Afro/tribal house producer Da Q-Bic could easily have been “the one that got away” for the music industry.
His parents – particularly his mother – were strong advocates of education.
“They sent me to Westridge, where before music I had aspirations of studying and working in the accounting field,” he said.
“I ended up studying accounting at North West University, acquiring my degree in 2013. I work and live in Pretoria in the finance sector.”
He could also have been a stand-up comedian and writer, but thankfully the music bug that started biting him in 2011 became too strong to ignore and by 2016 he released his first song.
Da Q-Bic was born Dedrick Thapelo Mogatusi in Mogwase, North West, but spent most of his life in Kagiso, Mogale City. He was raised in a Christian home, with both parents and two siblings.
“I’ve always had a passion for music even before I pursued learning how to produce,” he said. “I’ve always been drawn to sound and music. While I’d be studying or doing schoolwork, music was always a distraction. I would play beats on the table using my pens, constantly breaking them (laughs).
“But during my final years in high school I started exploring house music in terms of listening more and getting to know it better.
“So when I was in my first year of varsity, in 2010, my mother got me a new laptop. I discovered the software to making beats and realised I wanted to make music.
“My first inspiration to start producing, and especially tribal and Afrohouse, was the sounds of a new kid on the block at the time, Culoe De Song.
“His music really resonated with me and formed the blueprint of how I would like my sound to be forged.”
Da Q-Bic said as time went “down the rabbit hole” he discovered upcoming Afrohouse producers in the form of Da Capo and Problem Child, and also established names such as Manoo, Abicah Soul and Yoruba Soul.
His creative process centres on drumming, as percussion was the core of 95% of every song he’d ever loved.
Da Q-Bic is also a father with responsibilities. So his day starts with going to work; later, back home, he puts on a movie or series or reads “a nice superhero comic book”.
Afterwards he switches on his laptop to see what he can create.
“I’m a pretty basic, boring dude with limited socialising. If I can find the time to visit a friend, I do that too.”
Switching back to his favourite subject – music – he said there were no hidden meanings in his creations.
“I view music in an almost three-dimensional aspect – the sound itself, the aesthetic that sound gives you and the social aspects, meaning how people take in my music and enjoy it.
“For me, each one of my production sounds must evoke a feeling, a tone, spark a certain something from the listener, using mostly instrumentals.”
Da Q-Bic has collaborated with many artists, but his biggest collaborator, “my partner in sound”, is Native Tribe. They have formed a duo, Native Tribe & Da Q-Bic, which he says is one of the best decisions he has ever made.
“Our combination of sound as a duo has really put a mark in the industry and gave birth to a new, exciting, crazy, out-of-this-world sound that is getting love from DJs and producers all over the world. Look out for us, it’s gonna be big.” He has also collaborated with Thab De Soul, Blaq Huf, DJ Two4 and Shona SA, and many more are still under wraps.
There are also a “whole bunch of remixes” for Giorgio Bassetti, IQ Musique, Shona SA and DJ IC, and these are just in 2021.
“Definitely the biggest hit I’ve made is with my brother Native Tribe, titled Symbiote. It garnered a whole lot of local and international support, with the biggest of note, the legendary Black Coffee, track-listing it on his Spotify ID playlist, which was a stand-out achievement for us and me personally.
“Another big hit is my favourite release of this year, which is our EP Tales Of Africa, which was something unique and truly Afro, which also got support from major DJs, my most notable being legend Hyenah.
“I believe that EP made a statement of our production style and more people are starting to notice. Another of my
biggest hits is one of my new solo outings, a single titled Zenith. Although still new in the release catalogues, it’s doing big things for me as an artist.
“It’s getting major support from DJs and radio stations such as Deeplomatikk Radio, Drums Radio, Sef Kombo, DJ Satelite and Hanna Hais. I’m really happy about this release so far.”
In addition, Da Q-Bic has made singles that will come out for the rest of the year, and duo work with Native Tribe in which they have collaborated with Blaq Huf, DJ Two4, and Shona SA. Also in the making are his EP and another from Native Tribe & Da Q-Bic.
Pretoria News