X

D.Y.K – DID YOU KNOW?

BRUNO MARS

Bruno Mars’ real name is actually Peter Gene Bayot Hernandez. His stage name, “Bruno Mars”, was inspired by the wrestler Bruno Sammartino.

 

At the age of 4, Bruno performed with his family’s band, The Love Notes, as an Elvis impersonator.

 

On September 19, 2010, Bruno Mars was arrested for possession of illegal drugs in a Las Vegas casino bathroom.

 

In 2011, his single, “It Will Rain,” was included in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 soundtrack.

 

Bruno Mars accepted a job as a DJ when he was young out of desperation. But, because he didn’t know a thing about DJing, he was fired right after his first gig.

ANDERSON PAAK

Anderson .Paak’s birth name is Brandon Paak Anderson.

 

Anderson .Paak is a four-time Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, and producer.

 

Anderson .Paak played the drums as a teenager in his church band and then later famously worked at a marijuana farm.

 

Anderson .Paak’s first stage name was Breezy Lovejoy which was followed by his transformation into Anderson .Paak, with his debut album Venice and a six-song run on Dr Dre’s certified gold COMPTON album.

 

Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars joined forces to create a collaborative album, ‘An Evening With Silk Sonic’, under the group Silk Soul in 2021.

 

POST MALONE

Post Malone was born as “Austin Richard Post.” He chose his stage name “Post Malone” with help from an online rap nickname generator.

 

Post Malone would DJ at weddings as a college student in Syracuse. This kept him up to speed about all the evolutions going on in the industry.

 

Post Malone’s senior class voted him “Most Likely To Become Famous.” This was after he had already started recording and releasing music at age 16.

 

Post Malone is known for his array of tattoos. His first tattoo was of the Playboy Bunny.

 

He has given himself a number of tattoos himself. He has also done tattoos on several of his friends.

 

SWAE LEE

Swae Lee was born Khalif Malik Ibn Shaman Brown, on June 7, 1993.

 

Swae Lee and his brother spent some time homeless after high school. They worked long hours at McDonald’s and squatted in abandoned homes.

 

Swae Lee and his brother, Slim Jimmy are a duo known as Rae Sremmurd and have been paving their way to the top of popular Hip-hop and R&B singers with their hit songs, like, No Flex Zone, and, No Type. 

 

 Swae Lee’s collaboration with Post Malone from the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse soundtrack, became his first Hot 100 number one single outside of Rae Sremmurd.

 

In March 2015, Swae Lee was featured on Mike Will Made-It’s “Drinks on Us”, which also featured artists Future and The Weeknd, and became his first single as a solo artist.

 

MALEMON

Malemon’s birth name is Melusi Mahlaba, he was born on March 16th, 1996.

 

Malemon was born and raised in Soweto Orlando, West.

 

Malemon has said that his biggest achievement is featuring on a song with Cassper Nyovest.

 

His debut song Lemonade reached 1 million views on YouTube.

 

Malemon is also a big lover of food and soccer.

JESSE CLEGG

Jesse Clegg grew up to follow in his famous dad Johnny Clegg’s footsteps. In 2017, he wrote a moving song for his father called I’ve Been Looking, which was included on his dad’s final album, King of Time.

 

Jesse Clegg welcomed his baby girl with Dani Cooperman in March of 2020, who they named, Mylah Thandolwethu Clegg.

 

Jesse Clegg spent his first six years of life living on tour with his father Johnny Clegg where he was further submerged into and surrounded by music.

 

Jesse Clegg’s musical talents were first discovered by David Bottrill, Canadian record producer, following his first album’s release in 2011 titled: ‘When I Wake Up”. At the time, Jesse was only 23 years of age.

 

In 2014, Clegg brought his music to the international stage. He embarked on a seven-week tour across the United States and Canada, which comprised 32 shows in 31 cities.

 

SWEDISH HOUSE MAFIA

Swedish House Mafia recently announced a mammoth 44-date tour of Europe and North America in 2022, which will be their first tour since 2012.

 

Swedish House Mafia has been announced for Coachella 2022 which will be ten years since they first played the festival.

 

Swedish House Mafia will be part of the soundtrack for the new FIFA 2022 video game, which will be featuring 122 tracks from a wide variety of artists hailing from across 27 nations.

 

The supergroup Swedish House Mafia placed at number ten on the DJ Magazine Top 100 DJ Poll 2011 and has been regarded as “The faces of mainstream progressive house music.”

 

Swedish House Mafia got their name accidentally. As Angello, Axwell and Ingrosso began attracting attention beyond their home country, other artists provided them with the moniker that stuck.

 

JESSICA SIMPSON

Jessica released a tell-all memoir entitled Open Book in 2020. It practically leapt off the shelves and catapulted Jessica right to the very top of the New York Times “Best-Sellers” list.

 

At age 13, she attended a church camp where she sang Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” and an arrangement of “Amazing Grace.”

 

Jessica Simpson won a Chrysler Crossfire sports car at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards but exchanged the $50,000 luxury car for a minivan so she could help the orphanage.

