Matt Brown — Chief Excitement office at Digital Kung Fu and author of Your Inner Game

welcome to it it is what's involved as we do each and every Monday at this time and I got to tell you my guest tonight is going to be surprising because he's been surprising to me so not only to me but to you as well the gentleman in question is Maseer Mashapa and well we're going to talk to Maseer but all the things he's done because it's been absolutely fascinating welcome Maseer

you're gonna need to get very close to these microphones they're very direct so there we go okay right so let's let's start off a little bit and we start off the way I generally do tell me a little bit about Maseer and and your journey where were you born where'd you grow up school that kind of thing I come from Pretoria in a township called Atresville born and bred yes I went to high school there I finished that and then went to Vista University to study for my become degree there uh-huh and then moved on to Vets University to study for a higher diploma in computer auditing okay and you went on I mean you you're a qualified qualified accountant but you went on to start an auditing firm a forensic auditing firm just before that I started a what would call the first black computer auditing firm yeah yes where I accepted the at the time upcoming black audit firms like Corboto MSGM then we started to make in closer with the bigger auditing firms PwC KPMG yeah delights so those are some big names that you that you that you're passing out there you you then it's changed it's sort of form a couple of times over the years but it's it is now am I correct insane the largest forensic auditing firm in the country a black owned specializing in forensics digital forensics forensic auditing okay yes not bad for a lead from Atresville hey so we could talk a lot about business all right and and and a lot about what you've done and how you've done it because it might seem like I'm just glossing over that but for me the more fascinating aspect is what else you do because you also have a passion for technology but your bigger passion is for music yes music is my first love uh-huh and and specifically and I'm gonna listen we've got we've got lots of people that listen here so I'm gonna make which is gonna be one of David's revelations again that everybody goes I never knew that about you deep house is is is your thing it's it's my core I'm deposits my life now initially if somebody to me do you like house music deep house music I've gone nah and yet before deep house became trendy we had the Holy Beetha thing and we had Buddha bar and then lounge music and I became a fan I love it and then when I heard that we have this deep house music which is largely there's there's a huge chunk of it produced and created here in South Africa I'm a secret closet deep house fan I have to be honest it's beautiful music so it's enough you took your love of music and decided that wasn't enough did you actually DJ as well I do DJ even now still is if you go to my YouTube page you'll come across a lot of good mixes that I do it's the godfathers of deep house global I've got lots of mixes we would see me live DJing the godfathers of deep house global yes and that that's your name I mean that's how people know you they know you as the godfather yes yes because I know when I came in and I was talking to a couple of guys before I got into the station today and then when I was here and I and I was I was talking about monsieur and everything people like who who monsieur my supper know you must know him he's known as the godfather yeah now everybody knows so that is that is sort of your alter ego but you've done amazing stuff with it because you haven't just fallen in love with the music you don't just DJ you have always had a passion for technology as well yes technology was mainly my means to an end mm-hmm the end being the music okay you know and then you decided you wanted to now take this concept this this this the godfathers and this concept of deep house music and make it available to the world but you decided not to do it in a traditional sense you did it in or with what is very much it's the thing now we we're living in this fourth industrial revolution that people keep telling us about that's going to change our lives and one of the things that people are still very uncertain about because they associated with with Bitcoin and things like that is the blockchain technology and you've used that blockchain technology and when I come back I'd love for us to chat a bit about that because I think it's absolutely fascinating so we'll talk about what you've created my special guest in studio with me is the godfather what can I say monsieur monsaba and it's an absolute pleasure having him here listen to this messages come in Jatin says this is Jatin it's amazing to hear this interview we ventured along parallel paths passion for tech music leading to ICT audits and deeper house say guys it's deep and we love it that's the amazing thing though monsieur is is the popularity and and it crosses cultures and it crosses ages this this deep house music you know you can't say well that's raps are only the youngsters like it or this this or it truly does cross boundaries and borders why do you think that is music music for me it's it's consumed even better than food and if it's about money you're looking at 7.6 billion people you can reach that talks the language the music language very universal so you'd like to leave an impression where people I don't know if you are aware our music we call it nostalgic deep house yes well that's the payoff line that you've got there that nostalgic deep