15 Jun 2014

The love of deep soul house music got him interested in hitting decks three years back as an assistant to one of local disc jockeys.

Dj Shim-D, whose birth name is Montshwari Chombo, realised his potential as a disc jockey when one of the DJs in Maun, Dj Jakes would tag him along to gigs as his assistant. 

Shim-D says carrying Dj Jake’s CD bag sowed fruit to his love for deejaying; and explains he learnt everything there is to know about turn tables from Dj Jakes. He is no stranger to the showbiz world. 

While at junior school he sang and danced; at one time doing backing vocals for the Maun hip hop maestro, H.T as well as Lems, who is a kwaito kwasa artiste also from Etsha.  Born in Etsha 23 years ago, Shim-D says he quit dancing as he wanted to play with the big guys in the turn table world.

He tasted his first gig at the popular Trekkers Night Club in Maun, and thereafter he played at clubs such as Fresh Exclusive also in Maun. He says playing along the likes of DJ Cue and Dj Jakes instilled in him determination for success and hope in the entertainment industry.

A receptionist at Tautona Lodge in Ghanzi, Shim-D is a resident Dj at Hill Talk Club, popularly known as Tshola Uzwe and the new Sports Lounge night club, formerly known as Sports bar. 

His sets consist of ancestral house music, for which he says he got the influence from Dj Cue and Dj Jakes from Maun. However, he does not often get to play what he loves and is comfortable with as most of the time he plays for the commercial crowd.

Perhaps Ghanzi crowd is not yet accustomed to deep soul music; not only do they respond slowly when it is Dj Shim-D, but also other Djs like Cue, who often comes and play at Sports Lounge. 

Nevertheless, the lanky dark skinned Shim-D says that does not discourage him as he has already studied the Ghanzi crowd. He says he always starts his sets on a low tempo and picks momentum more often with commercial songs, which everyone loves to dance to even when they are not really gifted in dancing.

Now, taking his craft to another level, Shim-D has entered the annual President’s Day competition to unleash his talent and learn from his competitors.  This year’s competition will be his debut and he hopes to do well and proceed to the next round, which will be the finals in Gaborone next month.

Although he reckons the 10-minute set they are given is too little to display one’s skills, especially that he plays full cut tracks; Shim-D says he will maximise the time and improvise what he has, to grab the judges’ attention as well as contain the crowd.

Dj Shim-D is hoping to release a single track by the end of the year. The single titled The Joy of Okavango will feature Manto 7, who has now since crossed to deejaying as well as popular RB2 and Btv presenter, Lovemore Mario.

Shim-D says the song is promoting the tourism industry of Botswana, more especially the Okavango Delta. He worked with Maun producer, Tenson from Keal Entertainment in Maun. 

Besides the single track that he is working on, Shim-D says he is also working on the mix tape, which he hopes to send to local radio stations as a way of marketing himself. ENDS