Tlou Cleopas Monyepao (born January 17, 1980), professionally known as DJ Cleo, is a South African

Kwaito Kwaito is a music genre that emerged in Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa, during the 1990s. It is a variant of house music that features the use of African sounds and samples. Kwaito songs occur at a slower tempo range than other styles of h ...

House music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...

and Hip hop producer. He was born in

Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...

. DJ Cleo has enjoyed a long and fruitful career in the South African music industry, he produced successful singles and albums for various artists before going on to produce and release his debut album "Es'khaleni" in 2004. His 2012 Single "Facebook" earned him three awards at 18th SAMA. His eleventh album ''Eskhaleni 11'' (2019), which include single "Yile Gqom" and ''Yile Piano, Vol. 1'' (2019).

Life and career

Early life

Tlou Cleopas Monyepao was born in Vosloorus, Gauteng, South Africa. Monyepao attended Spring Boys High School.

Career

He began his career as a producer of the Unrestricted Breakfast Show hosted by

DJ Fresh Daniel Edward Stein (born 11 April 1977), better known by his stage name DJ Fresh, is an English musician, DJ, record producer, best known for making electronic music. He is one of the principal members of the drum and bass group Bad Company, ...

YFM YFM (99.2 FM) is a "Youth" radio station in Johannesburg, South Africa. Established in 1997, the station is formatted to mostly play urban music genres such as Kwaito, Hip Hop, and R&B along with a minority of its airtime being dedicated to ...

. Cleo found himself enjoying producing for radio and soon started exploring producing music for himself and others. His debut recording was "Will of Steel", which featured on DJ Glen Lewis/DJ Fresh's "Gatecrasher double CD compilation. He remixed Bucy Rhadebe single "Uzugcin’ Impilo Yam", originally released in 2020.

Television

He was a producer of

e.tv e.tv (commonly referred to on-air as e) is the first and only privately owned free-to-air television station in South Africa. It is the fifth terrestrial television channel in the country, following three channels that are operated by the sta ...

sopie ''Rhythm City''. In 2013, he was the co-host alongside Angie Khumalo of documentary reality show ''Vaya Mzansi'' season 1 on

SABC 1 SABC 1 is a South African public television network operated by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) which carries programming in English and Nguni. It was created in 1996, after the SABC restructured its television channels. SABC 1 ...

. Cleo competed on ''Lip Sync Battle Africa'' - Season 2. He performed live on ''

Idols South Africa ''Idols'' is a television show on the South African television network Mzansi Magic, and previously on M-Net, based on the popular British show ''Pop Idol''. The show is a contest to determine the best young singer in South Africa. The general ...

'' - Season 17.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Es'khaleni'' (2004) * ''Es'khaleni Ext. 2'' (2005) * ''Es'khaleni Zone 3'' * ''Es'khaleni Phase 4'' (2007) * ''Es'khaleni Unit 5'' (2008) * ''Es'khaleni 6'' (2009) * ''Es'khaleni 7'' (2010) * ''Cassanova Vol. 1'' (2011) * ''Es'khaleni Ext.2'' (2013) * ''Disclosure'' (2014) * ''Es'khaleni 11'' (2019) * ''Yile Piano, Vol. 1'' (2021)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cleo, DJ 1979 births Living people People from Vosloorus South African DJs South African house musicians South African record producers South African musicians Electronic dance music DJs