For a long time, the image of the DJ at the centre of a dance floor was overwhelmingly male. But spend enough time looking at Eswatini’s recent entertainment line-ups and that picture is becoming harder to maintain.
Women are appearing on festival stages, club programmes, after-parties and dedicated DJ showcases with increasing regularity.
They are playing different sounds, working different crowds and, importantly, building careers that don’t all look the same.
There is no single definition of what a female DJ in Eswatini sounds like.
There is Amapiano. Afro-house. Gqom. Afrobeat. Hip-hop. Deep house. Afro Tech. 3 Step. Some have built their names over several years, while others are only beginning to find their footing on some of the country’s biggest stages.
That makes this Women’s Month less about simply celebrating women behind the decks and more about paying attention to the space they are creating in the country’s entertainment industry.
Lady Zee: More Than Behind the Decks
Lady Zee has become a familiar name across Eswatini’sentertainment circuit, appearing at club events, festivals and female-led DJ programmes.
Her work also extends beyond performing. Her professional profile identifies her as an entertainer, event organiser and creative planner, giving her a role in the entertainment space that goes beyond what happens once the music starts.
She has appeared on line-ups alongside several of the women featured in this story, including at the City Girls R’Up event.
That matters because the growth of women in Eswatini’s DJ scene is not only happening behind the decks.
Women are increasingly involved in organising, curating and creating the spaces in which entertainment happens.
Itsallblaq: Taking the Sound Further
Itsallblaq has built one of the more recognisable profiles among Eswatini’s female DJs, with Amapiano forming a significant part of her sound.
Her career has also taken her beyond Eswatini, with performances in South Africa, Zambia and Mozambique.
She has performed at MTN Bushfire across multiple editions, placing her in front of audiences well beyond the country’s club circuit.
In 2025, she launched the All Blaq VIP Experience, adding another dimension to her work and creating a space around her music and audience.
Her career is a reminder that being a DJ can become much bigger than playing a set. It can mean building a following, developing a brand and finding new ways to connect with an audience.
Gifted Kosie: A Wider Sound
Gifted Kosie represents another side of Eswatini’sgrowing DJ scene.
Her sound moves between Amapiano, Afro-house, Gqom and 3-Step, reflecting just how wide the musical landscape has become for young selectors.
Her musical background was influenced by growing up around a sound engineer, but she has since developed an identity of her own as a DJ and performer.
She has appeared on major local programmes and was included on the 2026 MTN Bushfire Firefly Stage line-up.
Her story is also part of a larger shift where women are not being confined to one particular sound or role. They are choosing what they want to play and finding audiences for it.
Expo: Finding A Place in Deep House
DJ Expo brings a different sound to the conversation.Local coverage has identified her as one of the female DJs in Eswatini working strongly within deep house. She has appeared on female-focused line-ups alongside Lady Zee, Wassabee, The Prefect and others.
That is worth noting because conversations about the growth of women in DJing can easily become centred around whichever genres are currently dominating popular culture.
Expo’s presence widens that picture. There are women working across electronic sounds too, building their own audiences and maintaining a place for genres that require a different kind of listening experience.
Wassabee: A Different Kind of Entry Point
Wassabee has been described by House On Fire as a trailblazing hip-hop DJ in Eswatini, entering the local scene in 2023.
Hip-hop has historically had a heavily male presence behind the decks, making her position in the scene particularly interesting.
She has since appeared in spaces alongside other female DJs, including performances and DJ events with Chantel.
Her career shows that the growing presence of women is not limited to genres traditionally associated with female performers.
They are also finding room in spaces where the DJ booth has long been predominantly male.
Chantel: Building Around Afrobeat
Chantel has developed an identity around Afrobeat and has been described in promotional material as Eswatini’s ‘Afrobeat Princess’
She has appeared on female DJ line-ups and shared performance spaces with Wassabee and other women in the local scene.
Her inclusion adds another sound to this story, but more importantly, it shows that there is no single route into Eswatini’s DJ culture.
For some, it is Amapiano. For others, it is hip-hop, deep house, Afrobeat or electronic music. The common thread is not the genre. It is the decision to step behind the decks and make a space for themselves.
Keisy: The Newer Generation
Keisy is part of a newer generation of female DJs appearing regularly across Eswatini’s entertainment circuit.
She has featured on local event line-ups alongside more established names and was included in the 2026 MTN Bushfire Firefly Stage programme.
Her growing presence is significant because every generation of DJs needs somewhere to begin.
For younger women entering the scene, seeing other women already occupying those stages changes what feels possible. The DJ booth becomes less of an exception and more of an option.
The Prefect: Becoming a Familiar Name
The Prefect has also become a familiar name on female DJ line-ups in Eswatini.
She appeared alongside Lady Zee, Expo, Wassabee and Chantel at the City Girls R’Up event and has continued to feature on local entertainment programmes.
She is also among the local DJs included in the 2026 MTN Bushfire Firefly programme.
Her presence speaks to something simple but important: visibility is built through consistency.
One appearance introduces a DJ to an audience. Repeated appearances give that audience a reason to remember her.
Queen N: Finding Her Crowd
Queen N is another name appearing on recent Eswatini entertainment programmes.
In June 2026, she was featured behind the decks at a King and Queen of NDU after-party.
More recently, event material for the Eswatini Pride after-party also placed her on the line-up alongside Soulsticks, Junior and Zulu D.
Another public post around an “Umliba Loyembili” launch described Queen N’s performance as getting the audience going.
Those appearances point to a DJ who is steadily building visibility across different events and audiences.
Sergy: The New Sound Coming Through
Born Nosimilo Dlamini, Sergy represents a younger and increasingly visible generation of Eswatini’s female performers.
Based in Ezulwini, she works across DJing, choreography and performance, combining dance with Afro Tech, 3 Step and Amapiano.
That combination is part of what makes her interesting as a performer: her relationship with music extends beyond simply selecting tracks.
In August 2026, Sergy made her debut performance at the Standard Bank Luju Festival on the Buzz Stage. She has also performed multiple times at MTN Bushfire, where she participated in the festival’s Arts Round Table.
Her momentum has continued off the festival circuit. In July 2026, she signed an exclusive artist deal with Gem of Africa Record Label and is currently working on her debut project.
She is also scheduled to perform at Riders Ranch during the Swazi Rally from August 28 to 30.
Sergy’s story is still being written, but that may be precisely what makes her worth watching. She represents a generation of performers who are not necessarily choosing one box. DJ, dancer and performer can exist in the same career.
The Scene is Getting Bigger
What stands out when these women are placed next to one another is how little they have in common musically. That is the point.
The growth of women in Eswatini’s DJ scene cannot be reduced to one sound, one event or one generation. Some have been working for years.
Others are beginning to appear on bigger stages. Some are building careers around Amapiano, while others have found their space in hip-hop, deep house, Afrobeat, Afro Tech and electronic music.
They are also approaching the work differently. Some are performers. Some are organisers. Some are curators. Some are building brands around their music. Others are combining DJing with dance, choreography and other creative disciplines.
And perhaps the most meaningful change is that women are increasingly visible in the places where audiences discover DJs in the first place on festival programmes, club line-ups, entertainment showcases and major events.
Women’s Month offers a reason to pause and recognise that shift. Not because women need to be treated as a separate category of DJ, but because their growing presence tells us something about where Eswatini’screative scene is going.
The women behind these decks are not all at the same point in their careers. They do not sound the same. They do not have the same stories.
What they share is that they are showing up, building audiences and making the DJ booth part of their own creative careers, that is worth paying attention to.
