Mafikizolo is a South African Afro-pop music duo formed in 1996, consisting of composer Theo Kgosinkwe and lead singer Nhlanhla Nciza. The duo rose to fame after they released their singles "Ndihamba Nawe kuphela", "Kwela Kwela", "Sibongile", "Udakwa Njalo" . The group released their self-titled album ''Mafikizolo'' in 1997 and ''Music Revolution'' in 1999. In 2000, the band released their third album ''Gate Crashers'', which became the best-selling album. Mafikizolo has won 14

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 ...

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 ...

including the awards for Best Duo or Group of the Year.

History

1997-2002: ''Mafikizolo'', ''Music Revolution'' and ''Sibongile''

They came into the scene in 1997 as a

kwaito Kwaito is a music genre that emerged in Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa, during the 1990s. It is a variant of house music that features the use of African sounds and samples. Kwaito songs occur at a slower tempo range than other styles of h ...

group with their late member Tebogo Madingoane, who died on 14 February 2004, when they released their self-titled album ''Mafikizolo''. They released their 1999 album titled ''Music Revolution'' followed by ''Gate Crushers'' in 2000 which included their hits, "Lotto" and "Majika". After a near-fatal crash that left Nhlanhla Nciza hospitalised for a while, they released their critically acclaimed album ''Sibongile'' (2002) featuring the hit single "Ndihamba Nawe".

2003-2010: ''Kwela'', ''Van Toeka Af'' and ''Six Mabone''

In 2003, they released ''Kwela'' which featured

Hugh Masekela Hugh Ramapolo Masekela (4 April 1939 – 23 January 2018) was a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, singer and composer who was described as "the father of South African jazz". Masekela was known for his jazz compositions and for ...

assisted "Kwela Kwela", "Udakwa Njalo" and "Emlanjeni" amongst others. In 2005, they released ''Van Toeka Af'' which featured Nisixoshelani and Mas'Thokoze amongst others. In 2006, they released ''Six Mabone'' which featured "O Tswa Kae" and "Love Potion". ''Six Mabone'' was released before their hiatus. During their hiatus in 2009 they released a compilation album ''The Best of'' which included one new song, "Walila".

2011-2018: ''Reunited and 20''

They resumed work as a group in 2013 when they released their internationally acclaimed single "

Khona "Khona" is a song by South African duo Mafikizolo. It was released as the lead single from their eighth studio album, ''Reunited'' (2013). The song features additional vocals from Uhuru and was released by Kalawa Jazmee Records. In South Africa, ...

" featuring Uhuru. In 2014, "Khona" single was performed live at

during the ceremony. Mafikizolo Performing at MTV Africa Music Awards 2014

Their first album after their hiatus followed in 2013 and was titled '' Reunited'' which saw them winning awards at 20th South Africa Music Awards in one night amongst other awards. To promote ''Reunited'' they embarked on UK Tour, performed in three cities

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

and

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

. Mafikizolo was nominated for Best African Act at

MTV Europe Music Awards The MTV Europe Music Awards (originally named MTV European Music Awards, commonly abbreviated as MTV EMA) are awards presented by Paramount International Networks to honour artists and music in pop culture. It was originally conceived as an al ...

in 2013. The success of ''Reunited'' was so great that they released a follow-up album four years later in 2017 titled ''20'' to celebrate their 20th anniversary in the music industry. The album features "Love Potion" and the Yemi Alade-assisted "Ofana Nawe". At

24th South African Music Awards The 24th Annual South African Music Awards was held at Sun City, in the North West on June 2, 2018. The list of nominees was announced on April 19, 2018 at Birchwood Hotel in Ekurhuleni. Mafikizolo, Mi Casa and Shekhinah each received a node of n ...

, ''20'' received three nominations and won Duo/Group of the Year and Best Engineered album category.

2019-present: ''Idwala''

After three years they announced their upcoming album which was set to be released in 2022. In November 2021, their single "Mamezala" featuring South African singer

Simmy Simphiwe Majobe Nhlangulela, better known by her stage name Simmy, is a South African singer-songwriter. She gained prominence in 2018, after signed a record deal with EL World Music and release her debut album ''Tugela Fairy'' (2018), spawne ...

was released. The song peaked number 9 on Radio Monitor Charts. "10k" featuring South African singer

Sjava Jabulani Hadebe (born 2 December 1983), known professionally as Sjava, is a South African singer, rapper, and actor. He began his acting career in 2005, starring in several drama series and films including '' uGugu no Andile'' (2009). He then ro ...

was released on June 10, 2022. Their twelfth studio album ''Idwala'' was released on August 26, 2022.

Band members

* Nhlanhla Nciza - lead vocals (1996–Present) *Theo Kgosinkwe - (1996–present) * Tebogo Benedict Madingoane - (1996-2004)

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Mafikizolo'' (1997) * ''

Music Revolution Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact definition of music, definitions of mu ...

'' (1999) * ''

Gate Crashers A gate or gateway is a point of entry to or from a space enclosed by walls. The word derived from old Norse "gat" meaning road or path; But other terms include ''yett and port''. The concept originally referred to the gap or hole in the wall ...

'' (2000) * '' Sibongile'' (2002) * ''

Kwela Kwela is a pennywhistle-based street music from southern Africa with jazzy underpinnings and a distinctive, skiffle-like beat. It evolved from the marabi sound and brought South African music to international prominence in the 1950s. The music h ...

'' (2003) * ''

Van Toeka Af A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across th ...

'' (2005) * ''

Six Mabone 6 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 6 or six may also refer to: * AD 6, the sixth year of the AD era * 6 BC, the sixth year before the AD era * The month of June Science * Carbon, the element with atomic number 6 * 6 Hebe, an asteroid People ...