Thandiswa Mazwai is a multi-award winning South African musician, and is also the lead vocalist and songwriter of Bongo Maffin

Bongo Maffin

Bongo Maffin is a South African kwaito music group. The group became famous for its hit albums such as Thath'isigubhu. Its lead singer, Thandiswa Mazwai, has since gone solo, releasing two albums, Zabalaza and Ibokwe....

.

Early life

Thandiswa was born in 1976 (the year of the Soweto Uprising). She grew up almost entirely in Soweto, Johannesburg, amidst the heavy apartheid township violence of the 1980s. Both her parents were journalists and anti-apartheid political activists, and she recollects that her home was filled with books, articles and thick with political discussions. It was this environment that nurtured her perspective as an artist. She went on to attend Wits University where she read English literature and International Relations. Her work has always been inspired by her mother (who died early in Thandiswa's life) and the writings of people like Steve Biko

Steve Biko

Stephen Biko was a noted anti-apartheid activist in South Africa in the 1960s and 1970s. A student leader, he later founded the Black Consciousness Movement which would empower and mobilize much of the urban black population. Since his death in police custody, he has been called a martyr of the...

 and Frantz Fanon

Frantz Fanon

Frantz Fanon was a Martiniquo-Algerian psychiatrist, philosopher, revolutionary and writer whose work is influential in the fields of post-colonial studies, critical theory and Marxism...

, Chinua Achebe

Chinua Achebe

Albert Chinụalụmọgụ Achebe popularly known as Chinua Achebe is a Nigerian novelist, poet, professor, and critic...

 and Kwame Nkrumah

Kwame Nkrumah

Kwame Nkrumah was the leader of Ghana and its predecessor state, the Gold Coast, from 1952 to 1966. Overseeing the nation's independence from British colonial rule in 1957, Nkrumah was the first President of Ghana and the first Prime Minister of Ghana...

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Early Days and Bongo Maffin

Thandiswa's first attempt to get noticed occurred at the Shell Road to Fame talent show but Thandiswa did not even make it to the semi-finals round. She did, however, catch the eye of musician and producer Don Laka, who arranged to include her in a project he was working on. And so she began her career in 1998 with Bongo Maffin

Bongo Maffin

Bongo Maffin is a South African kwaito music group. The group became famous for its hit albums such as Thath'isigubhu. Its lead singer, Thandiswa Mazwai, has since gone solo, releasing two albums, Zabalaza and Ibokwe....

, one of the pioneering bands of Kwaito

Kwaito

Kwaito is a music genre that emerged in Johannesburg, South Africa, during the 1990s. It is a variant of house music featuring the use of African sounds and samples. Typically at a slower tempo range than other styles of house music, Kwaito often contains catchy melodic and percussive loop samples,...

. The became widely recognized as the voice of South Africa’s conscious youth, their compositions consistently combining dance floor favourites with thought-provoking lyrics. They were invited to perform all over the world, and shared the stage with musical icons Stevie Wonder, the Marley clan, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Chaka Khan, Sean Paul, Steel Pulse and Skunk Anansie, among others. Their contribution to the South African musical cannon earned Bongo Maffin numerous awards, amongst them South African Music Awards, the Kora All Africa Music Awards, and the Metro FM Music Awards.

Going Solo: Thandiswa

After 5 albums with Bongo Maffin she ventured onto a solo career. Her first project, Zabalaza (2004), reached double platinum status and won numerous awards including a Kora award for Best African Female and Four South African Music Awards, including Best Album. It was also nominated for the BBC Radio 3 Planet awards. Her second album, Ibokwe (2009) reached gold status in the first few weeks of its release and her live DVD Dance of the Forgotten Free (2010) won Best Female Artist and Best Live DVD in 2011. The Guardian has called her “South Africa's finest female contemporary singer.”

Her music is often deeply political and her compositions include traditional Xhosa rhythms, Mbaqanga, reggae, kwaito and funk and jazz sounds.

Thandiswa has performed all over the world at venues including: the 2010 FIFA World Cup

2010 FIFA World Cup

The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...

 Opening Ceremony, The Apollo in New York, Womex, The Cannes Film Festival

Cannes Film Festival

The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...

, Midem, The Hackney Empire, Africa Brazil Festival, Fespaco Film Festival, BBC World Music Awards and many Mandela 46664 concerts. She has several noteworthy collaborations. For instance, Thandiswa collaborated on two songs with US musician Meshell Ndegeocello on her album The World Has Made Me the Man of My Dreams which was nominated for a Grammy in 2007. At home, Thandiswa has collaborated with illustrious musicians like Hugh Masekela, Stimela, the late Busi Mhlongo, and the BLK JKS.

She is an ambassador for 46664 and an ambassrador for the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.

Discography

Dance of the Forgotten Free (2010) - Live DVD: Gallo Records

Dance of the Forgotten Free (2010) - Live CD: Gallo Records

Ibokwe (2009): Gallo Records

Zabalaza (2004): Gallo Records

BONGO MAFFIN

New Construction (2005): Gallo Records – Gold Sales

Bongolution (2001): Sony BMG – Double Platinum Sales

The Concerto (1998): Sony BMG – Multi Platinum Sales

Final Entry (1997): EMI

Leaders of D’Gong (1996): EMI

Thandiswa

|-
| 2004
| Zabalaza
| Metro FM Awards: Best Female Artist
|
|-
| 2004
| Zabalaza
| Kora Africa Music Awards: Best Female Artist, Southern Africa
|
|-
| 2004
| Zabalaza
| Kora Africa Music Awards: Best Female Artist, Africa
|
|-
| 2005
| Zabalaza
| South African Music Award: Best Female Artist
|
|-
| 2005
| Zabalaza
| South African Music Award: Best African Contemporary Album
|
|-
| 2005
| Zabalaza
| BBC World Music Awards: Best African Album
|
|-
| 2005
| Zabalaza
| Channel O Music Awards: Best Music Video 'La'hlumenze'
|
|-
| 2005
|
| Metropolitan Eastern Cape Awards, Arts and Culture Award
|
|-
| 2008
|
| Pan African Language Board: Female Artist of the Decade
|
|-
| 2008
| Nizalwa Ngobani
| Pan African Language Board: Song of the Decade
|
|-
| 2010
| Ibokwe
| South African Music Award: Best African Contemporary Album
|
|-
| 2010
| Ibokwe
| South African Music Award: Best Female Artist
|
|-
| 2011
| Dance of the Forgotten Free: LIVE
| South African Music Award: Best Contemporary DVD
|
|-
| 2011
| Dance of the Forgotten Free: LIVE
| South African Music Award: Best Female Artist
|
|}

Bongo Maffin

|-
| 1999
| The Concerto
| South African Music Awards: Best African Pop Album
|
|-
| 2001
|
| Kora Africa Music Awards: Best African Group
|
|-
| 2002
| Bongolution
| Metro FM Awards: Best African Pop
|
|-
| 2002
| Bongolution
| Metro FM Awards: Best Duo/Group
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|-
| 2002
| Bongolution
| South African Music Award: Best Duo/Group
|
|-
| 2006
| New Construction
| South African Music Award: Best Duo/Group
|
|-
| 2006
| New Construction
| Kora Africa Music Awards: Best African Group
| }
|-
| 2006
| New Construction
| BBC World Music Awards: Best African Album
|
|}

External links

• Official website
• Myspace website