DESIREE

Palesa Desiree Shilabje, better known as DESIREE, is a 28-year-old South African DJ and house producer. She grew up in Ivory Park, a township in Johannesburg close to Midrand. She graduated with a Bachelor's in Politics and Economics from WITS University. Shortly after graduating, she made the life-changing decision to pursue a music career. 

From a young age, she has had a love for house music. Many of the artists that she grew up listening to have influenced her style of music today. Before she started making music, she became a professional model and has been involved in major events such as SA Fashion Week. Shortly after, she began her music career as a DJ. Within just a few years, she managed to build a name and a reputation for herself and is now a well-known figure in the African electronic music scene. She has performed at various events within South Africa and internationally. Her debut commercial release, “Femme Tech,” a two-song EP released in 2022, has gone on to accumulate millions of streams across platforms. She has since gone on to start her own label, Mmino Music, as well as co-found a women-led electronic music movement called Boys Club, which aims to motivate and inspire women in the male-dominated dance industry. 

A few years ago, she revealed on social media that she was clinically diagnosed as intersex. Intersex can be defined as “an umbrella term for people born with natural variations in sex characteristics, such as chromosomes, reproductive organs, or genitals, that don't fit the typical binary definitions of male or female. She uses her music and her influence to promote awareness and solidarity for other individuals who are also intersex. In 2024, she released another two-song EP called Intersexy. During an interview with Schon Alive, she was asked what it meant to be ‘intersexy’, and she responded by saying, "There is of course, the literal meaning: being proud to be an intersex person! But then I also see it from a more figurative perspective. For me, being Intersexy embodies embracing everything that makes us different. As an intersex person, I’ve always felt like I don’t fit in, and people don’t really understand what I’m going through. But it can be extended to navigating all the challenges that come with being different. So it applies to anyone who is pushing the boundaries [in] spaces they don’t necessarily fit into or where they stand out.”