- "After that, I started inputting the dance but a little, and as I started doing bigger stages, I needed to be bigger."
- She says the name Waffles was given to her by her high school mates because of a song from the animated American TV series ‘Teen Titans'
"People will understand dance even if they don't understand the lyrics, " Uncle Waffles told CNN's African Voices during an interview.
At the age of 21 years, Uncle Waffles born Lungelihle Zwane moved to South Africa from Eswatini and has ever since been popularly known for her Amapiano set mixes says the genre is led mostly by dance.
"Amapiano is such a unique melody that compels people to dance. I heard someone saying that the genre gives them an ancestral feeling," she said
When asked how she incorporates dancing and DJing, Waffles said she initially started off as a DJ and would throw one dance move here and there, for fun.
"I realised that people like dancing, and during one show, I got off the stage and started dancing with people and I realised that it made the whole performance," she said.
"After that, I started inputting the dance but a little, and as I started doing bigger stages, I needed to be bigger."
Waffles added that every time she went on stage, she wanted people to feel what she was feeling listening to the music.
"That is why I give people the stares, pointing like 'you get it? ' yeah!"
The DJ told CNN that she began learning the skill eight hours a day for nine months, just sitting and practising and falling in love, and once she gained the confidence she adopted a stage name, “Uncle Waffles.”
She said the name Waffles was given to her by her high school mates because of a song from the animated American TV series ‘Teen Titans', and believes her success has created a path for other female DJs around the continent.
“Your dream can be valid as a woman in male-dominated spaces,” Uncle Waffles told CNN.
“Being a DJ doesn’t limit it. If you want it to be on a big stage, you’ll accommodate that big stage.”
Uncle Waffles has received numerous awards in 2023 including Woman of the Year by GQ Men of the Year 2023, among others.
She has over 33 million streams on Spotify with 5.6 million listeners.