their mics were not working the situation was terrible that they even began sharing a mic but when 2 Chainz came to perform all of a sudden the sound was working the lighting was brighter and better which was unfair because at the end of the day we're all artists and we should be treated the same.
Do you ever get annoyed when being referred to as Ms Cosmo the FEMALE Hip Hop DJ
It does annoy me, primarily because I'm looked at as "She's good for a girl" it's never a situatuion where I'm given credibility for just being a good DJ my sex always has to be the determining factor in my skills as a DJ and that alone annoys be because I'm trying to play in the same battle field as some of the top male DJ's in the country. I'm always working hard to prove myself to the guys that I can go toe-to-toe with the best of them and do just as well if not better than some of the male DJ's I guess the upside of me being a femal DJ is that it pushes me to think more out of the box and become more creative with my craft.
Who would you want to battle between DJ Switch and Sphectacula?
Wow, that's such an unfair question well they both have their differant strenghts Switch is a scratch DJ and scratching is really difficult to master. You really have to understand the art form to perfect the art of being a scratch DJ so on the scratching platform Switch might be a bit difficult to beat but I can definitely learn and take upon the challenge. Sphectacula I like because he's very creative, I think that he's one of the most creative DJ's South Africa has he may play an old or new song but everytime he plays he always makes you feel like you're listening to a new set and he's very versatile he can play house & kwaito like any other DJ's of that genre eventhough he's a Hip Hop DJ so between the two guys Sphe would definitely be the hardest to beat so I think I'd rather go for Switch.
Working on 5FM has been...?
Absolutely amazing, I love each and every moment I’m there. I also appreciate how they push me to be the best DJ, brand and presenter I can be which is great considering the huge platform 5FM is, it’s also taught me to become versatile because even though I’m a Hip Hop DJ I now need to consider that I’m also playing for Pop, House and Rock fans which definitely helps with my versatility as a DJ
We want to thank Ms. Cosmo for taking the time to speak to us, we look forward to hearing more of her talent and epic DJing skills on 5FM!
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