“Now I am half man, half machine” – Black Coffee on harrowing plane crash

South African performer DJ Black Coffee has revealed that he had to have a metal inserted in his spine after a harrowing accident that almost took his life.

Black Coffee, real name Nkosinathi Maphumulo, has been recovering from the plane “incident” which occurred while he was en route to Argentina for a gig.

In an interview with Kaya FM’s Thabo ‘Tbose’ Mokwele, Black Coffee said the accident had unfolded slowly.

“It was not quick. That was the most painful thing about this incident… And then I woke up in the hospital. It happened for maybe a minute, it gave me time to think while it was happening.

“I had time to pray while it was happening. I had time to hope that it was not going to be over,” said the DJ.

Black Coffee said he had initially felt uneasy about the plane because he thought that it was old.

“I had done a show in Brazil and I was flying to Argentina.I had been using a bigger plane on this tour and this was the last leg and I was flying privately.

“The plane looked old and I took a picture of its floor. It looked like no one was using it. I felt uneasy you know,” he said.

The DJ said as he slept while the plane was in flight, he had woken up to it shaking violently.

“I took a nap and woke up to something that felt like a dream or nightmare and the plane was shaking violently. I opened my eyes and everyone was trying to hold on.

“Because I was sleeping, it felt like I was on a rolling car. But it was moving so violently. I fell on the floor and I still had my headphones. And the gospel song was still playing.

“It kept repeating ‘Hallelujah’ that made it feel like a dream because I was like, ‘What is going on here?’ and it was on loop. The song’s volume kept getting higher and higher and it felt like I had this choir or angel singing to save me,” said Black Coffee.

The performer said he had to have surgery because of damage suffered by his spinal cord.

“We landed and I was taken by an ambulance and a five-hour surgery was scheduled for the next day because my upper spinal cord was damaged so I had to have metal embedded on it. Now I am half man, half machine,” he joked. Telly Africa