Our Story

1020 Cartel is a MOVEMENT. Operating as a record label, creative and music agency, music publisher and concert producer, our main objective is to create quality platforms for artist development and music creation, as well as the creation of creative assets that bring value and relevance to artists, brands and their partners. 

Created in 2019 as the brainchild of Sjava and Ruff, the name 1020 pays homage to flat number 1020 Tali’s Place where the guys lived and created music together with the other members of the African Trap Movement as far back as 2013. 

Sjava and Ruff developed the vision of creating authentic, world-class and genre-bending music that celebrates the roots that have birthed today’s popular culture and music.

In 2020 Nothando joined the guys to bring in the business and strategy competencies to what has grown into the 1020 group of companies. In 2020, 1020 signed four artists – Anzo, Mzukulu, Nue_Sam and Yallunder  – who featured in the collab album iSambulo, and so started the musical journey of 1020 Cartel.

Since 2020, 1020 Cartel has released 10 music projects and has collaborated on several other projects including the Inkabi Zezwe project (Sjava and Big Zulu) with Nkabi Records and Warner Music Africa. 

We’re looking forward to many more years of creating, collaborating, INSPIRING & MOTIVATING.