Danny that Guy on The Verve

He's made his presence felt over the years on Zimbabwe's media scene and continues to be a growing treasure to the industry. I got a chance to sit down with Danis Dube aka Danny that Guy and here's a little bit of what we talked about.

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Quick Questions With Dan

You recently co-hosted the NAMAs, what did that mean to you?

It was definitely a privilege and I genuinely didn’t see that for myself. I saw it as an opportunity to be a good MC, contribute to the arts and build my brand. So I had to get over the fact that I don’t really like the spotlight. (In reference to his Instagram post on being chosen to co-host the NAMAs) I’m not known as someone who speaks emotionally but I did enjoy parodying, ‘over the topping’ it and making fun of how people react to these moments in the media.

Your name is synonymous with ZiFM. How much do you attach/ detach that from your own brand as an individual?

I think everyone in media will always have 2 separate identities. One is the brand and one is the person as an individual. For some people, there’s more or less of a divergence between the 2. For me, there’s ‘Dan’ and ‘Danny That Guy’. Danny That Guy is my more public facing brand, known for radio, social media and public appearances. Danny That Guy and ZiFM have become quite linked. A lot of it is based on who I am, but ultimately not all of who I (Dan) am is Danny That Guy. Only people that personally know me – know me.

There’s also some Danny That Guy that’s not linked to the station though, like the podcast (2 Broke Twimbos) and a movement I started called ‘The Music Business Series.’ That’s about my personal love for the arts and music in Zimbabwe. Even separate to that, I’m also a digital marketing consultant. So there’s a lot of connection between Danny That Guy and ZiFM but Danny That Guy also has a lot of space outside of ZiFM.

Do you ever have a hard time separating those aspects of yourself?

No, I don’t feel the need to separate them. It’s just a matter of making sure I put enough effort and resources into all of the things that are important to me.

You’ve been at ZiFM since its inception in 2012. How did you end up there?

Once upon a time, a good friend of mine, Lo (Lochnation) and I accompanied another friend to a studio. The producer of that studio heard a conversation we were having and was like,

“Yo, that’s like a really funny conversation, we should record that and you guys should be on radio.”

So we made a plan to record the conversation and upload it online. A few months later, we got a call from the guys who were putting the station together after they listened to our recording. We were initially hesitant and said we weren’t really interested in being on radio but they convinced us to just come in and audition. They wanted to put us on a weekend show and we were still reluctant. We then met with Mrs Makore, who was the station manager at the time, and she basically told us, “Look, you lose nothing. If you try it and if you like it, you can build on it. If you don’t you can just leave it.”

Back then, I was concerned about a lot. I thought radio was so tied to politics and there were so many things I didn’t want to go on radio and start talking about in public... What if my mother’s listening, you know?

They told us we’d have full control of the shows we’d put together, as long as they were within the boundaries of the station’s values. We did it, enjoyed it and very quickly we had a full show in the morning and then we had one in the afternoon. That’s how we started with the show, ‘Off The Wall’ and the rest is history.

"It’s either doing or talking and if I’m out here sharing what I’m planning to do, I’m not doing it."

2 Broke Twimbos: You guys were the first local podcast I ever listened to. I see we now have a significant growth in local online content with podcasts, bloggers, YouTubers etc. Do you consider yourselves pioneers in any way?

I don’t think we were the first, there were definitely other people recording and uploading their podcasts before we started (in 2014). I think we were one of the first to do it in entertainment. We were definitely pioneers and led the way for other podcasts that are out now. Podcasts are difficult because unlike radio where people will listen if they’re tuned in anyway, with podcasts people need to decide to listen to you, download, press play and then choose to do it again next week. So you ask yourself, why should someone take their time out to listen to you? You’ve got to have something about your podcast that makes people want to turn away from what they’re doing and listen. For example, are you doing commentary on politics or speaking to celebrities? That draws people in and eventually you grow to like the show and want to listen to it over time.

What do you feel has had more influence on your career? Social media or traditional media?

It’s hard to tell because some people recognise me from the podcast and then there are people who know me from Twitter and some who have no idea that I’m on radio or that I even have a podcast, so it’s hard to measure. With radio, you don’t really know who you connect with as much as on social media. It’s hard to tell 100% if you’ve made a connection but obviously radio still by far has the biggest influence because it reaches out to potentially millions of people.

Do you see yourself as a celebrity or as an influencer? (Don’t be humble, tell the truth).

Ummm... Kind of. A little bit. I don’t believe Zimbabwe has a celebrity culture, mainly because we don’t have that many platforms. There are a few radio stations and only one TV station and even our online platforms are quite limited. The biggest online platforms only have a few thousand subscribers, so you’re not really in the public eye unless you have the biggest names. I think the only real celebrities are people like Jah Prayzah or some radio people like Misred. I think I’m, a little bit of a public figure... that’s a better term. I like to think of myself as a celebrities’ celebrity. A lot of the celebrities know me, most people don’t.

I think I do have some influence but the world reminds you a lot of the time that you don’t have as much influence as you think you do. I think I can drive certain things in the media and hopefully I’ll never abuse that.

This industry is constantly testing character and requires a little bit of vanity in order for you to succeed. How do you acknowledge your influence and at the same time stay so anchored?

The secret is to have something that you care about other than yourself. I worry that sometimes in our effort to combat negative self image, we may be pushing it a little too far and towards arrogance and narcissism. We need to continue to promote positive self image and also remember to find something we care about other than ourselves. Besides having your own agenda, have something that you realise is bigger to you than yourself and once you have that you’ll never just focus on yourself.

The other thing about me is that I don’t enjoy the spotlight too much. I’ll do things ‘cause I have an eye on building the brand or see that I can give my assistance but I get a certain level of anxiety whenever I’m in the public eye.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

I know where I see myself in 5 years but I’m not a big fan of talking about it because the moment you focus on talking, you can only do one thing. It’s either doing or talking and if I’m out here sharing what I’m planning to do, I’m not doing it. I do see myself as having built my brand and being more influential in the arts.

What’s the last song you sang?

MuRudo by Charlie Kay ft Gemma Griffiths . It’s new.

How are you and Boity? Are you 2 doing long distance? (Yes... Boitumelo Thulo)

(laughs) Hmmm we’ll see how it works out for us.

Thank you for your time Dan, is there anything else you’d like to tell people?

Yes - Subscribe to 2 Broke Twimbos!

Follow Danny That Guy on:

Twitter: @DannythatGuy

Instagram: @dannythatguy

Facebook: DannythatGuyZW