Jazziq Reveals Why He Doesn’t Watch Soccer. The 28-year-old born Tumelo Manyoni, has been one of amapiano’s torchbearers as the genre has gone global over the past few years. While churning out hits at a rate comparable to fellow heavyweights DJ Maphorisa, Busta 929 and Kabza De Small, JazziQ has established himself as a producer and DJ in South Africa. He has also been nurturing his independent label, Black Is Brown Entertainment.
On Wednesday evening, 17 May, Manchester City was playing agaisnt Real Madrid, which happened to be one of the biggest matches for soccer fans. Amapiano star JazziQ made a revelation when asked what he thought of the results of the game between the two teams, and Jazziq replied by saying that he does not watch soccer as he deems it time consuming. “Wrong guy my brother. I don’t watch soccer it’s time consuming. You can do a lot with 90min of your life,” he replied.
Despite amapiano’s growing success, JazziQ says lack of support from the government is hampering the genre’s growth. “I mean, we’re doing bigger movements than the national soccer team,” he says. “C’mon, let’s be honest. The least you could do is just support us. Show that this thing is actually ours and this thing is actually bringing more tourism into the country. Banyana Banyana came back and they won the cup, but we’re also doing big shows. And I’m happy because I did the song for Banyana Banyana, but can we get some acknowledgement? Even during lockdown, we were the biggest movement in the streets.”
On the topic of lockdown, JazziQ speaks about how, despite the period being difficult for the music industry, he found a way to flip it into a success story by opening a restaurant in Alexandra called Junk Park. The fast food restaurant became one of the success stories of the pandemic and is still one of the popular establishments.
“In everything that you do, when you see a gap, don’t think about it twice,” he says. “You must go in. If you lose you’ll say, ‘I tried’, then you’ll come back and find your way. That’s what I do.”
