Thabo Fassie was born into a royal family of music, so it's little wonder he has found himself behind the mic.
His mother is Caroline Fassie who carved a career for herself as a singer and TV personality, and Brenda Fassie is Thabo's great aunt. His father is Marc of 1990s superstar band MarcAlex, the Rantseli brothers.
This is a little known fact as the 21 year old has quietly been manoeuvering his way in the underground scene of local hip-hop, going as Diz. Not only is his talent in demand, but also he has earned himself respect as a mean producer, engineer and video director. He's enrolled at the Academy of Sound Engineering in Auckland Park.
But what matters most to Thabo, is the business side of music, he insists, and he works as a call centre agent to subsidise his business.
His current project is The Come Up Show, which he will host at Stones in Melville on August 28. The plan is to turn it into a tour of Gauteng - with dates in Pretoria, the Vaal, Diepkloof and Dobsonville in Soweto, and Braamfontein.
"This will be one of the first shows to be fully funded by an upcoming artist, featuring myself and two other acts - Boys in the Hood and Young Taurus."
He vented his frustration about how the industry was difficult in a song he titled TUT. "I was not getting any airplay or any likes, and after that song exploded things have happened," he says.
Thabo now features on Shugadibang, the track by comedian Toll A$$ Mo.
He says he knew music was his calling at birth. "I have always known that music was in my blood. It's the only thing I ever listened to and what my parents did."
He says his memory of Brenda was when he was five and she visited their house in Randburg and danced some ballet moves before whipping off her wig, leaving him startled. "At that young age I didn't know that people could remove their hair, I spent quite some time trying to take out my dreads with my fingers," he laughs.
"Vulindlela was played every single day in the house."
He says the best advice he received from his parents is to take care of the business side of music. "I can't reiterate that more. You buy relevance, you don't stay relevant because of hit songs. My mother always tells me that I'm yet to do my best," he says.
Thabo shares that he will feature in the Underdogs Tape to be released by Sugasmakx's company Buttabing.
He is currently working with rapper Maglera and Young Taurus for his mixtape.
"We've been underground long enough, now we are ready to push into mainstream," he says.
For his efforts, Thabo says he featured in the Top 20 mixtapes of the year in 2015, as decided by Hype, the hip-hop magazine chosen from 50000 hopefuls. "Arrogance aside, lots of people come to me for help with mixing, engineering and ideas. I'm humbled that my talent has got me this far," he says.
Caroline has since ventured into business.
Grooving in the right royal Fassie tradition
Thabo Fassie was born into a royal family of music, so it's little wonder he has found himself behind the mic.
His mother is Caroline Fassie who carved a career for herself as a singer and TV personality, and Brenda Fassie is Thabo's great aunt. His father is Marc of 1990s superstar band MarcAlex, the Rantseli brothers.
This is a little known fact as the 21 year old has quietly been manoeuvering his way in the underground scene of local hip-hop, going as Diz. Not only is his talent in demand, but also he has earned himself respect as a mean producer, engineer and video director. He's enrolled at the Academy of Sound Engineering in Auckland Park.
But what matters most to Thabo, is the business side of music, he insists, and he works as a call centre agent to subsidise his business.
His current project is The Come Up Show, which he will host at Stones in Melville on August 28. The plan is to turn it into a tour of Gauteng - with dates in Pretoria, the Vaal, Diepkloof and Dobsonville in Soweto, and Braamfontein.
"This will be one of the first shows to be fully funded by an upcoming artist, featuring myself and two other acts - Boys in the Hood and Young Taurus."
He vented his frustration about how the industry was difficult in a song he titled TUT. "I was not getting any airplay or any likes, and after that song exploded things have happened," he says.
Thabo now features on Shugadibang, the track by comedian Toll A$$ Mo.
He says he knew music was his calling at birth. "I have always known that music was in my blood. It's the only thing I ever listened to and what my parents did."
He says his memory of Brenda was when he was five and she visited their house in Randburg and danced some ballet moves before whipping off her wig, leaving him startled. "At that young age I didn't know that people could remove their hair, I spent quite some time trying to take out my dreads with my fingers," he laughs.
"Vulindlela was played every single day in the house."
He says the best advice he received from his parents is to take care of the business side of music. "I can't reiterate that more. You buy relevance, you don't stay relevant because of hit songs. My mother always tells me that I'm yet to do my best," he says.
Thabo shares that he will feature in the Underdogs Tape to be released by Sugasmakx's company Buttabing.
He is currently working with rapper Maglera and Young Taurus for his mixtape.
"We've been underground long enough, now we are ready to push into mainstream," he says.
For his efforts, Thabo says he featured in the Top 20 mixtapes of the year in 2015, as decided by Hype, the hip-hop magazine chosen from 50000 hopefuls. "Arrogance aside, lots of people come to me for help with mixing, engineering and ideas. I'm humbled that my talent has got me this far," he says.
Caroline has since ventured into business.
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