The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is an experience like no other. Held in the Colorado Desert over two weekends in April, the annual event features art installations, a crowd of up to 200,000 people and a never-ending stream of sound.
"Coachella is a different animal," says DJ Black Coffee. "You can’t help but want to be there. It’s overwhelming.
"I’ve always been a fan and I’ve always wanted to go. So being invited to perform was big for us…. I came, I saw, and I was conquered by the love."
After Coachella, Black Coffee (born Nkosinathi Maphumulo) was at the annual Cannes Film Festival for the third time, performing for five consecutive nights at a pop-up club for Provocateur, a New York-based brand that produces high-end gigs. And after that, he was in Ibiza to perform at nightclub DC10 for the summer opening of its famous Circoloco party.
Invitations to events such as these, much like winning Best International Act: Africa at the BET Awards in June, have become an important way of growing his brand outside SA, where he’s already done well. But he doesn’t feel pressured to represent the country when travelling abroad.
"SA is too big a country for me to nominate myself as an ambassador," he says. "There are, and always have been, a lot of artists helping to brand SA.
"Yes, I showcase South African music at the highest level. But I don’t take on the responsibility or ‘represent’ the country. I concentrate more on what I’m doing."
His global audiences are becoming familiar with his music, so there isn’t much difference in how they respond, although he does make a few adjustments to the selection depending on where he is.
"I believe I have a lot to offer," he says. "Usually, wherever I play, I sit and watch and learn, hoping other DJs are also going to sit and watch and learn.
"I’ve learnt a lot about the songs they play and what makes them tick compared to what makes South Africans tick. It’s different things and it’s different elements; that’s the stuff that I’m learning," he says.
His process of learning new things "slowly but surely" isn’t just about music. In his travels, he’s also learnt about so much more. By experiencing the reality of each place he visits, he’s been able to overcome certain misconceptions and hype the media has fed him.
"We grew up in a different world," he says.
"It shocked me the first time I was travelling. For example, there aren’t as many German cars in Germany as there are German cars in SA.
"And then you go to Amsterdam and it’s bicycles instead of cars. We learn so much and when we come back, we understand things better".
His world tour, which began in January 2015, saw him perform more than 50 gigs in 17 countries including Ireland, Canada, Spain, France, Germany, Poland, Japan, Italy and the US. The DJ’s favourite destinations so far are New York, London and Greece.
"I feel like I’m growing and have learned a lot," he says. "I get to go to New York and see that New York is not as it is on TV and that what’s special in New York isn’t so special in SA.
"I get to go to London, meet the people, and see it as it is. Travelling has literally changed my life.
"I always tell my friends in SA to come and see me play or just take time away. I also tell the guys at home that it’s not as expensive as they think.
"Save money, book a flight, find a hotel, and go to a place you’ve never been. It’s such an eye-opener. You always come back a different person. And the more you do it, the more you learn," he says.
DJ Black Coffee believes South Africans should embrace local perspectives too.
Which is why he considers the SABC’s controversial decision to play 90% local music on its radio stations as "one of the most brilliant things that has ever happened for the country".
"It’s not just bold but there’s so much reality about it," he says. "The reality being that SA today isn’t the SA it was 10, 15 or 20 years ago.
"An 18-year-old in SA was consuming something different 20 years ago – whether it’s in clothes or lifestyle or where they hang out – to what an 18-year-old in SA is consuming today. And I’ve always felt we were so stuck in the old."
He believes South Africans need to be exposed to more homegrown arts and culture. And instead of sending money away to other countries to import what they have to offer, the money can be invested where it belongs.
"It’s such a bold move, but also such an inspirational move," says DJ Black Coffee.
"I hope other people learn from it; not necessarily doing it the same way but as a way to wake up and look around."
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