The humble jock is taking it all in her stride as she continues to flourish

By: Lerato Mutlanyane

What started off as a hobby has now turned into a flourishing career that has spanned close to 15 years for Thokozile Mokgang, popularly known as DJ Zile. The 36-year-old- Bloemfontein DJ’s pure passion for deep soulful house has seen her beat the odds and prevail in the highly competitive DJing industry.

Now DJ Zile continues to grow in leaps and bounds, while leaving a trail of career milestones which continue to shape her stature. Her rise in DJ circles has seen her mixtapes being featured on prominent music platforms, including Hit Refresh on Vuzu TV and Tequila Gang mixes, which can be accessed on Spotify and YouTube.

She is also a radio DJ who once hosted her own show on Fridays called Ladies of Deep on City Radio, while having had her mixes being played on Metro FM’s Urban Beat, which was hosted by legendary DJ’s Vinny Da Vinci and DJ Christos – whom she draws much of her DJing inspiration from.

To add on to her list of milestones, DJ Zile further boasts being a deep house guest DJ at the Spring Music Explosion for six consecutive years and has served as a liaison official and panelist at the Dance Music Summit Conference hosted in Bloemfontein back in 2023.

Despite being a qualified sound engineer, who also dabbles in club and event hosting, DJ Zile has had to navigate through a series of challenges throughout her career. Rising to prominence in a male-dominated industry was not an easy feat, but she boldly declares that it molded her strong character.

“With this industry being male-dominated, I had to work hard to reach my peak and get recognition,” she tells Journal News.

DJ Zile’s career has been quite dynamic to say the least. One of her goals is to start her own all-female music academy to aid prospective female DJs someday. At this rate, she’s probably closer to that goal than many realise.