Apple Music today announced Namibian-born producer and DJ, Gina Jeanz, as the next Isgubhu cover star.
“I’m so grateful to have been selected for Apple Music’s Isgubhu, especially as a black woman who produces Electronic Music. Representation is important and being on platforms like Apple Music really boosts the way we reach our audience. The African dance scene has shaped the way I produce and execute my craft, being able to contribute not only as a producer but DJ has allowed me to deeply explore the African music scene and beyond,” she tells Apple Music.
This Cape Town-based music producer, DJ, graphic designer and model has rocked the stages of prolific festivals like Afropunk Johannesburg, Nyege Nyege Festival in Uganda, and Rocking The Daisies in Cape Town, which culminated in a prominent cover feature in Hype Magazine in 2019.
Using her time productively during lockdown by participating in Red Bull’s Made in 72 Hours alongside Hersh Sanders and Juzzy, Gina created a track titled “Tonight” that ensured all eyes were on her, as she worked towards releasing more of her own music. Her debut album Lucid Theory is an amalgamation of uplifting moods and electronic grooves and features Sio, Moonga K, Jordan Baker and more.
Gina has also created an exclusive Isgubhu playlist that features tracks that showcase the excellence of African electronic music across the board. "The dance scene on the African continent is so diverse and rich in culture, I wanted to celebrate this by featuring African Electronic producers and artists showcasing upcoming talents and pioneers while paying homage to African Artists across the diaspora like myself,” she explains.
Taking over Isgubhu By… this month is live electronic act, music producer and visual artist, Rose Bonica (real name Natalie-Rose Perel). After starting to create music as a form of escapism from a toxic relationship and a mundane working environment, Rose Bonica channelled her energies and perspectives into the release of her debut EP, Rosy Disposition (2017) on Wet Dreams Recordings. A while later, the release of her critically acclaimed debut album, Tears For The Tea Maker (2020), saw her flex her characteristically unconventional, yet complex and diverse production style, showcasing the growth of her musical arsenal.
“We have an array of such incredible artists in this country, their music explores many different styles but with their main sources of inspiration rooted in Africa. The past year has been especially wonderful, watching many of our artists experiment and explore so many wonderful and interesting genres. I'm taking the chance to thank them all by sharing their incredible and original sounds with you all,” she tells Apple Music.
As the founder of Roses Are Red, an independent record label, and the creator of an array of music videos for fellow artists, Rose Bonica has multiple feathers in her creative cap as she continues to blaze her own trail through SA’s electronic industry.
Launched earlier this year, Isgubhu is the definitive home of African Dance and Electronic music on Apple Music and spotlights and elevates the work of African Electronic DJs, producers and creatives. Isgubhu, a Zulu word meaning beat and used to refer to a banging song, pays homage to an evergreen set of genres and the African artists who have played a pivotal role in shaping the Dance and Electronic scene across the world.
Isgubhu also houses a collection of playlists including Spotlight On - a focus on boutique labels like Soul Candi, House Afrika, Stay True Sounds and Uganda’s Hakuna Kulala & Nyege Nyege Tapes and Isgubhu Voices - a focus on the best Dance and Electronic tracks that feature vocals.
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