By Mohalenyane Phakela
MASERU — DJ Pablo walked away M50 000 richer after winning the Vodacom Superstar competition.
The Abia-born disc spinner beat DJ Tybzen and Monyase DJ in the male deejays category to become the winner.
In an interview with the Weekender, DJ Pablo (real name Paballo Phakoa) said he was not expecting it.
“Well, like every contestant, I entered the competition to win.
“I did not believe I would scoop the title because my contenders were very experienced,” he said in excitement.
“I am overwhelmed for this came as a surprise but the other part of me is still shocked.
“I would like to thank Vodacom for the privilege and the fat cheque it gave me because it has helped me establish myself as an artiste.
I am going to use the money to buy my own equipment as I used to borrow other deejays’ kits every time I had a booking.”
He added: “I would also like to convey my sincere gratitude to those people who believed in me and used their airtime to vote for me and to the judges for seeing the potential I have.”
“All I can say is hard work pays. I invested so much to be where I am today so my advice to those people hustling in the corners is: Never give up. Strive to be on top but remain humble.”
One of the judges, Tello “DallasT” Leballo, said it was not easy picking the winners.
“Although this was my second time on the panel of judges, it was quite a hustle to select the most outstanding contestant as they were all talented. But I believe the experience I gained in the previous competition helped me a lot,” stated Leballo.
The competition had twelve categories from which one winner was selected from the top three finalists in each.
The runner-ups were given M20 000 while those in the third place were awarded M10 000.
The list of winners include, Lihoba Tsa Lithoteng who won Mokhibo category, Bohale Ba Lesia — Ndlamo, Patrick Matete — Gospel, Mapule Mosiuoa — RnB, KTA Revolution — Dance, Foreign Currency — Hip Hop, DJ DeePee — Female deejay and Switch Man taking the Kwaito title.
The contenders were granted the last opportunity of performing for the judges and respective fans.
MCs of the day Dj Hally and funnyman Curaman had people laughing out loud to the jokes they popped in between performances.
The crowd was kept mesmerised by SA artistes Oskido, DJ Zinhle and Zakes Bantwini alongside our very own Stlofa (who introduced his latest offering) and Kommanda Obbs.
