Unquestionably one of South Africa’s brightest talents, Shimza real name Ashley Raphala has made the transition from aspirant industry young blood to leading light of the global afro house scene at almost breakneck speed. The Tembisa-born DJ, producer and promoter’s musical skills can be traced as far back as the age of fifteen, fuelled by the support and encouragement from his family. And his resultant rise to fame is littered with accomplishments too numerous to list but include winning a string of high profile DJ competitions to single handedly hosting his One Man Show event brand – a large scale outdoor party held every Christmas Day to raise funds for under privileged children.

The HangAwt Restaurant came to life when Ashley Kholofelo Raphala (Shimza) had a desire to translate his previous experiences in traveling around the world, in an environment that stood a lot closer to his idea of what a modern dining destination should be like, and was in line with his own aspirations in growing the township of Tembisa. Today, Shimza feels very fortunate to be able to find that his restaurant values resonate so loudly amongst the standards of the local dining scene. To him, The HangAwt is a lifestyle, a way of life, where making people happy is a constant driver. Covid-19 had a negative impact on Shimzas debut at the world’s biggest festival in Belgium – Tomorrowland which had to be cancelled. Midway through 2020, Shimza was poised to take his career to the next level as The Executive Producer for The Lockdown House Party on Channel O.

His drive, ability, creativity and willingness to always be thinking out the box, has made him the man he is today. Shimza continues his crusade to promote South Africa’s rich musical heritage with the launch of his new Kunye label. Shimza has been a key breakout star on the global electronic music circuit in recent years with his self-styled Afro-tech sound, and is now globally recognized as one of South Africa’s most celebrated music exports