house and it is though but this is the weird thing because I was listening to some of the music earlier on today and you know I'm a I'm a white boy in his 50s you know technically speaking the past shouldn't be my thing and yet I thoroughly enjoy listening to it why though I mean I know music is universal but what is specific about deep deep house music it talks to the soul this is the kind of music that connects to the soul okay and that's why I wanted to share with you why we call it nostalgic yes deep house by sheer meaning of the word nostalgia because at any given time when we put you in that space whether you are new to the genre to our kind of deep house mm-hmm or you have been listening to deep house or any other music for that matter the moment we have our time to put you in that slot it takes you into a trance and you will only experience it after after we are done with the music because that's when the nostalgia kicks in it wants to take you back to that same place because we we design it with elements like you know classic elements they connect very well to the soul yes you want music to be truly universal and be part of any any environment as I said to you earlier I wanted to be able to play in the boardroom discussing a billion dollar deal yeah we thought it disrupting but fusing within the environment and if you want to leave that environment and switch into a vibe mode the same track or same music can take you there so it's got faces that connect with everyday human life see that's that's probably one of the best explanations that I've heard I mean that makes so much sense to me that it then can this music that is crafted and it it strikes me that it's the people that are making and creating this music are making it with love anything you do with love you can't go wrong because especially in the music space if you do it with love there there are no waking hours you don't want to rest until you get that final product which we have just defined to say when I'm done with this it must hit you first it must hit your soul first and that's what the universe will transmit for you out there to the other source it will have the same effect so it is the conditioning of the mind to do that kind of music which is why one of the key things we do with our recording label the Godfathers of Deep House is to let any producer that we bring on board go through the seven habits of highly effective people Oh chef Stephen Covey's yes because once you you start with the inside out it's easier to begin to understand how the world out there works you know and ultimately the effectiveness is seen in the final product okay question is Deep House where did Deep House come from was it a uniquely South African thing or is it is it what we would call world music it is more world music because it originates from Chicago as house music it well they called it house music it was warehouse they were doing it in warehouses hmm yeah and it transcended into that and became house music but really the the pioneers behind that way the likes of Frankie Knuckles who is now termed the Godfather of house because they came with that spirit of beat to make a fuse between disco and funk but have music that would be more like gospel hmm which is one of the things that I found very refreshing about Deep House I mean there's there's it is it's just it's a soulful it's poetic and it's a very it has a very calming relaxing influence and I mean you know it's unlike sort of the rep and the gangster up and you know we're gonna roll in or this and blow this one away and you know it's it's it is and I think music can speak to you and it can definitely influence you big time that's why I say it's a it's a universal language and you want it to to be at peace with your soul because when you talk other genres they are good in their own right but it's not the kind of music with play Monday to Friday yeah and with the kind of music we produce deep house it's that kind of music where you can play Monday to Friday absolutely Sunday actually I'm not getting bored well I was saying to you offer you know one of my favorite things is on a weekend if we having a brag a couple of friends around put it on just quietly there in the corner and it just you kind of ease into the weekend with it definitely which I think is brilliant now let's get on to the disruption aspect though because aside from the passion aside from the fact that you are still DJing I'm not gonna be impolite and ask you how old you are because for a while I thought between myself and Blewett Tony Blewett we would be sort of amongst the oldest I think you might be right up there with us though yes yeah so it's still gang still doing well there the godfather is and where did this disruption what did you do in terms of the disruption and blockchain how did that all come about in 2001 actually put up a patent very specific to the project at the time that we're doing trying to revolutionize vehicle licensing and registration because the way the system was designed to us causing a lot of fraud and corruption and subsequently vehicle theft mm-hmm but that system was designed to cut across any other function fast-forward to today it turns out to be blockchain technology that's been deployed okay so as I told to a lacun from a risk and control environment by virtue of being an auditor mm-hmm so in all aspects you look at issues to say how can we improve our industries especially the music one of the core problems that we experience in music is that artists do not get revenues and if they don't get revenues it really shows you that this system is gonna be unsustainable for our arts and culture yeah so