robertoluoch oluoch
May 17, 2019
Mafikizolo is a South African musical duo consisting of Nhlanhla Sibongile Mafu Nciza, a singer and composer, and Theo Kgosinkwe, a singer, composer and songwriter. A former member of the group, Tebogo Benedict Madingoane who was a rapper, passed away after being shot during a road incident on the 14th of February 2004(Madibogo,2018). This incident left colleague Nhlanhla Nciza hospitalized for quite some time. They have been in the music scene since 1997, their musical genre being a blend of Afropop, Afrosoul, Kwaito and house music; they came to generally refer to this as Kwela.
Their music majorly addresses societal factors such as injustices against women and children, poverty, the significance of education and the negative impacts of irresponsible sex. They released their debut album dubbed Mafikizolo in 1997. This was followed by several other albums such as Music Revolution in 1999, Get Crashers in 2000, Sibongile in 2002, Kwela in 2003, Van Toeka Af in 2005, Six Mabone in 2006, Reunited in 2013 and 20 in 2017. Their album Six Mabone was named after a vehicle which was very upscale in the 1960s. This was followed by a musical break during which Mafikizolo dropped a compilation album named The Best in 2009 and it consisted of a new song called “Walila”. Reunited on the other hand was an enormous accomplishment which earned them numerous awards in 2014 and was later on followed by another successful one, 20, to commemorate their twenty years in the music industry (Makhoba,2017).
They have also worked with a number of internationally recognized artists including; Hugh Masekela, Jah Prayzah, Davido, Yemi Alade, Diamond Platnumz, Dj Maphorisa, Wizkid, Uhuru, May D, Harmonize, Kly, Ralf Gum, Monique Bingham and Zingah. Some of their songs which have done exceptionally well include “Ndihamba Nawe”, which became a timeless hit, “Khona” featuring Uhuru, “Happiness” featuring May D, “Tchelete” (Good Life) featured by Davido and “Love Potion” which all became mega-hits in Africa and beyond.
Some of their other hits include; “Uyakwazi Ukwena” (Iparty Ka Bani), “Meet me at the River”, “Dlala Uzobona” (Urban Mix), “Gugo’ Thandayo”, “Kuzophela Nini” (Abuse), “Marabi”, ‘Kwela Kwela”, “Udakwa Njalo”, “Bangradesh”, “Morena”, “Nnete Ke Nnete”, “Goliwood”, “Ngivelakunde”, “Zikomo”, “Msheli”, “Nisixoshelani”, “Kucheza”, “Soka Lami”, “Ndizolila”, “Ndixolele”, “O Fana Nawe” among others (Mayang’,2019).
Awards and nominations
Mafikizolo’s musical come back in 2013 with their album Reunited was not in vain. The following year, 2014, was such a great year for them since they grabbed more than ten awards during the same year. Apart from being nominated and winning numerous awards in various categories of the South African Music Awards, they have received other awards such as MTV Africa Music Awards and MTN Best Selling Mobile Music Download for their song “Khona”. They have also been nominated for other international awards such as BET Awards, MTV Europe Music Awards, MOBO Awards and Channel O Africa Music Awards.
Endorsement Deals
The duo signed an endorsement deal with telecommunication brand, MTN. The female member, Nhlanhla Nciza, became one of the three brand ambassadors for a popular whiskey brand in Johannesburg, Chivas.
