JOHANNESBURG - At the Untitled Basement in Braamfontein, the air is thick with a different kind of currency. It is not about rand and cents. It’s about taste.
Here, beneath the streets, cultural workers, artists - and all manner of creatives, corporate professionals and pilgrims from the northern suburbs like Sandton, Pretoria and Parkhurst gather under a single idea: an uncompromising ear for quality. They are the connoisseurs of Jozi, and DJ Kenzhero is their sonic sommelier.
Kenneth Nzama, the man behind the moniker, is the beat at the heart of this ecosystem. He rejects the notion that he is the oracle of trends. Instead, he sees himself as responding to a city that is always hungry, always ready.
'The city is always ready to experiment,' Nzama reflects.
'It's always ready to take different shapes, new ideas, revisited ideas. You can throw anything at the city, and it doesn't have to be specific genres.'
This is the central truth of Johannesburg that Nzama has built his career on. It is a metropolis with a learned palate, an audience he describes as having ‘depth’. This is not a city you can fool with a cheap beat or a generic playlist.
'The audience in Jozi, they have depth,' he notes.
'They are hungry to be matched with the right kind of music and quality programming. Don't take the audience for granted.'
This warning is a mantra that has guided Nzama from his early ‘Rebirth of Cool’ work to his current ventures like Sound Supreme, The Artivist, and the Untitled Basement.
His platforms are not just venues; they are quality control centres for the city's auditory soul.
'What keeps the music honest and high quality is a privilege that comes from my DJ experience,' he says.
'It all started because I just wanted to respect the audience. Do not ever think you are above them. Always think they know better. So, every time you put together a set or a program, don't take it for granted.'
This philosophy is the bedrock of his curation. Every set and every programme is a considered offering.
This mission to elevate the city's soundscape naturally aligned with the Jozi My Jozi movement and its ‘Babize Bonke’ campaign. For Nzama, the campaign was a meeting of minds, a convergence of purpose.
'What attracted me to Jozi My Jozi is the purpose of bringing Joburg back to at least what we knew it as, and more,' he states.
It is a collective effort to reclaim the city's narrative, a goal that dovetails perfectly with his own work, 'Babize Bonke', which means 'call everyone', is exactly what he has been doing for years through his events, building a congregation around good sound.
Reimagining Johannesburg, for him, is intrinsically linked to its sound.
'The sound of Johannesburg is so multifaceted. It is according to the feeling of the people on the ground,' he explains.
But after years of urban decay and neglect, he believes a conscious rejuvenation is necessary.
'We need to bring the dignity back into the Johannesburg soundscape.'
He points to a new wave of creators who are not just localising sound but building an international brand for Jozi, a testament to the world-class quality bubbling up from the city's core. This is the future he is invested in, not as a gatekeeper, but as a grounded architect. He is not looking to dictate the next Amapiano, but to create a space where the next generation can introduce it.
So, while the city buzzes with unknown reggae scenes and burgeoning R&B waves, Kenzhero remains at his post. In the Untitled Basement, at The Artivist, he is the steady hand ensuring the sound system is crisp, the selection is flawless, and the dignity of Jozi’s sophisticated ear is never, ever, taken for granted.