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DJ Zinhle

Bruce Ndlovu
THE drama in her personal life seemed to be weighing heavily on the mind of South African star DJ Zinhle when she played a short but satisfactory set at the official re-opening of Horizon Pub and Restaurant in Bulawayo on Saturday night. Zinhle returned for her third All White party at the joint, which has been closed in the past few weeks as it underwent renovations.

The usually upbeat Zinhle was, however, a little downcast on Saturday night in the aftermath of the animosity between her and former beau, rapper AKA, which saw a messy back and forth between the two that played itself out on social networking site Twitter.

The drama which seems to be distracting Zinhle started on Friday morning with hothead rapper AKA going on a prolonged rant about Zinhle’s lack of respect for him as the father of their child together.

AKA seemed particularly peeved by Zinhle’s decision to buy a #Nonke t-shirt, Euphonik’s signature line that came from an insult directed at new glamour couple AKA and Bonang, his ex girlfriend.

The rapper accused his former lover of having colluded at various points with his enemies, who include Euphonik, Pearl Thusi and Cassper Nyovest. AKA also took offence at the relationship between Zinhle and his mother, Lynn Forbes, who he accused of taking Zinhle’s side over his.

Zinhle hit back late on Friday, accusing the rapper of failing to address his grievances with her through proper channels. “EsiZulwini if you’ve a problem with the mother of your child, you arrange a meeting and speak to her family, not Twitter!. Again, call my family.. If Twitter is ur family bring them with u. Lastly, we have a child together, that’s who WE are accountable to.” she posted.

On Saturday night, the drama seemed to have taken its toll on the DJ, who mostly kept to herself in the joint’s VIP area while an eager crowd, mostly clad in white, partied up a storm.

Before and after her performance, the DJ maintained a mild disinterest in proceedings, as she appeared more engrossed in her phone than the outpouring of love she was receiving from fans.

The performer also shied away from questions about the ongoing drama in her life, instead asking her manager to keep the press at bay, claiming she was tired having played in Swaziland the previous night.

However, Zinhle seemed to rediscover her zest once she was on the decks, playing hit after hit that sent revellers scurrying to the dance floor. The crowd, which resembled a sea of white, swayed to every song played by the My Name Is hit-maker who handled the decks with aplomb, effortlessly blending one song into another.

However, despite Zinhle’s wizardry on the wheels of steel, the night also belonged to Bulawayo’s own DJ Liz, who stole the spotlight earlier on before the night’s main event.

Liz had the crowd eating from the palm of her hand as she played a medley of crowd rousing house hits from yesteryears. The young DJ proved that she is indeed the next big thing on the local house music scene, and appeared to have won the respect of Zinhle who she kept company for most of the night.