On a warm Harare night, the lights at Pablo’z flicker in rhythm with the crowd. The bass hums through the floor, the air carries that weekend electricity, and behind the decks stands a man whose calm focus commands the room. For years, DJ Spunj, born Panashe Mbanje, has been the quiet architect of Harare’s nightlife, the one who keeps the city’s pulse steady when the lights go down. But now, something deeper is stirring. The man who once defined the party is now redefining the sound.
“I love dance music, I love amapiano and 3-step, Zimbabweans love it too,” he says, leaning forward, voice steady but certain. “It’s just that we don’t really have a child of the soil pushing that sound the way our neighbours are.”
That gap is exactly what he’s filling. His transition from DJ to producer feels like a natural evolution, the next chapter in a journey shaped by faith, creativity, and a quiet determination to carve out a uniquely Zimbabwean rhythm in Africa’s fast-growing electronic scene.
Long before the lights and late nights, Spunj had his eyes on a very different stage. He was a footballer, set on playing professionally in Europe before the pandemic brought his dream to a standstill. “I’d just stopped playing after contract talks fell through,” he recalls. “I was stuck, not knowing what to do next.”
But music had always been waiting. Growing up, he listened differently, not just hearing songs, but dissecting them. “I used to separate each sound in my head,” he laughs. “I didn’t even know that was a real skill.” His cousin, fellow DJ Danny Vibes, gave him his first real shot. “He threw me behind the decks at his spot, Kirytan,” Spunj says with a grin. “I got my first thirty-dollar tip that day from a random customer. That’s when it hit me. I could make something out of this.”
What followed was a rise built on consistency and instinct. In a city where DJs dictate the mood of every night, Spunj became a familiar name at clubs like Pablo’z and Karma, known for sets that blend deep house, amapiano, Afrobeats, and soul. Yet even while commanding the booth, he began hearing his own melodies forming between the beats, sounds that reflected his world, his language, his spirit.
That impulse became Pakawanda, his breakout single with Denzel. The track moves with amapiano’s warmth but carries an undertone of reflection. “I’m trying to make music that has rhythm and reflection,” he says. “Something that feels like home.” The record sounds distinctly Zimbabwean, mbira-inspired melodies woven through log drums, Shona lyrics delivered with intimacy, a faith-filled pulse beneath it all. “We sing along to amapiano songs from South Africa that we might not understand lyrically,” he says. “But we feel them. Imagine that same feeling, but in our language, that’s what I’m trying to do.”
Faith runs through everything Spunj creates. The word itself is tattooed on his neck, a reminder of the foundation he stands on. “My mom taught me about faith,” he says softly. “Through her prayers, I saw what God can do when you trust Him.” Even his most energetic tracks carry a sense of gratitude and grace. “My mom always says, ‘Use your talent to minister to someone. You never know who’s listening,’” he says. “So even when I make music for the dancefloor, it has to speak to the soul too.”
That spirit has guided his collaborations, reworking Takura’s Hazvireve Rudo Handina into a dance anthem and giving Janet Manyowa’s gospel track Somlandela a glowing amapiano touch that keeps its devotion intact. “For me, those collabs are answered prayers,” he says. “To have remixes of artists like Janet and Takura this early in my career, that’s a blessing.”
The Harare club scene itself is an ecosystem, a blend of fashion, flash, and fierce individuality. “Everyone wants to stand out,” Spunj laughs. “In Harare, you’re known for something, maybe the car outside, maybe the clothes. For me, it’s the music. That’s my signature.” His sets are deliberate experiences, mixing nostalgia with innovation. But lately, he’s been thinking bigger, about the visibility of DJs, about the respect for their craft, about how Zimbabwe can build its own wave.
“In South Africa, you’ve got DJ producers like Kabza De Small and Kelvin Momo headlining with their own music,” he says. “Here, DJs are still mostly seen as people who play songs, not as artists. I want to change that.” Watching Kabza perform at Carpe Diem Festival in Johannesburg left an imprint. “He turned the whole place into a praise session with Imithandazo,” Spunj says, smiling. “I had goosebumps. That’s how I want my music to feel, a connection that moves through rhythm and spirit at the same time.”
As 2025 draws to a close, he’s deep in studio sessions, crafting collaborations with Takura, Janet Manyowa, Verseless, and Denzel, a line-up that mirrors his ability to move between gospel, house, and amapiano without losing sincerity. “The dream is to play at Afro Nation and Zimfest in 2026,” he says. “I’ve imagined it so many times — the volume drops, the crowd sings every word back. It’ll be spiritual and electric.”
That mix of humility and ambition defines him. Rooted in Harare but inspired by the world, Spunj is part of a new generation of artists reclaiming Zimbabwe’s place in Africa’s soundscape. His music carries both movement and meditation, a beat that makes you dance and words that make you think.
“Pakawanda means ‘it’s spread,’” he says finally. “That’s how I feel right now, like the sound, the faith, and the dream are spreading.”
It is. And if the rhythm coming out of Harare tonight is anything to go by, Spunj might just be the one to carry it across the world.
