Well-known Limpopo-based DJ Ntshavheni Tshianeo, or DJ-stone Tshianeo as he is known in music circles, got a not-so-pleasant surprise when someone left a bouquet of funeral flowers at his gate recently with a threatening message written on the card that reads: "Best DJ. It is all fun until you're no more".
Exactly why this malicious message ended up there is not clear yet, but witnesses saw two people in a white Ford Bantam or Opel Corsa bakkie stopping at the gate sometime on Monday evening (3 October). One of them apparently got out and placed the bouquet at the small gate to Tshianeo's house.
The 31-year-old entertainer from Makwarela Township in Sibasa said the whole drama started on Sunday, 2 October, when he addressed the topic of jealousy in the entertainment industry on his Facebook page. "I am someone who keeps things to myself, but after two years of silence amidst all the gossip by fellow DJs, I decided it was time to speak up. Throughout my career I helped so many upcoming and established artists improve their careers, but at the end of the day they end up being the ones trying to destroy me. I am known all over the province and outside, and whenever I meet some of the club owners who do business with me, they tell me about some of the guys I regarded as colleagues and friends who badmouth and gossip about me. I could not keep it to myself anymore. I feel that it could have dire consequences. Many artists end up committing suicide because of stress. I had to speak my mind, and the next day somebody wished me dead," he said.
Tshianeo has performed at major gigs, such as the Spar Music Festival and many clubs across the province and beyond. He said he believed somebody was trying to scare him. "I am not intimidated by this at all. If they think I will stop the good work I am doing, they can just forget about it. My life will continue as it has. As we speak, I have a single out, called Kudala, featuring Sesh the Musician, and I'm very excited about it. To those who find themselves behind this threat, know that the best is yet to come from of me, so brace yourselves and take care. Jealousy will kill you," Tshianeo said.