PLUGGED IN DXB Podcast

Keegan moved to Dubai in 2018 knowing nobody, with two 23kg bags and a backpack. Eight years later, was it worth it?

AMN has played every Christmas, New Year's Eve and birthday since he was 16. This is the real price of chasing it abroad.

In this episode:

• The sacrifices nobody sees: missed weddings, birthdays and family time

• From Emirates cabin crew to building a life in the UAE

• Strict SA school uniforms, a tattoo at 13 and parents who kept it real

• Treating yourself in Dubai (and the self-control it takes)

• AMN on opening for Chris Brown in South Africa

• New DJs: pay your dues and get a mentor

• Braai Day plans and a big Q4 ahead

Chapters:

0:00 Intro and Q4 energy

1:39 AMN heads to Qatar for Hex Nation

4:20 Working every Christmas, NYE and birthday

12:33 Strict SA schools and a tattoo at 13

9:17 Weddings: hopeless romantic vs no formal shoes

6:00 Emirates cabin crew and missing home15:13 Parents, trust and freedom

21:03 Eight years in Dubai with two 23kg bags

23:47 Treating yourself in Dubai

27:33 10 episodes in: shout-out to Jeff

29:41 Braai Day plans (24 Oct, JBR)

35:06 Give people their flowers now

35:39 Abu Dhabi F1 and the UAE doing it elevated

37:15 Chris Brown, and AMN opening for him in SA

41:35 New DJs: pay your dues, get a mentor

43:11 Wrap-up

Hosts: Keegan Basil (@keeganbasil) & Just AMN (@itsjustamn)Curated by Mystique (@mystiqueparties) | mystiquebyma.com

Follow PLUGGED IN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pluggedindxb

We really grew up thinking the world would end in 2012. And somehow this is what came after.

Keegan and AMN get into the movies that shaped them, the twists that broke them, and why South Africans can't explain 'now now'.

In this episode:

• Spider-Man hype in Dubai and an honest review of Obsession

• Top 3 movies of all time (and AMN has never finished Titanic)

• 2012, Nostradamus and the Simpsons predictions

• Shutter Island, Glass Onion, The Menu and movies that mess with your head

• SA slang explained: 'shame', 'now now', robots and garages

• What 'Dubai it' actually means

• A billion dollars, one day: what we'd buy

Chapters:

0:00 Intro: a yacht on a Tuesday

1:40 Surviving 50 degrees

2:45 Spider-Man in Dubai and Obsession review

6:33 Top 3 movies and the Titanic debate

9:15 Growing up before screens

10:20 2012, Nostradamus and predictions

14:43 Shutter Island and mind-bending films

17:58 Trafficking films and child safety

20:08 Don't leave your phone on the table in SA

20:40 AMN's number one: Iron Man

24:31 SA slang: shame, now now, robots

28:16 What 'Dubai it' means

30:58 Menendez brothers and OJ

37:30 CERN and billionaire bunkers

40:41 A billion dollars in one day

48:50 Chill convos or deep convos? Tell us

Hosts: Keegan Basil (@keeganbasil) & Just AMN (@itsjustamn)

Curated by Mystique (@mystiqueparties) | mystiquebyma.com

Follow PLUGGED IN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pluggedindxb

Same hotel, same time, by accident. Then both of us lost our cameras in the same stretch.

Coincidence or alignment? Plus AMN's plan to shine a light on DJs with real skill, not just hype.

In this episode:

• A surprise meetup at Marriott Resort Palm Jumeirah

• Losing your camera and not losing your cool

• AMN's new series spotlighting skilled DJs

• What South Africa's industry needs to fix

• Bunking school through a Durban graveyard• Hot take: avocado tastes like Vaseline

• The Spur birthday song and AMN's first main stage at 17

Chapters:

0:00 Intro: back from the break

0:35 AMN's trip home to SA

1:39 Same hotel, same time: the Palm staycation

6:34 We both lost our cameras

10:25 What needs to change in SA's industry

11:29 AMN's series spotlighting real DJ skill

19:36 Durban high school, the hill and the graveyard

22:18 Learn from people who've been there

27:12 Hot take: avocado tastes like Vaseline

29:22 Cherries and the Spur birthday song

32:05 Moving house and letting go

34:46 AMN's first main stage at 17

36:22 Teamwork at Mystique

40:39 Lemons, lemonade and life not being linear43:17 Wrap-up

Hosts: Keegan Basil (@keeganbasil) & Just AMN (@itsjustamn)

Curated by Mystique (@mystiqueparties) | mystiquebyma.com

Follow PLUGGED IN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pluggedindxb

Why do we feel more South African the moment we leave South Africa?

