It is almost impossible to mention Oscar Mbo and not immediately think about his impeccable style and faultless fashion taste.
He chats to TRUELOVE about his much-talked-about trendsetting looks, love and music.
“Very, very clean”
The booked and busy DJ confesses, “I couldn’t speak to you yesterday. I was shopping. It was my off day.”
He was at a luxury store AMIRI in Sandton doing what he loves. He tells us that while shopping a salesman said, “I always choose clothes that other people don’t choose.”
Oscar Mbo shares the reason his style perhaps stands out.
“When it comes to fashion it just needs a personal touch. My style is really just inspired by being different and this translates in everything, being able to do things your own way, at your own pace. With my style, I don’t go where everyone is looking.”
He admits to being influenced by international designers and runway fashion, well-known personalities or even style enthusiasts while crediting the internet for how he chooses to style his clothes. To define it, the Yes God hitmaker says, “Very very clean.”
Madly in love
In his relationship, style and fashion never lag. Whenever Oscar Mbo makes an appearance with his girlfriend, Lerato Phasha, their outfits are always well-coordinated and styled.
“When it comes to outfits, we talk about them just as we talk about everything else. We always ask each other about what we feel like wearing. We decide if we want to match. But we always make sure we keep our individual style,” Oscar Mbo says.
Where love is concerned, he says he has never had the urge to keep his dating life private. While it might be a big deal to others, to him it isn’t.
“This is nothing huge for me. It is my real life. It is not something that I feel like I have to hide. It is part of my love language. I am that guy! I’m comfortable, I’m happy so it is not a matter of effort, for me it is part of who I am. It is my personality and I feel it is a good thing.”
The two have been together for three years and are going strong. Embracing this relationship publicly is innate. “I don’t do it for her, I do it for me. It makes me happy because it is something I am living by and I take pride in. I invest a lot in my happiness and she is part of my happiness.”
A successful career
This year marks 14 years since Oscar Mbo started his career as a DJ. But he only started making his own music in 2019. After years of hard work, he has been nominated at this year’s Metro FM awards for Artist of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Styled.
“It took long. You have to be consistent until you are regarded for some things in the industry. Some artists don’t last, others become a ‘one-hit wonder’ or disappear.
“[It takes a] High level of discipline, you have to stay committed to the course. Continuously reinventing yourself because the game keeps evolving. That’s what has kept me reaching the heights that I have reached.”
The song is gunning for Song of the Year.
“Yes God was recorded a year and a half before it was dropped. I felt it needed its own shine. It was [recorded during] a normal studio session. As an artist, you don’t go into a studio with having a huge song. You just get into the studio praying for creativity, praying to get something solid. So it came naturally.
That’s how we do our work, we did the work and God did the magic,” Oscar Mbo says.
