Busiswa Gqulu (born 8 November 1988), known mononymously as Busiswa or Busi, is a South African singer-songwriter and poet. Born in

Mthatha Mthatha , formerly Umtata, is the main city of the King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality in Eastern Cape province of South Africa and the capital of OR Tambo District Municipality. The city has an airport, previously known as the K. D. Matanzi ...

, Eastern Cape, South Africa, she gained public recognition for her feature on

DJ Zinhle Ntombezinhle Jiyane (born ) is a South African DJ, producer, media personality and businesswoman, who is better known by her stage name DJ Zinhle. Zinhle has also pursued an acting career. She made her on-screen debut as judge in ''Jika MaJi ...

's song, "My Name Is", after being discovered by Kalawa Jazmee's CEO

Oskido Oscar Sibonginkosi Mdlongwa (born 29 November 1967) is a South African recording artist, DJ, record producer and businessman. Having been in the music industry for over 26 years, Oskido has reached a prominent status in the South African mus ...

. After a successful collaboration with DJ Zinhle, she released hits singles includes; "Ngoku", "Lahla", and was featured on Bhizer's hit, "Gobisiqolo". On 8 December 2017, she released her debut album, ''

Highly Flavoured ''Highly Flavoured'' is the debut studio album by South African singer, poet and songwriter Busiswa. It was released on 8 December 2017 through Kalawa Jazmee Records, Kalawa Jazmee. The album features guest appearances by artists DJ Maphorisa, B ...

'', preceded by single, "Bazoyenza". Throughout her career, Gqulu has received numerous accolades. In 2014, she was named in the ''Mail & Guardian'' 200 Young South Africans.

Early life

Busiswa Gqulu was born on 8 November 1988 in Mthatha, Eastern Cape. When she was young, her family relocated to Durban due to work by her parents At the age of 15, Gqulu grew passion for writing poems. "I’ve been doing poetry since 2004 when I was in Grade 11", she recalled. She performed her first poetry work at her grandmother's funeral. In 2005, she joined the collective Young Basadzi Women of Poetry. Since then, she performed her poetry at corporate events, poem sessions, talent shows, and festivals. She also hosted her monthly poetry events which are called "1st Word Sessions" at the Bat Centre in Durban. After high school, Gqulu performed her poems while trying to find a proper job. She was then employed at an art centre to teach school children arts. Gqulu's parents supported her career choice as they had no money to take her to university.

Career

2011–2012: Career beginnings

While performing at live poetry readings, she met a befriend who introduced her to Sir Bubzin. Sir Bubzin invited her while producing the song "Syaphambana". He then suggested to feature her in performing her poems on the track. Gqulu and Sir Bubzin were later signed to Kalawa Record by the CEO, Oskido, after he heard the song. The song was later released on the first Kalawa Jazmee Dance compilation in 2011. Later that year, Gqulu was called by Oskido to record "My Name Is Busiswa" which was produced by DJ Zintle. The collaboration resulted in a co-writing credit for Gqulu. After recording the song in 2011, she moved to Johannesburg in signing with Kalawa Jazmee Records. The song was a hit and It received extensive airplays in South African radio stations since its release. Gqulu got gigs in several countries, including

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

, and

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

. The song earned nominees at the Channel O Africa Music Video Award including Most Gifted Dance Video and Video of the Year. The song scoped another nomination at the

South African Music Award The South African Music Awards (often simply the SAMAs) are the Recording Industry of South Africa's music industry awards, established in 1995. The ceremony is held annually, usually in late April or May, with the judging process starting in N ...

for Record of the Year.

2013–2016: ''Ngoku'' and Clash of Choirs

"Ngoku" was released on 11 March 2013 as a non-album single on iTunes. The song was accompanied by a video released on YouTube. "Ngoku" became a dance hit with its catchy chorus. The track got several airplays and was commercially successful. Gqulu promoted the single by performing it on

e.tv e.tv (commonly referred to on-air as e) is the first and only privately owned free-to-air television station in South Africa. It is the fifth terrestrial television channel in the country, following three channels that are operated by the sta ...

music show Club808, with Oskido. At the 2014 Channel O Africa Music Video Award, the song won Most Gifted Dance category and she performed the song later in the awards ceremony. In November 2013, Gqulu released a single, "Lahla" featuring Dj Bucks and Uhuru. The song's video accumulated 1 million+ views on YouTube. Gqulu along with Dj Bucks, performed the song live on

SABC1 SABC 1 is a South African public television network operated by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) which carries programming in English and Nguni languages, Nguni. It was created in 1996, after the SABC restructured its television ...

music show Live Amp. She also performed the song at the 2015 Metro FM Awards. In September 2016, Gqulu joined the fourth season of

Clash of the Choirs ''Clash of the Choirs'' is a reality talent contest miniseries that debuted on NBC in the United States on December 17, 2007. There were four episodes scheduled in the “quick competition”. Maria Menounos is the host of the program, which was ...

, as a Choirmaster with

Kelly Khumalo Kelly Nonhlanhla Khumalo (born November 11, 1982) is a South African singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. Born and raised in Nquthu, KwaZulu-Natal, she was discovered while performing at a gospel talent search and signed a record deal with ...