 

Jessica Simpson created the Jessica Simpson Collection (JSC) which she designs and markets a line of handbags and (primarily high-heeled) shoes and boots.

 

Jessica Simpson began singing in the choir of a local Baptist church where her father, Joseph Simpson, also worked as the congregation’s youth minister.

 

NEON DREAMS

Neon Dreams is a Canadian alt-pop duo consisting of vocalist Frank Kadillac and drummer Adrian Morris. They write and produce their music with long-time collaborator Corey Lerue.

 

Neon Dreams defy genre pigeonholing. They draw freely upon pop, rock, folk, EDM, hip-hop and reggae elements. 

Neon Dreams most successful songs are “Marching Bands,” “Survive”, “High School Dropout” and “Life Without Fantasies.

 

 The Neon Dreams group met in High School where Corey was a DJ while the other members were originally into rock.

 

The duo released their debut album, Sweet Dreams till Sunbeams, on July 25 2019. The 9 track album was inspired by Kadillac’s visit to a healing retreat in Sedona, Arizona, where he was encouraged to open up about his troubled childhood.

 

MTHANDAZO GATYA

 

Mthandazo Gatya’s big break came during the lockdown period in 2020 when he landed on the top 10 charts of Metro FM, Ligwalagwala FM and Ikwekwezi FM.

 

All of Mthandazo Gatya songs took less than an hour to create, from the lyrics to the hook. He has said that he doesn’t write music, He simply listens to the beat, meditates on it and the records.

 

Mthandazo Gatya’s favourite artist of all time is Black Coffee. He has said he loves Black Coffee because of his versatility.

 

In 2010, Mthandazo Gatya won 2nd prize on the show Jam Alley, and that’s when he realised his musical potential.

 

Mthandazo Gatya was born and raised in a small township called Weilers Farm in the south of Johannesburg. 

 

THE KID LAROI

The Kid Laroi’s idols are XXXTentacion, Lil Peep and Juice World. His debut mixtape F*ck Love (2020) peaked at number one on the Australian ARIA Charts.

 

The Kid Laroi recorded his debut EP ’14 With A Dream’ when he was just 14 years old.

 

His great-great-grandfather was Aboriginal he was part of the Kamilaroi tribe, Kid Laroi’s took his name from his heritage.

 

Laroi has said in interviews that he and his mother sometimes lived hand-to-mouth as his mother sold drugs to get by.

 

The Kid Laroi dropped Justin Bieber’s manager  Scooter Braun after just three months and is moving on to Adam Leber’s Rebel Management.

 

JUSTIN BIEBER

 

Justin Bieber released a biopic called Never Say Never in 2011. It grossed over $100 million at the box office and saw Forbes named Bieber on their list of Best Paid Celebrities Under 30 for the first time. 

 

In 2010 Justin Bieber dropped his full-length debut album My World 2.0 which skyrocketed to no. 1 on the Billboard. This earned him the title of the youngest male solo artist to top the album charts since 1963 with Stevie Wonder.

 

While filming the song “Eenie Meenie” with Sean Kingston a Bentley was damaged, and it cost $50,000 to fix.

 

Justin Bieber’s mother wanted to be an actress when she was younger.

 

Once Justin Bieber got an ‘F’ in school, but he changed it to a ‘B’, so he wouldn’t get in trouble.

 

TEKNO

Popularly known as Tekno Miles, born Augustine Miles Kelechi Edgar is also known as the Golden Boy of Africa and Slim Daddy.

Tekno was born on the 17th of December 1992.

Tekno enrolled in a music school at the young age of 8, where he learned and mastered the rudiments of playing the piano and guitar.

Tekno Miles was scouted by popular comedian, Julius Agwu at an event in Abuja. Tekno had thrilled the audience with his performance of a song titled “Onye Ne Kwu”, his cover of Ice Prince’s “Oleku”.

Tekno Miles is not only a superb musician-producer but an amazing dancer as well.

MAFIKIZOLO

Throughout Mafikizolo’s career, they have won three SAMA’S. They were nominated for numerous local and international awards such as the BET Awards, an All African Music Award and a Black Canadian Award.

 

In 2015, Mafikizolo performed with Akon in Wembley stadium and collaborated with Diamond Platnumz & Dj Maphorisa.

 

In February of 2015, Mafikizolo embarked on their first South African tour. They launched a six-city tour with the release of their album Reunited

 

Mafikizolo’s ‘Thandolwethu’ is co-written by singer and songwriter Msaki.

 

LIL NAS

At the 2020 Grammy awards, Lil Nas X wore a fuchsia-coloured custom-made Versace suit which took 700 hours to construct.

 

Lil Nas X’s real name is Montero Lamar Hill. Hill’s stage Name “Lil Nas X” was a tribute to rapper “Nas.

 

Lil Nas X became the record holder for having a song remain at number one for 15 weeks as an openly gay artist, beating Elton John’s hit “Candle in the wind.

