Bio
DJ Ready D is a South African hip hop DJ and turntablist best known as the DJ for breakthrough hip hop group Prophets of the City in the 1990s.
He won the South African DMC Championship four times and also won the DJ of the Decade award. Various publications rated him amongst the top 30 hip hop DJs in the world.
Best known as the DJ for (POC) Prophets of the City, he toured Europe extensively with POC for a period of six years and performed alongside groups like Public Enemy, Fugees, Ice T, Spearhead, James Brown, Rob Swift, Steve D, Will Smith, Black Eyed Peas, DJ Spinna, Jazzy Jeff, etc.
Apart from performing in clubs, Ready D took the art of hip hop DJing into many areas where it was unknown, including big music events around South Africa such as the Ice Festival, Synergy, Camel Experience, Oppikoppi and the KKNK Festival (a week-long tour into rural and underprivileged areas where most of the community do not have electricity), Woodstock Festival, Alex Groll International Inline Skating Championships, Redbull Downhill Extreme Champs, Grahamstown Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival and various trade and expo shows.
Ready D played at the Presidential Inauguration of Nelson Mandela and the Quincy Jones Montreux Jazz festival in Switzerland. He also appeared alongside POC in the movie Dangerous Ground, starring Ice Cube and Liz Hurley.
He was also Master of Ceremonies, DJ and producer of the group Brasse Vannie Kaap and also reviews DJ equipment and writes DJ advice for music magazines.
Highlight Performances
1991
Drug Awareness School tour with POC, reaching 450,000 students
1992
South African Tour. Performances in prisons, schools, universities, primary and high schools, clubs and community centres, touching on issues such as gang violence, drugs and AIDS.
1993–1994
Voter Education Tour. Informing people all over South Africa on how and why they should vote in our first democratic election.
1995
P.O.C. officially banned in South Africa and the group records in London and tours all over the UK, Western Europe, Scandinavia, Ireland and Scotland. Performances included facilitating workshops on Hip Hop culture and life in South Africa.
1996–1999
P.O.C. are invited to be part of an event called Right to Hope which deals with issues on trouble spots around the world. It was a coalition between Northern Ireland, South Africa, the Middle East, Rwanda and the USA.
2000–2001
Ready D helps to establish and organize a monthly Hip Hop event called The Night of the Beatbangaz that gives up-and-coming unknown DJs and Hip Hop artists a platform to expose and express themselves. Workshops and life in South Africa continue.
2002–2004
Ready D becomes the resident DJ on The Phat Joe Show, a weekly television series on SABC1.
2004-2005
Sets up Full Contact Records with scratch partner Shamiel X. D consults and becomes guest editor and contributor to South Africa's first mainstream Hip Hop magazine – Hype Mag.
2007-
Presenter and creative director for TV show Mzanzi Ridez that goes out across Africa on DStv's Channel O.
2007–
Redbull B Boy Champs, presenter of his second TV show – Decktales with DJ Ready D - that goes across Africa. The show takes him to New York to perform and interview Hip Hop Legends such as Rob Swift, Steve D, Charlie Ahern, Roxanne Shante, DJ Rockin Rob and Ken Swift.