DJ Fresh
(real name Thato Sikwane) is a South African disc jockey who became known first for
his breakfast slot on radio station YFM (which he hosted for eight years) and later as
the host of the Drive Time (16h00 - 19h00) on 5FM. He is the
co-host - with DJ Euphonik - of the SABC1 music magazine series Club Culture, from
2011-2012.
DJ Fresh
has 13 house albums under his belt and has shared the DJ booth with a number of
international artists, including "Little Louie" Vega, Frankie Knuckles,
Armad Van Helden
and Dominic Spreadlove and played in Southport in 2000 and at the legendary
Pacha in Ibiza in 2002.
He was
also part of a team of DJ's who performed at the Miami Winter Music Conference. Apart
from launching his company Big Dawg Productions, Fresh has established the DJ Fresh
Annual Shcolarship programme, which awards tertiary scholarships to deserving
students
who cannot afford it.
Another
of his projects is the "Rollback Xenophobia" campaign, and he has
raised money for
organisations like POWA and the Cancer Association with unique initiatives like "kissathons".
Currently
a guest at any club venue across the country worth its salt, as well as a regular
at nightclubbing institutions like Randburg's Calabash.
In 2000,
Fresh invited YFM to adopt 100 matriculants from Gauteng's star schools who every
Sunday attended extra classes until exams were over. He also arranged career talks for
the learners with people from different sectors.
In 2001
another scholarship programme was established. The DJ Fresh Annual Scholarship
is an extension of an existing scholarship, but this time in partnership with Rosebank
College, which awarded 5 scholarships, Monash University (10 scholarships) and
Boston Media House (5 Scholarships).
During
the same year 17 scholarships were awarded to deserving learners who had excelled
in Matric but couldn't afford to pay for further studies.
The aim
of the DJ Fresh Scholarship initiative is to give matriculants from the
so-called "formerly
disadvantaged communities" an opportunity to explore all facets of life,
while at the
same time helping break the stereotype that lawyers and doctors are the epitome of
success.
Plans are
underway to turn the scholarship into a full and permanent education fund and
eventually offer post graduate scholarships.
