Marvin Ramalepe, best known as DJ Spoko (Limpopo, August 15, 1982 – Pretoria, March 14, 2018), was a South-African electronic music producer. He grew up in Atteridgeville, Pretoria, honing his love for music as part of the Hip-Hop crew GBE: then, he went on to create and enrich various musical styles that swept through South Africa and, eventually, the world, including “Sghubu Sa Pitori”, “Direkere” and most famously “Bacardi House” and “Shangaan Electro”.

Marvin went on to put his city on the map and redefine South African house through monumental songs such as ‘Mugwanti’, ‘Township Funk’ and ‘Cucumba’, alongside colleagues such as Mujava. He moved to further pushed the envelope by fusing his style of production with maskandi and rock, as part of the collective Fantasma.

Marvin enjoyed global acclaim and was at the beginning of a promising touring career when he was struck by illness. Never one to give up, Marvin put his love of music to the world until the very last days of his life.

He is considered a true pioneer who, despite his humble background, used his abilities to make a living for himself and inspire many people around the world.

Re-adapted from Africa Express.