we need to get a system that can ensure that artists the the content creators are the ones that actually get compensated accordingly to keep the our arts and cultures alive and that's a worldwide phenomenon but this was the thing because when excuse me when when music started going digital everybody was well the record industry is gonna collapse the recording industry is gonna collapse because people can now just rip off songs left right and center and and there's no payment to the artist we've had our own struggles in South Africa with getting artists performers producers getting those royalties because I remember in my day even when I was doing mobile discos we had to get a samurai license we had to submit all the songs we played we had to pay a license fee but once we paid it nobody had any idea what happened whether it got to the artists or not we didn't know are you saying with what you've done now if somebody how does it work well I tell you it let's come back and talk about hardworks because yes I think this is an amazing thing and I think many many more people should be using it and maybe they are you can tell me when we come back what's involved we are talking to the godfather Monsieur Machaba who is the well he's the godfather but he's also the CEO of Affirm he's a fourth industrial revolution kind of guy he's into tech he's into disruption and into blockchain and I think what they're doing is the most amazing things my special special guest and what a fantastic the interesting person is visionary yes producer yes DJ yes CEO yes the list goes on Monsieur Machaba definitely a game changer and it's so refreshing to see somebody that is that is that plugged in now we talked disruption before the break and and what you've done and your platform we've mentioned I've mentioned in passing this fourth industrial revolution I've I've heard what is going to be happening and I've heard from the doom and gloom guys I had interviewed John Saunay the other day who's a futurist he's very positive about the outlook are we South Africa you know we sort of like the West's poor brother you know here in in Africa the dark continent etc are we poised to take advantage of this because I've got a feeling that we may be very well positioned for this I think when we talk Africa and go beyond South Africa when you talk Africa yeah we reach in mineral resources as well as human capital yes so for that reason I can tell you we are best positioned to actually lead the digital economy and you can see the message is echoed right at the top by the president in his sona speech he mentioned we need to move to the digital economy in the there was an 4 IR summit just around the corner yeah yes galaga estate yes promoting the very same thing because that is the future of the world and the sooner we get into grips with that the better for us however I think the greatest challenge with with us in in South Africa and Africa is for us to catch up with the technology we need to start adopting the terminology that's gonna make it much easier for us to to understand this blockchain technology this fourth Industrial Revolution because if you say blockchain it's a very English way but in in Spain they don't say blockchain they use a Spanish way yeah in Germany they don't say blockchain they use a German way so for us to to catch up with that some of the initiatives we have taken to say we are in South Africa I can tell you right now David if I say moolah yes Zulu vendor closer shotgun they will know what English Africans and that that's the kind of terminology now we are trying to now invent because it becomes very imperative to move with a language we understand because it makes adoption easier because English is an international language yes we will be able to marry the international language and make it localized into African talk but now the beauty of blockchain technology is it makes everything secure is that is that the essence of it yes because it talks about immutable records yes it's a distributed ledger that talks about immutable records so again one key element of it it's not only distributed the trust is also distributed which means whatever record you put in there because it's distributed worldwide we find that you need to collude with a million people to change a record that's practically impossible so it's it's it's almost forcing honesty and and ethics exactly that that is the power of blockchain it starts with a principle of trust and ethics come there by default now yes because you can't speak to me in Japan and another one in Brazil to train all time record so that leads to that immutability of records alright so now we're going to get on to the technology but stay listening because this technology is fascinating if you know any artists or musicians you need to listen to what's coming up but we're having a big bash because what is deep house without a big bash coming up soon and you have been kind enough Maseer to give to offer us five double tickets yes a total of ten ten tickets five doubles we're gonna talk about that briefly as well just make a note okay there's no questions don't start mailing and doing everything now but make a note four one three four eight is the SMS line that's charged at 150 what's up oh eight four eight double two oh nine three eight these are tickets we're giving away to which event it's a one nation event where we will actually be demonstrating the use of blockchain technology in the concert environment playing deep house so how does that sound okay you're gonna be finding out about blockchain in an environment with deep past search all of your passions it was gonna be at the Sun Arena