Keegan gets honest about a tough stretch, AMN keeps it light, and the conversation goes from Nokia 3310s to Bafana Bafana to why a braai is not a barbecue.

In this episode:

• Admitting that things are tough (and growing through it)

• What success meant at 15, at 21 and at 30

• Growing up outside vs kids on iPads

• Marbles, tops, PlayStation and the Nokia 3310

• Bafana Bafana at the World Cup

• "But isn't South Africa dangerous?"

• Braai vs barbecue, settled

Chapters:

0:00 Intro

0:35 Being honest: things are tough

6:33 No good sailor from smooth seas

11:22 Talk good about people behind their backs

11:54 World Cup: never too old to succeed

13:32 What success meant at 15, 21 and 30

20:08 Kids, iPads and playing outside

20:42 Growing up in Cape Town (what's a vlei?)

23:24 Marbles, tops and the Nokia 3310

29:58 Bafana Bafana: we need to do better

31:34 Proud to be South African abroad

34:49 Isn't SA dangerous?

36:23 Zulu, Afrikaans and 11 languages

37:25 AMN's SA tour plans39:00 Family, forgiveness and no expectations

43:20 Locker Room weekly lineup

45:26 Braai vs barbecue

46:31 Good luck, Bafana

Hosts: Keegan Basil (@keeganbasil) & Just AMN (@itsjustamn)

Curated by Mystique (@mystiqueparties) | mystiquebyma.com

Follow PLUGGED IN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pluggedindxb

Your friend owes you money. Do you say something or protect the friendship?

Keegan and AMN get into business with friends, undercutting your rates, fake friends, pretty privilege and the question every South African abroad gets: 'but where are you actually from?'

In this episode:

• Mixing money and friendship (put it on paper)

• Why undercutting your rate hurts the whole industry

• A friendship that ended over honesty

• Two real friends beat a full table

• Forgive and forget? AMN doesn't

• Pretty privilege is real

• "Where are you actually from?" South African identity abroad

Chapters:

0:00 Intro: jackets in the UAE?

3:48 Why are guys in Dubai losing their hair?

6:26 Money conversations with friends

8:33 Business vs friendship: put it on paper

12:22 Nobody's coming to save you

12:54 Stop undercutting your rate

14:31 A friendship that ended over honesty

17:17 Not investing in an empty cup

20:25 Too many WhatsApp groups

21:28 Two real friends beat a full table

24:10 Do you need closure?

26:50 Forgive and forget?

29:31 If you have to change to fit in, it's not your group

31:39 Don't announce it until it's done

32:44 Superstitions and energy

35:28 Pretty privilege

39:14 But where are you actually from?

43:00 South Africans are a feeling

43:34 Back your country

Hosts: Keegan Basil (@keeganbasil) & Just AMN (@itsjustamn)

Curated by Mystique (@mystiqueparties) | mystiquebyma.com

Follow PLUGGED IN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pluggedindxb

As featured on News24: https://www.news24.com/life/arts-and-entertainment/celebrities/i-know-who-i-am-paxton-fielies-reflects-on-dubai-debut-and-growing-beyond-idols-sa-20260701-0806

In this episode:

• From the Cape Town Children's Choir to winning Idols SA• Going from 300 Instagram followers to millions of viewers every Sunday

• What actually happens with the R1 million prize

• Dropping out of school for the competition• Learning boundaries young

• Her albums This Is Me and 2323, and what's next

• Play It or Pass It: TikTok stars, Afrobeats and dating musicians

Chapters:

0:00 Welcome Paxton: first time performing in Dubai

1:47 Respect at home vs abroad

5:30 Nervous but never intimidated

8:11 Paxton the person vs the name12:25 Why connection matters in music

14:36 From children's choir to Idols SA17:22 300 followers to millions every Sunday

19:05 Money changes the people around you

22:27 Learning the word boundary

23:33 What happens with R1 million at 17

26:47 Dropping out of school for Idols

29:29 Auditioning the night before

31:06 Security, managers and saying no

32:40 Dating after fame and the 2323 album36:30 New music: writing her own story

42:29 SA music industry and going independent

46:15 Play It or Pass It

49:35 Why the world should come to SA

58:34 Advice for young artists

1:00:44 Thank you and wrap

Hosts: Keegan Basil (@keeganbasil) & Just AMN (@itsjustamn)

Guest: Paxton Fielies (@paxtonfielies_), Idols SA Season 13 winner

Curated by Mystique (@mystiqueparties) | mystiquebyma.com

Follow PLUGGED IN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pluggedindxb55:46 Staying marketable by staying yourself

Keegan auditioned for Idols SA singing Ed Sheeran. Nobody knew until now.

