SIX years after the tragic death of up-and-coming DJ from Salsoneville, Four7, his close friends, local DJ duo, Jay Em, will be releasing an EP to pay tribute to their late friend.
Brothers from Bloemendal, Waven and Ruwayne Sebia, known collectively as Jay Em, have been making waves in the music industry since winning South African music giants, Mi Casa’s competition to remix their hit single, Nana, two years ago.
However, the brothers said that they would never have reached these heights had it not been for the influence of Neelan Munnick, who was known professionally as Four7.
Munnick, hit-maker of tracks such as J’Adore, died in a car crash in December 2014 at the age of 19. Waven was the passenger when Munnick’s bakkie was hit on the driver side when he turned into Stanford Road from the direction of Marock Road.
“Losing Neelan was extremely hard because he was my best friend,” Waven said.
“It affected everyone who knew him on so many different levels and it wasn’t easy at all, but we all just learned how to deal with it in different ways. Seeing how strong his brother, Sean and parents, Uncle Marty and Aunty Moena still are, gives us the strength to keep pushing and to continue his legacy,” he added.
“Neelan and I went to primary school together and he would teach me about production at FL studios. I would then go home and show everything to Ruwayne and, since then, we have been producing music.
“He was on an incredible journey in the music industry and I was there to witness it all, especially how he grew his brand and touched the hearts of people. Losing him was extremely painful,” Waven explained.
According to the brothers, Neelan, who lived in September Crescent, always spoke about his dream of starting his own record label, titled “Spt Str”.
Remembering all the conversations he had with his best friend, Waven and his brother decided to do the tribute and call it 47 September Street. The release date is set for this Friday, December 11. The EP will be available to stream on all music platforms.
The brothers believe that this tribute would mean a lot to the community, as Four7’s music played a huge role in their own childhood memories and is still relevant for them today.
“It is also to help us remember what a humble person he was, destined for greatness.
“He showed people like us that there is so much out there; we just have to put in the work and go get it. Wherever we go and whatever we achieve in life, we will always tell people about the great Four7,” Jay Em said.
The brothers mentioned that to add Neelan’s personal touch, they incorporated his signature “yeah” into every song on the EP.
“There are so many people who miss him and would love to hear his voice again.
“Hearing that ‘yeah’ makes us extremely happy and reminds us that he will always be by our side,” they added.
“This EP is extremely personal to us and is our way of saying thank you to Neelan for being the person that he was. This is us letting South Africa know how much he meant to us and that his music will live on forever.”
