Smiley Da Boss
Kabelo Rafelane was born and bred in Pretoria. He credits his cousin as the spark that lit his passion for music. “One day I saw my cousin using Virtual DJ to play at family functions. He taught me the basics of the software and I taught myself every other technicality”. Smiley has aspirations of growing his career beyond the decks. The ultimate goal, according to him, is to be a full time artist and not just a DJ.
“I want my music to transcend borders, for my sets to leave an everlasting impression but most importantly, for my craft to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves”
Smiley adds that a lot of people he encounters ask him about the origin of his name. “I actually got this name in grade 2 because I’ve always been a happy person. I was always smiling and always laughing, it’s always been about the good vibes. So I call myself Smiley De Boss because I’m a boss and i’m always smiling”, he said with a smile on his face.
It goes without saying that UCT campus parties would not be the same without the high energy sets by DJ Smiley Da Boss. He makes it his personal mission to leave the crowd wanting more.
“I have been a die-hard lover of music from a very young age, from when I was born actually. I’d listen to the radio very often and I’d listen to these things called “mixes”, usually by DJ Kent”.
In his budding career, Smiley has played sets alongside some of South Africa’s heavyweight DJ’s such as DJ PH, MRF Souls, TashingaMTK… and the list goes on. His popularity gained him a residency at Amapiano Sundays, a weekly event for students hosted at Kind Regards in Observatory.
You can find him on Instagram @smileydeboss_sa