Plus: you saw a friend's partner cheating, do you say something? And why talent without a budget is beating the big guys.

In this episode:

• The dilemma: do you tell your friend?

• Low-budget films beating blockbusters, and raw talent

• Followers vs passion: stop chasing the bag

• When your friends don't show up for you online

• Keegan's Idols SA and SABC auditions, and how that led to Dubai

• AMN played a full year for free at 15

• COVID: double down or pivot

Chapters:

0:00 Intro

1:37 Dilemma: you saw a friend's partner cheating

8:02 AC on 14 degrees: house rules

10:43 Low-budget films beating blockbusters

12:22 Followers vs passion

13:58 You have to be buried to grow

14:29 The social media learning curve

16:06 How this podcast started

17:10 When friends don't show support

22:01 Paxton recap

22:34 Keegan's Idols SA audition

25:44 Why the biggest stars are humble

28:19 The SABC audition that led Keegan to Dubai

29:56 AMN played a year for free at 15

32:05 COVID: double down or pivot

35:15 How AMN handles arguments

41:40 Lead with honesty

42:46 What's on with Mystique

Hosts: Keegan Basil (@keeganbasil) & Just AMN (@itsjustamn)

Curated by Mystique (@mystiqueparties) | mystiquebyma.com

Follow PLUGGED IN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pluggedindxb

He started by recording songs off the radio onto cassette. 20+ years later, Shef Codes is one of Dubai's most respected DJs.

We talk premixes, influencer DJs who can't read a room, the name 'Shef Codes', and the first ever round of Rich or Delusional.

In this episode:

• From Sri Lanka to Dubai at 9, and DJing for 20+ years

• Where the name Shef Codes comes from

• DJ Bliss and his first paid gig at Emirates Palace

• Respecting the roots: Afro house and hip hop

• Premixes, press-play DJs and reading a crowd

• Turning down a gig when the brand doesn't fit

• Rich or Delusional: 47 outfit pics, sunglasses after midnight and more

Chapters:

0:00 Welcome Shef Codes

2:10 20+ years DJing: radio on cassette

4:20 From Sri Lanka to Dubai

6:57 Amapiano at ungodly BPMs

8:03 How Dubai shaped him

11:19 Where the name Shef Codes comes from

14:33 You can't buy reputation

16:09 Staying relevant in a fast city

17:45 Respect the roots: Afro house and hip hop

19:54 DJ Bliss and the first paid gig

23:08 Your network is your net worth

26:54 Talent, timing and luck

27:59 Dubai and mediocrity

30:05 Premixes and press-play DJs

31:09 Influencer DJs who can't read a crowd

35:59 Rich or Delusional

43:25 When your moral code isn't for sale

48:44 Going out as a DJ = going to the office

49:45 The night Shef stayed for AMN's whole set

50:47 Advice for new DJs52:59 A gift from Mystique

Hosts: Keegan Basil (@keeganbasil) & Just AMN (@itsjustamn)

Guest: DJ Shef Codes (@mrshefcodes, please confirm)

Curated by Mystique (@mystiqueparties) | mystiquebyma.com

Follow PLUGGED IN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pluggedindxb

Are the people on the biggest stages actually talented, or just well connected?

Keegan asks the question everyone in entertainment whispers, and AMN answers from 15+ years behind the decks. Plus the colorblind DJ story nobody saw coming.

In this episode:

• Lineups built on hype and follower counts

• Types of DJs, and what software does for you now

• Premixes, shows and why set lengths differ in the UAE and SA

• Networking when you're an introvert

• AMN's first Dubai gig and a photo that came true

• AMN is colorblind (yes, really)

• Working for free: where to draw the line

Chapters:

0:00 Intro

1:35 Talented or just well connected?

3:13 Lineups built on hype

5:23 Types of DJs and what software does now

7:32 Premixes, shows and Black Coffee

9:07 Set lengths: UAE vs South Africa

10:42 Flowers for the wrong people

12:20 Who you know and hidden opportunities

15:33 From cabin crew to the UAE

17:09 AMN's first Dubai gig and a manifestation photo

19:48 The colorblind DJ

23:33 Working for free: where's the line?

25:10 Saying no without guilt

27:55 How to add value

30:03 Why this podcast exists

33:16 Shout-out to the working DJs

Hosts: Keegan Basil (@keeganbasil) & Just AMN (@itsjustamn)

Curated by Mystique (@mystiqueparties) | mystiquebyma.com

Follow PLUGGED IN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pluggedindxb