Unlikely is how to best summarise the persona that is DJ Roxxi. Raised in Amanzimtoti as Deshnie Govender, the 24-year-old says the biggest hurdle in getting her career started was breaking down stereotypes.
"An Indian girl from Toti who is into rock music.
"It was difficult to get people to take me seriously because I was a young girl, because I was Indian, because I was from Toti and because I didn't just want to play bhangra," she says.
"This is why I chose the name DJ Roxxi. I wanted to have some of the surfing brand's (spelt differently) flavour because I do love the coastal city I come from, but most of all I wanted to be as ambiguous as possible. I wanted people to hear the music before they decided who I was, based on what I look like."
It wasn't easy, though.
Govender lost her dad soon after beginning her first year of law at university.
"My dad's sudden death made me question why I wasn't being true to myself, why I was studying law when music had always been my passion," she says.
"When I bought CDs it was always the remix tracks I would listen to. I always knew I wanted to do it but my dad's death made me take my dream seriously and begin researching the topic."
When her mother bought a nightclub she got her hands on the sound equipment.
"I'm fortunate that it happened that way. My mother was probably one of the first few women in the town to apply for a liquor licence and in a sense helped me see that it wasn't impossible to succeed in a supposed man's world.
"She also made it possible for me to try my hand at deejaying."
After two years of learning the ropes on the job, mainly playing R&B and bhangra, Govender says a radio interview helped catapult her career.
"I went from being a bedroom DJ to playing in Durban's hottest clubs.
"I was playing a lot of bhangra then and it helped me get in the door but what I really wanted to do was rock.
"I did a series of rage events and I found that many people were upset with me for it.
"However, I know that if you play good music, irrespective of who you are or where you come from, people will dance," she says.
They've come around and since then she's been headlining some of 5FM's biggest gigs.
This year she enjoyed a successful run from headlining the 5FM Vodacom Durban July after-party with Dj Fresh, Lady Lea and Erica Elle, to touring with the Rage Fest in Umhlanga with Roger Goode, Shaun Duvet, Zebra and Giraffe, Prime Circle and Flash Republic.
Her accolades include being named a Rising Star at the Standard Bank Awards recently and ranking among Cosmopolitan's Top 25 Most Awesome Women of 2007.
Producing was Govender's next big goal.
Her single, Away, was launched with Durban vocalist Nic Billington and produced by Craig Massiv of Flash Republic.
The song is being distributed online.
"We only launched the single recently. It's played on East Coast Radio and I'm hoping other South African stations will play it as well," she says.
Govender says she hopes to produce more tracks soon, become a radio DJ and some day start a South African music magazine.
Catch DJ Roxxi at the 5FM Ballito Street Party on New Year's Eve.