WATCH: Black Coffee brews beats from home to raise funds for charity during lockdown

Published May 18, 2020

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He rose from South Africa's poorest province to become one of the world's most successful DJs - entertaining millions in dance clubs across the globe.

But more recently Black Coffee has been spending a lot more time at home.

Like other artists he has turned to performing "virtual gigs" that fans can access via the internet, and he's using the "Homebrewed" sessions to raise money for charities supporting those in need at this time of crisis.

"I had a bigger dream of at least raising a million rands ($53,886) and I think we may at least raise 600 hundred thousand ($32,331). I take that as a big win."

Black Coffee's last Homebrewed Session was this month and he says he's now going to try and figure out how to restore his lost income.

Like most musicians before the lockdown, Black Coffee made money from live gigs because the digital age has sapped revenue streams from recorded music.

"I just need to kind of like go back to my drawing board as an artist and see how to really create opportunities. You know now, next time I'm streaming - you know to make sure that we earn some money."

He sees some hope that the virtual format could recreate at least some of the vibe from live gigs - but only if fans get better technology such as virtual reality sets in their living rooms.

Reuters

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