Mthokozisi Khathi (born 24 August 1976) popularly known as DJ Tira, is a

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

n DJ, record producer, and businessman.

Early life

Khathi was born in KwaHlabisa Village,

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...

, and his family relocated to

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

in 1979. Khathi attended Mlokothwa High School and enrolled at the

University of Natal The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu- ...

now known as UKZN in 1995, studying

human resources Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include ' ...

Career

Khathi developed an interest in being a DJ while he was at university, when he started playing as a DJ in 1996. Around 2001, he released his first record named ''Real Makoya'', which is a

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

with DJ Khabzela. In 2005, he was signed a record deal with Kalawa Jazzmee. He formed a group named Tzozo En Professor and later formed Durbans Finest together with DJ Sox which also was under

Kalawa Jazmee Records Kalawa Jazmee Records is an independent record label based in South Africa. The label is known for its contribution to the development of the Kwaito genre of music in South Africa. Artists * Oskido * Professor * Mandla Mofokeng * Trompies ...

. Tira and Sox together released a series

s named ''Durbans Finest''. In 2007, he launched his recording studio Afrotainment and signed DJ Cndo as the first artist on his record label. Since he was working at his own production, he became a

music producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

. Later the same year DJ Tira signed

kwaito Kwaito is a music genre that emerged in Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa, between the late 1980s and 1990s. It is a sound that features the use of African sounds and samples. Kwaito songs occur at a slower tempo range than other styles of h ...

group Big Nuz after they relocated from

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

. In 2008, DJ Tira as a featured artist appeared on two tracks on urban radio charts and music shops charts alongside of Big Nuz's "Ubala Lolo" and DJ Clock's "Mahamba Yedwa". In 2008, he released his first solo project under his

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

named ''Ezase Afro Vol:1''. The album is supported by the

guest appearance The term guest appearance generally denotes the appearance of a guest in an artistic or pop-culture setting. The guests themselves (referred to as guest artists, featured artists, guest stars, or guest fighters, depending on context), are disting ...

of Bricks, Daddy, Big Nuz and Joocy of Afrosoul. ''Ezase Afro Vol:1'' became a hit

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

and sold more than 20 000 copies. In March 2019, his single "Amachankura" featuring TNS was released as the lead single from an upcoming studio album. In July 2019, the second single "Thank You Mr DJ" featuring Joocy was released. Tira released ''Ikhenani'' on September 13, 2019. ''Ikhenani'' won Best Kwaito Album at the 26th ceremony of South African Music Awards. On August 24, 2020, his fourth studio album ''21 Years of DJ Tira'' was released in South Africa, celebrating a 21 years in music industry. The album was certified platinum by the Recording industry of South Africa (RiSA). In March 2021, he co-hosted season 6 of the SABC 1 talent show competition, ''1's and 2's''. On June 25, 2021, his fifth studio album ''Rockstar Forever'' was released in South Africa. The album features the Q Twins,

Makhadzi Ndivhudzannyi Ralivhona (born 30 June 1996), known by her stage name Makhadzi, is a South African singer, songwriter and dancer. Born and raised in Ha-Mashamba, Limpopo, her career began at the age of 12 as dancer prior to pursuing a music caree ...

, Western Boyz, Jumbo, Prince Bulo, Biza Wethu, Mampintsha, Joocy, Ntencane, Proffesor, Beast, Worst Behaviour, Dladla Mshunqisi, BlaQRythm, Mtebza & Khazozo. ''Rockstar Forever'' rank number 1 on iTunes charts South Africa.

Personal life

DJ Tira is married to Gugu Khathi and they have one son and one daughter. DJ Tira and his wife hosted a Umabo (traditional Zulu

ceremony A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan language, Etruscan origin, via the Latin . Religious and civil ...

) at his home in KwaHlabisa, KwaZulu-Natal.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

As featured artist

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tira, DJ 1976 births Living people People from Big Five Hlabisa Local Municipality Zulu people Musicians from KwaZulu-Natal South African record producers South African DJs