Dj Vigilante

vigilante
[vij-uh-lan-tee]
noun
1. a member of a vigilance committee.
2. any person who takes the law into his or her own hands, as by avenging a
crime.
– www.dictionary.com

Tebogo Seema took the outdated hip hop laws into his own hands when he christened
himself DJ Vigilante and steadily became a force to be reckoned with. The Benoni-
born and Lombardi East-raised DJ began his musical path as a budding rapper and hip
hop enthusiast in primary school. During one of the many cyphers he’d rapped in, he
called himself the vigilante of hip hop and the name stuck.
An avid jazz and funk lover, DJ Vigilante’s father – whose vast collection wafted
through the house every Sunday like the scent of soul food after church – helped to
ingrain the love of all music into the young boy.
His father worked at a music store and it was during visits to see him that Vigi – as he
is affectionately known – became enamoured by instruments like pianos and drums.
Shadowing a cousin who was a sound engineer at gigs, Vigilante’s passion for the hip
hop culture consumed him.
While studying towards a degree in accounting, Vigilante would carry sound
equipment and help his cousin with the technical side of eventing. In 2008, he
dropped setting up speakers and instead, picked up a pair of CDJs.
That year, he became a fully fledged DJ, playing at popular venues like Roxy’s in
Melville and starting a Sunday session at Cappello’s at Johannesburg’s Ghandi
Square. He also established a regular party at a carwash with friends.
In 2010, DJ Vigilante joined forces with fellow up-and-coming DJs, Dimplez and
Milkshake. Together, the trio was known as MVD. In addition to this being the
initials of the three friends, DJ Vigilante came up with another meaning for the
acronym.
In a bid to establish themselves as the hottest behind the decks, DJ Vigilante came up
with the name Most Valuable DJs. MVD played at the inaugural Pop Bottles party.
They hosted events in and around Johannesburg, playing regularly at venues like 88
in Norwood. They were sought after by corporate clients like SAB and even started
playing their sets with a four-piece band.
To short-circuit the monotony of Gauteng’s club scene, the three DJs also hosted
house parties and currently run a popular event called Trap Tuesdays at The Sands in
Sandton. But soon, radio came calling.
After hearing DJ Vigilante bring the house down at Lulo Café’s party, house music
veteran and Metro FM DJ, Glen Lewis recruited Vigi to submit weekly music mixes
for The Avenue, the station’s popular breakfast show.
Vigi was a mainstay on the show every Monday from 2010 to 2013. He then
contributed to 5FM’s Ultimix as well as a few shows on YFM, Ligwalagwala FM and
Motsweding FM. In 2015, Vigi became a resident mix DJ on Lesedi FM.
Most recently, his mixes can be heard as far and wide as Zambia. Vigi’s aim is to
break the mould of the traditional role of the DJ and carve out his own lane as a
continental DJ and content creator.

In 2012, he signed on to become the music compiler at MTV Base and currently holds
this position. He is also a DJ on the channel’s hip Mixology show. Also in 2012,
Vigilante became the tour DJ for multi-award-winning hip hop group, Teargas.
Not one to stay boxed into a title, DJ Vigilante soon took to the music side more
seriously. In 2013, he released his first single, God’s Will, featuring K.O and AKA.
The motivational song was a departure from the braggadocio sound that was
dominating at the time.
In 2014, Vigi followed his debut single up with Sgelekeqe featuring PRO, Ma-E and
Maggz. Known as The Dust DJ on account of his involvement with Cashtime Life,
the label that started the Skhanda movement’s dust sound, DJ Vigilante’s next song,
Pasop (released in 2015), featured the entire Cashtime Life roster.
In 2016, DJ Vigilante shows no signs of slowing down as he readies a debut album
that will be released later on this year. The next single off the as-yet-untitled album is
Bang Out featuring KO, AKA and Nasty C. In keeping with the ever-changing
landscape of the entertainment industry, DJ Vigilante says he wants to live up to his
name and take hip hop into his own hands. As he says: “I don’t want to box myself as
a DJ. I want to be the voice of hip hop. The authority.”