We sat in his Midrand studio, just the two of us, while he did sound checks and last-minute adjustments.
A young beautiful girl came in, flashed us a smile and went straight to the sound booth.
Mafokate touched a few dials and signalled to her to check if she was ready. A flurry of drum synths filled the studio, followed by the most beautiful voice that gave me goose bumps.
I did a double-take, almost believing that Mafokate had somehow managed to bring back Aaliyah from the grave.
Seeing my amazement, Mafokate smiled like the cat that ate the canary and whispered: "That's my new artist Cici, and she is phenomenal. I wanted you to hear her live first before you hear her on CD."
As if she could sense what we were talking about, Cici began flicking through musical personas as if they were pages of a book.
She puts palpable feeling into her lyrics and, like a master seductress, she knows just when to hold back and draw the listener deep into her song. Hers must be the finest female voice I have heard since Wonder Baloyi burst onto the music scene with her debut album Voices back in 2003.
Cici's single Runaway does not sound anything like your typical 999 Music productions.
The sound is international, and the song is a slick, high-energy piece that would not feel out of place on a US or UK radio chart.
Cici's elegant and sexy style is accentuated by how she never oversings, giving the music a richer emotional body. It's the idea of Cici that is as attractive as the music.
That a debutant could sound so accomplished is not surprising for a woman whose first words as a toddler was Brenda Fassie's chorus "me do do do dola do tee," from the song Ag Shame Lovey.
"My mother says the very first times I learnt how to speak was when I heard Brenda Fassie's song Mee do do and I also learnt how to walk because every time the song came on I wanted to dance to it," says Cici.
The 27-year-old from Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, is not completely new to music having been featured on music albums by several DJs, including DJ Mbuso, DJ Terrance, DJ Nastee Nev and DJ Choice.
Cici also featured on e.tv drama series Khuthu Khatha, season one of SA Top Actor, did cabaret shows for Sun International and Montecasino, reached the top 10 finalists in SA Pop Stars and the SA Idols last 32.
"I think growing up in a musical family is what ignited my love for music. And also just watching the growth of people like the late Lebo Mathosa and Brenda Fassie made me want to be equally as great doing what I love," says Cici.
She was discovered through the South African Arts & Development Association (Saada) talent search. "I remember saying to myself that this was the last competition I'm entering and if I do not win then I'm just calling it quits and going back to school and finish my psychology degree," she says.
Two months ago she was announced as the overall winner and the prize was a recording contract with a label of her choice, and she chose 999 Music.
Cici says she has always wanted to be in music. "I don't remember wanting to be anything else really," she says.
She is an adrenaline junky and loves ice skating and any activity that involves action.
"I was very tomboyish growing up. I liked playing with marbles and spin-tops. My favourite marble game was chuck hero," she says.
She says a sign that she was made for the limelight is that at a very young age, she always wanted to be the centre of attraction.
"At home we had a thing where we gathered every morning to tell each other what we dreamt about. I always wanted to be in everyone's dreams. I was around five-six years of age, and if I didn't feature in someone's dream I would sulk the whole morning and I sat in a corner and cried. So everybody started lying to me every morning that I was in their dreams," she chuckles.
Both her parents were pastors, but her father has since passed on.
"They were quite authoritative in their parenting style. But they were the kind of parents who taught us that family is everything and although we never had much growing up, one thing we always had was each other. They raised us to be altruistic individuals," says Cici.
Her mother sang in the church choir. "Well, mom was a great singer but never intended to pursue it as a career. My dad used to tell us that he fell in love with this girl who sang so amazingly at church. He'd always go to church when my mother was there just so he can hear her sing," she says.