 

In 2019, on the last day of Pride Month in the USA, Lil Nas X came out publicly as being gay by asking his followers to listen carefully to his latest single “c7osure”.

 

On January 5, 2021, Lil Nas X released a children’s book called C is for Country. It ranked at number 8 for children’s books worldwide on this day.

 

SJAVA

 

Sjava started writing music at the tender age of 10 years old. He wrote original songs for his all-boy isicathamiya group Abafana baseMpumalanga while in primary school.

 

Sjava was born Jabulani Hadebe on 2nd December 1984 in Bergville, KwaZulu-Natal.

 

Sjava is a South African singer, rapper, and actor.

 

Sjava rose to prominence on the drama series Zone 14, where he starred for three consecutive seasons. He ventured into the music industry and signed to the record label Ambitiouz Entertainment.

 

Sjava began his acting career in 2005, starring in several drama series and films including uGugu no Andile in 2009.

 

Sjava gained mainstream popularity after he was featured on Miss Pru’s acclaimed song “Ameni” in 2015.

 

MIGOS

 

The Migos real names are Quavious Keyate Marshall (Quavo), Kirshnik Khari Ball ( Offset) and Kiari Kendrell Cephus( Takeoff).

 

Before deciding on the name Migo’s the group called themselves “Polo Club”.

 

Biggie and Tupac largely influence their image, saying they love the rap icons’ vintage look of gold, silk and the ancient pharaoh vibe.

 

The Migos are largely influenced in their style by the late iconic rappers Notorious BIG and Tupac Shakur.

 

In 2016 Kanye West tried to sign the Migo’s to his record label, G.O.O.D Music but the deal fell through and they signed with  Motown and Capitol Records in February 2017

 

The inspiration behind the name Migo’s is the Spanish word ‘Amigos’ which means friend. However, the word is used as slang and alludes to an abandoned house that is used as a ‘trap house’ to sell and make drugs in.

 

TLT

TLT is a rap duo that consists of two artists, Vusi Rantlha, also known as “Trouble”, and Phethego Makanyane, also known as “L-Tech”.

 

TLT met in 2006 in Katlehong and found their musical chemistry was undeniable. They separated for a while to venture into solo projects, but in 2011 came together and formed TLT.

 

The duo TLT is signed by RapLyf Records, owned by the award-winning Senzo Mfundo Vilakazi, better known by his stage name of Kwesta.

 

TLT featured on Kwesta’s album Dakar 2 in a song called Mmino, which reached a million views on YouTube.

 

Their music video of MaiZuzu is currently sitting at 11,000 views and that number is steadily growing.

 

KWESTA

Kwesta dropped out of high school at the age of 16 to pursue a career in music.

 

Kwesta was only eight years old when his parents got divorced. 

 

Kwesta and his lady got matching ring tattoos way before they even spoke about marriage.

 

DJ Maphorisa slowed down Joakim‘s remix of “Camino Del Sol,” a 1982 house track from the French-Belgian group Antena, into an old school kwaito tempo for Kwesta’s smash hit ‘Ngud’.

 

Kwesta would have pursued a career in soccer had he not pursued music. 

 

Kwesta started as a poet however, when he first recorded his poetry on beats he realised that it wasn’t too different and fell in love with making music.

 

WIZKID

Wiz Kid first started singing at 11 years old under the stage name Lil Prinz.

 

The first album Wiz Kid released was with a band he formed called Glorious 5 and sold 10,000 copies.

 

 In April 2012, E.M.E signed a joint deal with Wizkid with Akon’s Konvict.

 

Wizkid’s first International Collaboration was with Akon on ‘Don’t Dull’ the Remix.

 

Wizkid is the first African pop star to perform/sell-out Royal Albert Hall in London.

TEMS

Wizkid’s Essence ft. Tems peaks at #8 on US Apple Music. No other African song has entered the Top 100 of the US Apple Music Top Songs.

 

Tems was arrested in Uganda while there for a live performance in December 2020 for violating COVID 19 safety laws. Luckily she was released and charges were dropped.

 

The rising star is well known by her stage name Tems however, her real name is Temilade Openiyi.

 

Tems single ‘ Try Me’ was released in August of 2019 and has racked up an impressive 4 million views on YouTube.

 

Before ever rising to stardom,Tems would perform mini-concerts in her brother’s room with her guitar at hand. 

 

LORDE

Lorde is really into onion rings. In a 2017 appearance on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, she revealed she ran an account on Instagram devoted to reviewing onion rings.

 

Lorde’s dad, Vic O’Connor, is a civil engineer; he’s been employed at the same firm for 30 years, and Lorde worked for him before she hit the big time.

 

Lorde was first signed to a development deal in 2009 when she was just 13 years old. She was first told to write songs for other artists, but she wound up finding her own voice and writing her own music.

 

Legendary musician David Bowie was a big fan of Lorde’s (and she admitted he was a big influence of hers). Bowie’s pianist said, “David really liked Lorde, and he felt like she was the future of music, and they had a few wonderful moments together.”

" TRACE STAFF : ."

Comments are closed.