By Motṧelisi Sekonyela
Kananelo Malea, who goes by the stage name DJ Nelo will go down in history books as the first hip hop female DJ to come out of Lesotho at just 21 years old when she began her trade.
The disk jockey is one who mixes recorded songs or creates beats from scratch.
Some female deejays have already emerged in other countries, attracting Kananelo to test her career in music.
In Lesotho, the industry has until recently been dominated by men.
That triggered Kananelo to begin her career in as a music spinner.
Her brave move has resulted in success stories for DJ Nelo that include sharing a stage with big names in the industry such as DJ Lovers from Lesedi FM, and also collaborations with Lesotho acclaimed brand Econet Lesotho.
When asked who and what inspired her, she said was motivated by women making it big in the industry internationally in the likes of Ms Cosmo, DJ Zinhle, and DJ Ross.
“I chose to be a hip hop DJ because it is the genre that makes the most sense to me. I am clued to hip hop and since I cannot rap, I had to find a way to be a part of it somehow, hence I ended up choosing to mix the songs because I have a very good ear for that type of music.” Kananelo said.
The idea of one doing something that has never been done before can be scary.
But she was not intimidated at all because she was going to do something that is close to her heart.
“I was just happy to be doing what I love. The negativity only helped thicken my skin and gave me more wings to fly,” she said.
