Some know him as the man behind the smash hit “Zotata”, while others might’ve gotten acquainted with his work thanks to “Yahyuppiyah” by Uncle Waffles. Either way, Pretoria East-bred amapiano record producer Justin99 has been leading the charge as one of the facile leaders in making viral hits which have inspired numerous dance challenges on platforms such as TikTok.
We caught up with the star to learn about who he was before everybody knew his name, extracting details of his experiences growing up and what pushed him to make music.
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“I started to produce around 2016 and 2017. So, there was this one guy who’d chill with his laptop instead of playing with us, and he was busy with FL Studios the entire time, which I had no clue about back then. When I asked him about it, he explained what it was and how it works. From that day onwards I felt challenged, so every day I’d borrow his laptop whenever I got the chance and I’d be busy making beats.
“My uncle had an old PC, and it had Windows 8. Once I got FL Studios on it, we started making beats on it and experimenting over and over up until 2017, 2018, 2019, where I started making amapiano music. Before, I was making music in other genres like hip-hop and stuff that was popular at the time,” he said.
The renowned deckmaster recently marked his return after voluntary time on the bench with his single “Gilikidi”, alongside vocalist Nobantu Vilakazi as well as PCEE, Ray and Jay, and Lungaslimkat. Justin shared his version of events which sparked the creation of his latest track and how they all came together to fuse their expertise.
“The song came about through Nobantu [Vilakazi] who’d had organised a session with producer duo from Durban Ray and Jay. She had flown them out for the weekend. She asked them to pull through for a studio session with me and they did and we were able to come up with something catchy. I worked on the beat. Ray and Jay also worked on it as well, and one thing led to another over the next days,” he said.
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Although the “Kilimanjaro” hitmaker was on a self-imposed break, he admitted that his time off was not necessarily a period of inactivity. Instead, it was something of a silent and brooding incubation period which would inevitably culminate in the release of his recent single, which he dubbed a the start of a chain reaction for more music.
“Even though I have been in hiatus, I haven’t really been not working. So the song, “Gilidkidi”, is something to start me off as I get ready to release more,” he said.
In a world governed by the law of use and disuse, Justin99 listed three attributes he believed have helped him not only stay ahead of the curve but to grow in the process: imbibing other genres, being original, and running up the hours in the stu.
“I believe it’s important to constantly listen to new music and different genres, whether it’s listening to Afrobeats or my peers in the amapiano space. Another thing to remember is to try to not sound like anybody else – I myself don’t try to be like someone else with my production. On top of those two things, you must always stay in studio. I always am, and you’ll find me trying out something new,” he said.
Justin99 | SUPPLIED
From admiring the mind of “Calm Down” producer to the works of electro-fusion master Timbaland, Justin99 had a very specific list of artists he looked to in order to shape his craft.
“I’m inspired by the likes of Wizkid because I do a lot of sampling in my works. In terms of producers, I would say London, Pharrell Williams, Timbaland,” he said.
With a gleaming discography of viral hits and dance challenge-spawning singles, Justin99 called “Gilikidi” the darling of all his creations, citing that it held a special place in his heart since the song was a piece of art with his name on it fully.
“I’d say “Gilikidi” is my favourite song so far, because it’s my own creation. All the other songs I’ve done were me appearing as a primary artist or a feature. This one is my own. It’s the very first song I’ve dropped since “Petrol” and it’s my first official track,” he said.
