Acclaimed Black Coffee opens up on fame, fallouts and hand injury

Grammy award-winning DJ, Nkosinathi “Black Coffee” Maphumulo, has looked back on his journey and shared words of wisdom for upcoming entertainment stars.

His exclusive interview on MacG on Podcast and Chill, which was sold out at cinemas, premiered on Thursday. 


Maphumulo took his fans back to Mthatha in the Eastern Cape, where he grew up under the care of his strict grandmother and described how his hand injury changed his life.

On friendships, he said he has had a couple of fallouts with industry friends and he realised that the main issue at stake was fame.

“I have had a few misunderstandings with Shimza, and when he reached out to me through Oskido I agreed,” Maphumulo said.

“I told him to seek therapy to learn how to deal with fame. Fame is not easy, this is something I said to Zakes Bantwini when we had a meeting, because all the things that were issues between us then, are not now.”

He also spoke about his Grammy achievement, saying he had always thought global but his Grammy has not changed his life, not yet.

“I have always thought global, being in close proximity with the big stars, them coming over to my home and eat maas [thick-soared milk] together.

“So, the recognition was nice, however, I wanted to compete on the same level as my peers, because I have worked with the likes of Drake, Kelly Rowland, David Guetta and Alicia Keys.”

He acknowledged the category he won the award for and said he is grateful that he was nominated before Beyoncé, because she won it in 2023.

“I was nominated in the Best Dance category, thank God I was nominated before Beyoncé,” he chuckled. 

He further said his main wish is to bring generational wealth for his family and put them at an advantage for eternity.

“I have worked so hard to be dependent on cancel culture. In March this year I will be turning 47-years-old, meaning I am three years away from 50, and at 50 I will retire.

“My retirement does not mean I am leaving music totally, but I will be more regulated because I will only play at certain places, play the kind of music that I like for specific reasons.”

Next in the pipeline for the global star DJ is a documentary about his life. He also dreams of a Black Coffee museum.

“And if possible, I leave the music space with most artists owning their music, because record labels are a form of slavery. I do not want to own people’s music.”

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