, Anele Mdoda, JR,

Bucie Busisiwe Nolubabalo Nqwiliso (born March 10, 1987) is a South African R&B and house singer. Her 2014 single titled "Easy to Love" peaked at number 9 on EMA. Early life and Career Early life She was born in Kimberley and grew up in Khuma w ...

, Sifiso Ncwane and IFANI. She was the choirmaster of the

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

. Her team was eliminated after a battle with team

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

led by IFANI.

2017–2019: ''Highly Flavoured'' and ''Summer Life''

In August 2017, Gqulu announced that her debut album would be entitled ''

''. Throughout the remainder of 2017, Gqulu was featured on several singles including Tipcee "Isichathulo" and Dj Maphorisa "Vuvushka" and "Midnight Starring". "Bazoyenza" was released as the lead single for the album. Gqulu released her debut album ''Highly Flavoured'', which features

DJ Maphorisa Themba Sonnyboy Sekowe (born ), known professionally as DJ Maphorisa, is a South African DJ, record producer, singer, and songwriter. As a record producer with a blend of house music, amapiano and afropop, he has worked with and has received ...

, Busi N, DJ Athie, Da Fre, DJ Toxic, Nokwazi,

Moozlie Nomuzi Mabena (born 22 September 1992), professionally known as Moozlie is a rapper and television presenter. Born in Benoni, Gauteng, she won the MTV VJ Search for the year 2012. Early life Nomuzi was born on 22 September 1992. She grew up in ...

, Lando and Yasirah. The album was nominated at the

South African Music Awards The South African Music Awards (often simply the SAMAs) are the Recording Industry of South Africa's music industry awards, established in 1995. The ceremony is held annually, usually in late April or May, with the judging process starting in N ...

for Best Kwaito Album and for Best Female Artist. Gqulu officially announced her second studio album release, ''

Summer Life ''Summer Life'' is the second studio album by South African recording artist, singer-songwriter Busiswa. The album features contributions from guest artists, including Uhuru, Dladla Mshunqisi, Cruel Boyz, KayGee The Vibe, Zingah, LaSoulMates, D ...

'', on her Instagram account; the album was released on 12 November 2018, independently, under Ngqulu new, own company Busiswa Entertainment. On 31 August, Prince Kaybee released "Banomoya" featuring Busiswa and TNS. In 2019, Ngqulu received two nomination at the

25th South African Music Awards The 25th Annual South African Music Awards ceremony was held at the Sun City Arena in North West on June 1, 2019. It aired live on SABC 1. The show was hosted by Bob Mabena, Melanie Bala, Twasa Seoke and hip-hop star Khuli Chana. The list of no ...

, in the Best Dance Album category for her critical acclaimed album ''Summer Life'' and Best Female Category. Also in 2019, Busiswa featured on Beyoncé's '' The Lion King: The Gift'' album, on the track "My Power".

2020-Present: ''AmaPiano'' crossover and ''My Side Of The Story''

In 2020, she collaborated with South African Amapiano musician, Gaba Cannal on the single ''Umhlaba Wonke''. In that same year, she released her 3rd studio album titled ''My Side Of The Story'' which was built of AmaPiano songs, a departure from her

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

and

Gqom Gqom () '(Igqomu) () is a genre of electronic dance music that emerged in the early 2010s from Durban, South Africa, pioneered largely by producer DJ Nathan_Medee, DJ Lag, Rudeboyz, Griffit Vigo, Mbreshcar SA and Citizen Boy. It was developed fr ...

sounds also crossing over to AmaPiano. The album was supported by two singles, "Sbwl" which featured

Kamo Mphela Kamogelo Mphela (born 29 November 1999), popularly known as Kamo Mphela, is a South African dancer and singer. She became an internet celebrity after she posted a video of her dancing on her social media account. Early life and education Kamo M ...

and "Makazi" in which she featured

Mr JazziQ Tumelo Manyoni known professionally as Mr JazziQ, is a South African Amapiano DJ and record producer. He is best known for being a former member of the amapiano DJ duo, JazziDisciples. Early life and education Mr JazziQ was born and raised in ...

. At the

MTV Africa Music Awards The MTV Africa Music Awards (also known as the MAMAs) were established in 2008 by MTV Networks Africa (now Viacom International Media Networks Africa) to celebrate the most popular contemporary music in Africa. The 2008 and 2010 events took pla ...

, she received a nomination for Best Female act.

Personal life

Gqulu spent her early years under the care and guidance of her late mother and grandmother who were a great influence in shaping her strong personality. On 8 November 2017, she revealed that she was pregnant on her

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

account. On 8 January 2018, Gqulu gave birth to a son, Lakhanya Gqulu. In March 2021, her own-created documentary-reality show title "''Her Majesty: Busiswa''" premiered on BET Africa.

Other ventures

In addition to her music and poetry, Busiswa also works for Art for Humanity (AFH) where she provides workshops for school children, as a means to help develop an appreciation for poetry and the visual arts. Gqulu also works with the Umlazi District Department of Education's Youth Development Office, tutoring learners on public speaking, debating and performance poetry.

Discography

* ''

'' (2017) * ''

'' (2018) * '' My Side Of The Story'' (2020)

References

External links

* {{Authority control Living people 21st-century South African male singers 1988 births Amapiano musicians South African women rappers