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 rose to prominence on the drama series ''Zone 14'', where he starred for three consecutive seasons. Sjava ventured into the music industry and signed to record label

Ambitiouz Entertainment Ambitiouz Entertainment is a South African independent record label owned and founded by Kgosi Mahumapelo. The label was founded in April 2015 and houses notable acts including, G-Star Da Hustler, Lucky Man, MeekTrapBorn, Kid Tini and Kiddest Gol ...

. He gained mainstream popularity after he was featured on Miss Pru's acclaimed song "Ameni" in 2015. Sjava's debut album, ''Isina Muva'' (2016), introduced his experimental sound which fuses

afrobeats Afrobeats (not to be confused with Afrobeat or Afroswing), or Afro-pop or Afro-fusion (or Afropop or Afrofusion), is an umbrella term to describe popular music from West Africa and the diaspora that initially developed in Nigeria, Ghana, and ...

, hip hop and

contemporary R&B Contemporary R&B (or simply R&B) is a popular music genre that combines rhythm and blues with elements of pop, soul, funk, hip hop, and electronic music. The genre features a distinctive record production style, drum machine-backed rhythm ...

. His second studio album, '' Umqhele'', was released in 2018 to a critical acclaim. ''Umqhele'', which continues with his fusion sound, grew his African-influenced image, and consolidated to other international regions (mainly in Africa). Before ''Umqhele'', Sjava also released his debut EP, ''Umphako'', in 2018.

Life and career

Jabulani Hadebe was born in

Bergville Bergville is a small town situated in the foothills of the Drakensberg mountains, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was established as Bergville Mountain Village in 1897 and is now the commercial centre for a 2,500 km2 dairy and cattle ranchin ...

, KwaZulu-Natal, the son of Thandi Nkabinde (his mother). He is of Hlubi ancestry. Sjava has two older siblings, Sibusiso (his brother) and Sindy (his sister). Sjava started writing music at an early age. While at the age of ten, Sjava was in charge of writing original lyrics on songs for his all-boy

isicathamiya Isicathamiya (with the "c" pronounced as a dental click) is a singing style that originated from the South African Zulus. In European understanding, a cappella is also used to describe this form of singing. The word itself does not have a literal ...

group Abafana baseMpumalanga, while in primary school. He then took composition of music a step further in high school, where he used to turn notes into songs, then teach them to his classmates.

Music

2016–2017: Beginnings and ''Isina Muva''

Sjava's debut recording was a feature on DJ and producer Miss Pru's "Ameni". The successful song also featured then-artists of record label

;

Emtee Mthembeni Ndevu, better known by his stage name Emtee (stylized as eMTee) is a South African rapper. He was born in Matatiele and grew up in Rockville, Soweto, where he was involved in talent shows. His career began at the age of 17 and his deb ...

Fifi Cooper Refilwe Boingotlo Moeketsi (born 24 October 1991), known professionally as Fifi Cooper is a South African recording artist. Fifi Cooper started her music career as an R&B singer before her musical versatility saw her release her breakthrough r ...

, B3nchmarq, and Saudi – who is currently in the label. On 8 April 2016, he released his debut single as a solo artist, "Ekuseni". He then released his debut album, ''Isina Muva'' on 22 July 2016. Its title is derived from a Zulu idiom meaning "late bloomer". ''Isina Muva'' was certified Gold by the

Recording Industry of South Africa Recording Industry of South Africa (RISA) is a trade association representing the interests of major and independent record labels of South Africa. Located in Randburg, RISA is responsible for running the annual South African Music Awards (SAMA ...

(RiSA) and Sjava celebrated by releasing a deluxe version of the album titled ''Isina Muva: Gold Deluxe'' The album earned Sjava an award at the 23rd

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 Produced Album. It also won for a similar category at the 16th

Metro FM Metro FM is a national radio station in South Africa owned by the South African Broadcasting Corporation. The station broadcasts on FM Stereo as well as the DStv Bouquet Channel 801. Telephone : History The station started broadcasting in O ...

Music Awards, and received four nominees: Best Afro Pop Album for ''Isina Muva'', Best Male and Best New Artist. Also in 2017, Sjava recorded the theme song for the

Mzansi Magic Mzansi Magic is a South African digital satellite and general entertainment channel created by Multichoice and run by M-Net's local interest division, and is broadcast on DStv. History The channel launched in mid-July 2010 on channel 107 as M- ...

drama telenovela '' Isithembiso'', which premiered on 3 April 2017.

2017– 2019: ''Umphako'' and ''Umqhele''

The film ''

Black Panther A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been d ...

'' was accompanied by a

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' ...

curated by rapper

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his Progressive rap, progressive musical styles and Social consciousness, socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most infl ...

