Mthawelanga "Tats" Nkonzo (born 19 March 1985) is a South African

stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a comedy, comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of One-line joke ...

, singer, and television personality. He is best known as the host of the

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 ...

reality competition ''

SA's Got Talent ''SA's Got Talent ''(also known as ''South Africa's Got Talent'' or shorten to ''SAGT'') was a South African television show that aired on e.tv and part of the ''Got Talent'' series. It was presented by Mo Mahlangu, popularly known as Tol Ass M ...

''. He was also a co-host on ''Uyangithanda na?''.

Career

Nkonzo is known for his musical segments on the fourth season of the eNCA's satirical news show ''

Late Nite News with Loyiso Gola ''Late Nite News with Loyiso Gola'' (''Late Nite News'' or ''LNN'') is a South African late-night satirical news television series that aired weekly on e.tv and eNCA from September 2010 to April 2015. The show, featuring a variety of local stan ...

'', in 2012. He was a Top 24 finalist in the third season of the M-Net reality competition '' Idols'', in 2005. In 2008, Nkonzo got his big break when he made the Top 8 of the

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 ...

reality competition ''So You Think You're Funny!''. Once the show ended, he was asked to tour with the Top 3 from the season. Nkonzo performed at Cape Town's Baxter Theatre, Johannesburg's The Market Theatre and the Pieter Torien Theatre (Monte Casino). He was the opening act for

Nik Rabinowitz Nik Rabinowitz is a South African comedian, actor and author, who has made guest appearances on several comedy shows, including the British panel show Mock the Week. He also appeared in the 2012 film Material. He currently resides in Cape Town. ...

in Nik's one-man shows ''You Can't Be Serious'' and ''Stand and Deliver''. He opened for

Loyiso Gola Loyiso Gola (born 16 May 1983) is a South African stand-up and TV comedian. He is the co-creator and anchor of the late-night satirical news television series '' Late Nite News with Loyiso Gola'' on e.tv and eNCA, launched in 2010, and has perf ...

at the Teatro at

Monte Casino Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley, Italy, west of Cassino and at an elevation of . Site of the Roman town of Casinum, it is widely known for its abbey, the first ho ...

for Loyiso's one-man show, ''Life and Times''. Based on the content of Nkonzo's material on stage,

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

's ''African Voices'' profiled him offering an opportunity to speak about South Africa and how stand-up comedy fits in the bigger picture of nation building. After three years of stage performances, Nkonzo performed his debut one-man show, ''Can't Tats This'', in his

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

home town. He appeared in the first ''Blacks Only'' DVD after performing as part of an ensemble line-up at Lyric Theatre. Nkonzo received the

BlackBerry The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus''. The taxonomy of ...

Breakthrough Act Award at the 2nd Annual South African Comics Choice Awards, in 2012. In the same year he took over from

Rob van Vuuren Robert Craig Jansen van Vuuren (born 26 March 1976) is a South African comedian, actor, presenter, theatre maker, and writer. Early life Van Vuuren was born in Port Elizabeth. He completed his matriculation at Maritzburg College before going on t ...

and Anele Mdoda as sole host of ''SA's Got Talent''. He was the seventh host of the

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programming ...

series ''Comedy Central Presents... Live at Parker's'', in 2012. In 2014, he was one a team captain of the e.tv game show ''I Love South Africa''. In 2015, he was the co-host (with

Kenneth Nkosi Kenneth Nkosi (born 19 June 1973) is a South African actor and comedian. He portrayed Aap in the 2005 film ''Tsotsi'' (2005). He also appeared in the films ''White Wedding'' (2009) and ''Otelo Burning'' (2011), as well as ''Mad Buddies'' (2012 ...

) of the Mzansi Magic game show ''Give Me That Bill Mzansi''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nkonzo, Tats 1985 births Living people South African male comedians 21st-century South African male singers South African television personalities African comedians