Black Coffee

From:South Africa

DJ style:House, Afro-house

Best known for:Being Africa’s premier DJ

Nkosinathi Maphumulo, better known by his stage name Black Coffee, has been a leading pioneer in the Afro-house scene since the sound exploded in the ’00s. The South African DJ and producer has subsequently become a household name after becoming the first African to win the Grammy award for Best Dance/Electronic Album, but prior to his surge into further prominence, he’d long been a name for dance music lovers across the diaspora and beyond.

2024 has seen the continuation of one of Black Coffee’s biggest achievements to date — his residency at revered club Hï Ibiza, that continues to sell out week on week. Joined by guests like ANOTR, Carl Craig, Honey Dijon, Sicaria, TSHA, Themba and William Djoko, the residency has been his biggest and most successful to date. If that wasn’t enough to cement Black Coffee’s rightful place in the Top 100, he’s also scheduled to play and host two events under New York’s Brooklyn Bridge this year, with guests James Blake, DJ Koze and HoneyLuv, and, of course, delivered one of the sounds of the summer alongside &ME and Keinemusik in the form of ‘The Rapture Pt. III’. It’s Black Coffee’s world, and we’re just happy to be dancing in it.

Most Popular

Faustix

From:Denmark

DJ style: “Big techno.”

Best known for: “Collaboration with Diplo, Faustix, Imanos and Kai called ‘Revolution’.”

Everything about 2024 was big and bold for Faustix. The Danish dance music lifer found a new sound over the course of the past year, where ropey and dramatic arpeggios dart in and out of brash techno kicks and every drop feels like barreling down a dopamine rollercoaster. Each release seemed to push the envelope further and further — from the soaring emotions of ‘Lead Me To Love You’ with vocalist Mougleta to ‘All My Friends Are Hot’, whose cheeky vocal flip (“All my friends are hot and only listen to techno”) was the perfect summer festival anthem. Add to that a teased remix of Belgian Stromae ‘Alors on danse’ and it’s clear that 2024 was, without a doubt, the year Faustix found a whole new groove.

While he’s certainly been busy in the studio, Faustix has also played everywhere — from 13,000 person raves in the middle of Copenhagen to gigs on the Faroe Islands. Faustix, in other words, hasn’t taken his foot off the gas for even a second. And, with each gig and release, he is testament to how much people still love pumping, hard-edged techno.

Fave tune of 2024?

“Dash Berlin ‘Till The Sky Falls Down’, it’s an all-time classic and still gets me