Yanga Ntshakaza (born October 17, 1987), professionally known as Yanga Chief (or

mononymously A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. In some cases, a mononym selected by an individual may have originally been from a polynym, a word which refers to one o ...

as Yanga) is a South African rapper and singer-songwriter. 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. Matanz ...

and raised in Queenstown, Yanga studied film studies at

University of Johannesburg The University of Johannesburg (UJ) is a public university located in Johannesburg, South Africa. The University of Johannesburg came into existence on 1 January 2005 as the result of a merger between the Rand Afrikaans University (RAU), the ...

Career

In late 2000s, Yanga was a videographer for Buttabing Entertainment. In 2016, he co-written Kwesta's song featuring Thabsie "Ngyaz’fela Ngawe" released in February 26, 2016. Yanga wrote and provided vocals for AKA’s song "Jika" released in 2018. In October 2018, his single "Utatakho" was released. The song peak number one on Metro FM Top 40 charts and was certified gold in South Africa selling over 10 000 units. "Utatakho" won Song of the Year at the

South African Hip Hop Awards 2019 The 2019 South African Hip Hop Awards were held at The Lyric Theatre, Gold Reef City Casino in Johannesburg, Gauteng Province. This marked the ceremony's 8th anniversary. The nominees were announced on 29 October 2019. Nominations and winners ...

. Yanga made "Utatakho"(remix) the song features the late South African rapper Ricky Rick,Dee Koala and

Boity Boitumelo Thulo (born April 28, 1990), popularly known as Boity, is a South African television personality, rapper, actress, businesswoman and model. In 2019, Thulo was named as one of ''Forbes'' Africa's 30 Under 30 for her contribution in the ...

. Yanga ranked number 3 on MTV Base Hottest MC in 2019. In October 2019, his Extended Play ''Becoming a Pop Star'' was released. ''Becoming a Pop Star'' won Best Hip Hop Album at

26th South African Music Awards The 26th Annual South African Music Awards were held on 3–7 August 2020. Unlike previous years shows, the ceremony was broadcast as a five-night event, with the first four episodes being 30 minutes long, while the fifth one was a 45-minute grand ...

. Yanga began to work on his debut in 2017. On October 16, 2020, album's pre-add were made available. On November 27, 2020, his debut studio album ''Pop Star'' was released in South Africa. The album received positive reviews from music critics. He teamed up with

Blxckie Sihle Sithole (born 24 November 1999), known professionally as Blxckie, is a South African rapper, songwriter and record producer from Sydenham Heights, Durban. His debut studio album ''B4Now'' (2021) was certified gold in South Africa. Biogra ...

and 25K on single "Ntoni Na", which music video premiered on

MTV Base MTV Base was a British pay television music channel from Paramount Networks UK & Australia that focused primarily on hip hop, R&B, grime, garage, reggae, funk, soul and dance music. It was launched as part of MTV's digital boutique of music ch ...

on the 31st of August 2021.In 2022 he made a single called "Benjamins" where he features

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 ...

and Henny Belit.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* Living people 1987 births South African rappers South African hip hop musicians Xhosa people South African record producers {{SouthAfrica-musician-stub