The SAMA-nominated DJ and creative talks to Between 10and5 about transformation, pushing Gqom beyond convention and why success has little to do with numbers.
For Lelowhatsgood, Rebirth Is Necessary isn’t simply the title of his latest EP. It’s a reflection of where he is as an artist.
The DJ, creative and SAMA-nominated artist has spent the past few years bridging music, fashion and nightlife, helping shape South African dance culture both behind the decks and beyond them. His latest EP, Rebirth Is Necessary, follows the acclaimed Next Level and marks his most ambitious body of work to date.
We caught up with Lelowhatsgood to talk about the making of the project, why transformation became its central theme and what success looks like beyond streams and chart positions.
The title Rebirth Is Necessary immediately speaks to transformation. What was happening in your life, creatively or personally, that made “rebirth” the right way to define this chapter?
There’s a point where you realise the version of you that got you here isn’t the one that’s going to take you further. That’s not a crisis and it’s a relief if i’m being honest. I was shedding old ways of working, old ideas about what success looks like, and the need to fit into what people expected from me. “Necessary” was the key word. It wasn’t a choice to evolve. It was something I had to do to keep being honest with myself and the music.
Was there a defining moment during the making of this EP that made you realise you were creating something different from your previous projects?
When the Gqom, the Afro Tech, the 3-Step, the experimental bits from what i’ve been taking inspiration to my whole DJ career — they all started speaking to each other instead of sitting in separate lanes, I knew I wasn’t just making another project. I was building a different language. The shift happens the moment you stop trying to make the work fit something recognisable and start trusting that the unfamiliar is the point.
“The version of you that got you here isn’t the one that’ll take you further.”
Your music often feels both deeply personal and incredibly self-assured. How do you decide which parts of your story you’re ready to share with listeners, and which parts you choose to keep for yourself?
It’s less about deciding and more about feeling. Some things need to come out through the music because that’s their natural home. Others are still being lived, still being processed — those need to stay close until they’re ready. I don’t believe in oversharing just to be seen as vulnerable. I share when it serves the work and the people receiving it. The personal stuff on the EP is there because it had to be told. I’m happy with how that came out and I hope it keeps resonating with people.
Growth often happens long before the audience gets to witness it. What were some of the unseen challenges, lessons or sacrifices that came with creating Rebirth Is Necessary?
Patience, mainly. With myself, with the process, with timelines that don’t match what people expect from you. There’s a lot of invisible labour in making something true. Sitting with ideas that aren’t working yet. Trusting that the discomfort of not knowing is part of it. Sacrifice-wise, it’s time, energy, saying no to things that would’ve been easier or more immediately rewarding. The lesson I keep coming back to is that the work will tell you what it needs if you actually listen.
As you step into this next era, what does success mean to you beyond streams, numbers and recognition?
It’s whether the music lands in the rooms it was made for. Whether the people who actually live this culture feel seen by it. Whether it creates moments — in clubs, in cars, at 2am — where someone feels less alone. Numbers are part of the picture, but they’re not the picture. Success is the work continuing to live and mean something long after the release cycle is done. And honestly, it’s just being able to keep making things on my own terms.