, which Sjava appeared on. Sjava was featured on the song "Seasons", alongside rappers

Mozzy Timothy Cornell Patterson (born June 24, 1987), known professionally as Mozzy, is an American rapper from Oak Park, Sacramento, California. He is signed with CMG, Interscope Records, Blackmarket Records. He started rapping in 2004 under the na ...

and a TDE rapper Reason. The album was nominated at the

61st Annual Grammy Awards The 61st Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on February 10, 2019, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Singer-songwriter Alicia Keys hosted. During her opening monologue, Keys brought out Lady Gaga, Jada Pinkett Smith, Jennifer Lopez, and fo ...

for

Album of the Year Album of the Year, often abbreviated to AOTY, may refer to: Awards * ARIA Award for Album of the Year, Australia * Brit Award for British Album of the Year, UK * Grammy Award for Album of the Year, US * Juno Award for Album of the Year, CA * Lati ...

, making it his first nominee at the ceremony for his appearance. The lead single from Sjava's debut EP ''Umpakho'', "Abangani" featuring Saudi and Emtee was released on 14 June 2018 accompanied by a video paying homage to their humble beginnings. On 24 June 2018, Sjava earned a

BET Award The BET Awards is an American award show that was established in 2001 by the Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate black entertainers and other minorities in music, film, sports and philanthropy. The awards, which are presented annu ...

for Best New International Act at the 2018 event. ''Umphako'' was released on 6 July 2018. The four-track project atopped the

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

local chart on its first day, and is described as Sjava asserting himself as an empathetic worker's champion. Sjava's second studio album ''Umqhele'' was released on 14 December 2018. The album's lead single "Umama", was released seven days before the album was available. "Umama" later spawned a version on the global music platform COLORS, where he was featured performing the song on 13 May 2019. ''Umqhele'' atopped the iTunes local chart and received positive reviews from critics. On November 23, 2019, Sjava bagged Best Male Artist in Southern Africa award at 2019

All Africa Music Awards All Africa Music Awards (also referred to as AFRIMA) is an annual awards event. The awards event was established by the International Committee AFRIMA, in collaboration with the African Union (AU) to reward and celebrate musical works, talents ...

. On 26 May 2020, Sjava announced via social media that he has departed his label,

. He expressed gratitude towards the label for giving him an "opportunity and platform when no one did".

2020-present: 1020 Cartel, ''Umsebenzi'' EP, upcoming album

Following departure with

, Sjava self signed to his record deal 1020 Cartel and released his

Extended Play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

''Umsebenzi'' on December 14, 2020. The EP was certified with gold plaque. In December 2022, he announced his upcoming studio album ''Isibuko'', which is scheduled to be released January 23, 2022.

Television

From 2005 to 2013, Sjava enrolled to acting. He appeared on several television shows; including ''Zone 14'', ''

Generations A generation is "all of the people born and living at about the same time, regarded collectively." Generation or generations may also refer to: Science and technology * Generation (particle physics), a division of the elementary particles * Gen ...

'' and ''Soul City'' and ''

7de Laan ''7de Laan'' is a South African Afrikaans soap opera created by Danie Odendaal and produced by Danie Odendaal Productions. The series focuses on the lives of residents staying in and around the community of 7de Laan (7th Avenue), in the suburb ...

'', '' uGugu and Andile, Isibaya''. In August 2020, he landed on a small role on ''Uzalo'' and eHostela Season 2.''

Discography

Studio albums

* Released: TBA 2023

Extended plays

Awards and nominations

All Africa Music Awards

! , - , 2021 , Himself , Best Male Artist in African Inspirational Music , ,

Metro FM Music Awards

, - , rowspan="4", 2017 , rowspan="4",

''Isina Muva''

, Best Male , , - , Best New Artist , , - , Best Afro Pop Album , , - , Best Produced Album ,

South African Music Awards

, - , 2017 ,

''Isina Muva''

, Best Produced Album , , - , rowspan="4" , 2019 ,

''Umqhele''

, Album of the Year , , - ,

Himself

, Male Artist of the Year , , - , rowspan="2" ,

''Umqhele''

, Best Engineered Album of the Year , , - , Best Afro Pop Album , , - , 2021 ,

''Umsebenzi''

, Best Adult Contemporary Album ,

South African Traditional Music Awards

! , - , 2021 , ''Umsebenzi'' , Best Male Artist/Group , ,

DSTV Mzansi Viewers' Choice Awards

, - , 2017 ,

Himself

, Rising Star ,

BET Awards

, - , 2018 ,

Himself

, Best New International Act ,

References

{{Authority control 1983 births Living people South African singer-songwriters People from KwaZulu-Natal Soul musicians South African rhythm and blues musicians 21st-century South African male singers People from Okhahlamba Local Municipality