and now you've decided now let's let's move it let's make it bigger and better so where's it gonna be now at W launch we have got that lap a very huge club with a capacity of 8,000 people okay which is the home of the Godfathers yeah so we want to move it there because with Sun Arena we have got time restrictions at the same time I mean six to eleven yeah you can't party party yeah you can't party properly there so the big advantage that's gonna come with moving it to that lap is because we it's our own club we can run from 2 p.m. through to the following day yeah okay and it's just it's gonna be it's gonna be amazing so we've got five double tickets to give away to that and it's compliments let's just say it's compliments of the Godfathers okay so the bit about South African muses which is what fascinates me the most now your platform and your technology that you've got works on blockchain it works with blockchain so people submit music to you explain take me through it yeah what happens let's start with the submission of music yeah irrespective of any January you are in so rock pop doesn't matter you name them we have got a platform that's ready to upload quality and I must emphasize quality content on to that platform and open it up to the world stream yeah and then immediately every stream that's recorded happens in real time and within 24 hours the system has already computed how much you should be any in royalties and you can withdraw that money at the same time so the turnaround time for the time your music is streamed the time you get paid it's 24 hours so are you saying if I subscribe to to the service yes and I stream a song not download it yes stream it yes I am gonna get paid as either the artist or the producer whatever the case may be within 24 hours obviously it's a percentage so if somebody listens to the song once it's not gonna be huge money but I mean we taking this platform to the world yes so you potentially if you have good music have the potential of millions and millions and millions of people listening to you definitely quality music I keep emphasizing quality but a record company is not beating down your door now are they not going please let us get what do we need to do to get access to this because I'm sure artists are gonna beat down your doors because this overcomes one of the biggest problems that artists have is how do we get paid we're artists we now perform our music how are we getting paid because it's very easy to to grab an mp3 and it can go all over the place but if it's on your your system and it gets streamed you get paid yes and remember one of the key objectives of of blockchain is to cut out the middleman yes recording labels tend to be the middleman mm-hmm our platform is geared to address the indie genre independent artists who do not need to go through any other person to put their music out there so more than saying recording labels are after us because it's more disrupting their model of business it is the artist because it's the them who's in whose best interest is to end money within 24 hours because that ensures sustainability because there's continuous revenue yeah as opposed to the current model where people wait 18 months to get paid what are you surviving on during that time yeah and then I mean you think about artists we expect the best from them but they're out there having to giggle the time they're having to try and sell the music out of their boots and etc etc this is something that you have now you showed me in the break you know getting queries about this from all over the world exactly artists from all over the world want to be on this platform and this is South African designed and created yes I think that's phenomenal that's that's the power because it's the most complete music ecosystem you can get so far and not only that another point if you think of the immutability of records on a blockchain one of the things we can all almost guarantees that if we are the only people who received your music we guarantee that it will never be pirated and now you can imagine if your music is not pirated the revenue streams that are gonna increase because now people have to pay for your craft okay this this is so if I if I go into your system I find a song I like yes in order to download it I would have to pay you can download it yeah but it will only play with our unique stream a media player you cannot play it anywhere else okay so you're not getting the mp3 that you can play on any player that you want to know because if we do that it's still gonna perpetuate yes absolutely okay but then over and above that you've also there's so much to talk about I don't know if you're gonna get through everything you are encouraging young producers young artists young musicians you've pioneered you've you've you've joined forces with the pioneer DJ Academy if I'm not mistaken yes yes yes so now what what is that all about is that to get guys into into this music field what do they get do they get the support help how does it work pioneer is a Institute it's a DJ training Institute music production Institute we have got the same setup as the Godfathers so for the sake of synergy we thought it would be a great idea to collaborate and offer an even better service to the people who aspire to be in the music industry especially on the production side and the DJ inside mm-hmm however it does not help you to be a DJ and run around with a certificate or be a music producer and go no way yeah so our processes are designed that once you get into the system as a trainee will pull you through right up to the end then the best students especially on the production side they