What can you tell us about the scene in other African countries... is the music gaining momentum there as well?

Slowly they are. The other countries are more into Hip-hop and I guess it's because of television... It's more MTV, so House there is non-existent but slowly it's moving up. Swaziland is huge, Namibia, Angola are getting to it, Mozambique is getting to it. They book a lot of European DJs in Botswana and Swaziland.

Would you say there are elements that characterize a South African sound?

I don't think there are any. When I do songs, I try by all means to do songs that sound universal. When you listen to it...you think maybe it's Dennis, maybe it's Kerri Chandler. It isn't just a sound that you say "Oh this must be African!" That's my view.

What do you do when you find yourself booked in some of the bigger clubs where the crowd enjoys a more mainstream sound?

I make sure when I go to a place and I'm booked by people that understand the kind of House that I play. I don't even have those songs, I wouldn't even know what to do! I'd pack my bag and go to the hotel and sleep!

Your rise to fame has happened in about four, five years? And you were coming up in a time when the music industry and its business models have changed drastically. Tell me what you have learned. A lot of people dream of being where you are. What advice would you give them?

When I started out, no one was doing what I was doing, especially back in South Africa. When I was first talking to all the big guys about doing an album of remixes, they were like "No man, I don't think that's going to work." But I felt it was going to work. Even being here, I'm the first guy from there to cross that line. So it's a bit hard to call them up and say "So what do I do now? What's the next step?"

It goes back to just listening to your inner being and knowing what you want. And that goes back to the music itself. When you make a song, make a song that you are inspired to make. Don't make a song that sounds like someone else. Listen to your own sound and listen to your own dreams. Dream the impossible.

Are there any South African artists that we should look out for? Are you mentoring anyone?

I've started a record label called Soulistic Music. When I released my album last year I released one of the artists as well, Culoe de Song. He's 19 but he's been touring Europe and had releases for a while. He was just with me in Miami for the conference. There's another one, Tumelo - he's a vocalist and we're doing his album at the moment. Hopefully it will be out on my label at the end of May. So far that's who I have and that's who I would like to keep, groom and grow. I don't want to get a lot of people. That's a lot of dreams and expectations.

I really enjoyed your video of "Turn Me On." How important are videos where you are? Is that a major thing where you live like MTV?

Not really. But with me it is. We don't get as much airplay with videos as we do with music. For me what's important is to have a video out. Now I mainly make them for YouTube so that the world can see it. People get to see who the artist is, people get to even understand where I come from, they get to see who's singing, they get to understand more than just hearing the song.

So what we can look forward to from you in the next few months?

I'm releasing a new single on Wednesday with GoGo Music in Germany, it's called "Gardens of Eden". The first time I released "Turn Me On" it was with that label. We have a very beautiful relationship and understanding. I love their sound, I love what they do. I couldn't choose anyone else, especially for that kind of song. And then a week or two from now I'm going to release another single called "Crazy" with a label from France called Foliage.

For more info on Black Coffee, check out his label soulisticmusic.com. Black Coffee's US tour was presented by DiverseCity Music, and DCM is planning to bring him back to the United States at the end of summer. Special thanks to Priti Soul Music.