Soweto born record producer and songwriter DJ Stoks, real name Nhlanhla Fakude, is ready to take matured music lovers on a special music journey with his exclusive sound classified as “Music for the Matured.”
The term “Music for the Matured” was coined by the deejay who is also a visionary and one of the pioneers of amapiano, as a way to describe his distinct sound which is a blend of deep house and jazz fusion. Since bursting into mainstream music in 2019, after producing his hit song Yelele which went on to reach gold status, DJ Stoks has been intentional about cementing his name in the industry, working closely with other musicians to give mzansi the best of himself.
The BONA team had the pleasure of speaking with the deejay who also owns his own record label called Matured Studios. He told us that to date, he has worked with some of the biggest names in the music industry giving us a list that includes the likes of Kelvin Momo, Daliwonga and Luu Nineleven, around 2018.
During the covid-19 pandemic, the muso went on to work with musicians such as Mthuda, Musical Chef, Soulman G and others while in East Rand, Brakpan.
Growing slowly but surely in the industry, the producer opened his own record label called Matured Studios in order to grow as a brand and broadened his music network. DJ Stoks tells us that he went on to work with artists such as Tman Xpress, Kabelo Sings, Happy Jazz, Soulful G, M-Keys and many others.
He is currently set to drop something with musical artist Josiah.
When we asked the deejay to classify his music sound, he defined it as more of, “An amapiano sound that went to a private school, as it is not fast like the popular commercial amapiano sounds, but more of a slow laid back vibe.
“My music is the kind that gets played on radio when they are playing good laid back music, that’s why I named my label Matured Studios because, a lot of times we produce relaxed, private vibes kind of music, the kind that gives you a jazz feel.”
Sharing who he wishes to work with in the industry, the Yelele hitmaker boldly told us that Kabza de Small is one of the artists on top of his list, adding that he does communicate with him from time to time but with Kabza’s busy schedule its difficult to pin him down to a project, he shared. The DJ is however hopeful for a collaboration even if it is in the form of an EP, “I so wish we could release something, even if its a six tracks EP, a Kevin Momo and DJ Stoks or Kabza de Small and DJ Stoks EP, these are the people I wish to work with to produce nice, relaxed, cool and matured music.”
DJ Stoks is not only a music producer but he also hosts some of the biggest events around Soweto and Johannesburg.
With the future looking bright for the record label owner and producer, DJ Stoks is ready to rise straight into stardom.
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