will automatically start providing content to us so they are never gonna be lost out of the system which is again something that that you know people haven't thought about that because with with DJs and in fact radio radio is another great example people have got radio present radio broadcasting courses all over the place churning out hundreds and hundreds of people we don't have enough jobs in radio for all of the people that have and you know there's nothing more heartbreaking than seeing somebody come to the door holding their certificate which they've studied for and paid for and and it could be a year two years three years even maybe more for some of them that they've spent studying and there is no work available so with what you're doing I think that's brilliant but you've got a step further because now not only can we do this but there's also an online radio station yes we do have an online radio station which reaches hundred and fifty countries out of two hundred and eighty three in the world yeah I've got a 68 percent reach across the world and that's why you saw earlier when I showed you the email so yeah people trying to come on board from all over the world we've got the biggest consumption of our music is Germany and strangely enough Russia which I was not aware until we started picking up the numbers from the online radio but I'm looking here some of the the radio station okay growing listenership over half a million people from 2016 that's that is really impressive because that is not getting the music to the ears of people who can potentially buy it yes it's brilliant and okay but not only that you also have got the mobile app well this is the one we were talking about yes so is that the one that has the monthly subscription because you've got a couple of subscription models yes so I can I can go in there and it does really cater for anybody I can go on there and I can have any one of those subscriptions which allows me to download and play X amount of songs yes and I mean it's very very reasonable I mean I noticed the first thing I did I was like oh it's in dollars yeah okay and then I when I read about your international penetration I was like okay yeah it makes sense and then I did a quick conversion per track it's very reasonable the cheapest in the world the cheapest quality in the world for that matter yeah I mean for you buy a track anywhere else again it cost you a whole lot more than what you guys are charging currently average competition charges 29 to 30 rents per track yeah we're doing it at about 1450 1460 per track but if you go our subscription route that 14 drops literally to two and eight cent because on a okay on a subscription of gold where we give you hundred and twenty tracks per annum yeah at the ten per month yeah literally if you work the numbers out for out of two 250 now we've it's up to 300 yeah I was looking today some of those those those compilations are 300 songs yeah so if you look at the value that you receive vis-a-vis the price that you pay will see that we are literally the best and the cheapest when it comes to quality music in studio with me we've got masea mashaba who is from the godfathers of deep house when is that event again the 20 when is that there are two events there's a workshop on the 26th yes but that is for free okay I will be educating interested parties especially the music community songwriters guitar is composers vocalist music producers will be educating them about this blockchain taking okay yeah and then on the 27th where is the main event will actually be displaying that technology while we do our play so you can go there it's a it's a great day evening late evening early morning out five seats of double tickets are going to be given away all you got to do is tell us who is masea mashaba what do we know him better as we're talking about the godfathers of deep house so let us know if you want to get one of those double tickets furthermore where would people go to find out more about this where do they find out what is the best website to get all of this information particularly if you're an artist we have set up a page on Facebook it's pure tracks Africa okay can you spell that for me p a p e e r Africa yeah pure tracks Africa dot com and they can also go to pure tracks dot com with which is not the universal part of it okay and and and your own the godfathers brain where is that it's W W W yeah but the godfathers dot co dot Z day the godfathers dot co dot Z a and our Facebook page is the godfathers of deep house essay emphasizing the essay because it's a South African initiative okay awesome awesome stuff I wish you all the best I think South African artists in fact artists around the world are going to look back and go yeah this was a good thing because the fact that these guys have now got a way to join up sign up get their music out there and that they then get paid for it we see it to you that's that's had this passion for house music and turned it into a solution for artists it embraces what I believe Africa is all about and what this fourth industrial revolution is going to be about so a very big big thank you to you thank you for your kindness and your generosity it looks like my whatsapp and my colony have just fallen over so what I'll do is I'll check on the when we get when we get everything back up I'll get those details through to you guys as well then okay alright thank you so so much we wish you all the best and the best of luck for the 27th it sounds like it's going to be an absolute blast big one there we go special guest what a treat museum a shower from the godfathers in studio with me thank you for listening