Zwai Bala (born 15 February 1975) is a South African

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 ...

and

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

musician.

Education

Bala studied at the

Drakensberg Boys' Choir School Drakensberg Boys Choir School is a choir school located near Winterton, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, at the foot of the Central Drakensberg mountain range. Performing in a variety of genres such as jazz, pop and African music, the choir is ba ...

, near

Winterton, KwaZulu-Natal Winterton is a small town situated on the banks of the Tugela River in the foothills of the Drakensberg mountains, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1905 as Springfield when the Natal Government built a weir across the Little Tugela ...

, and matriculated at

St Stithians College ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

in 1994. He then pursued an online Master's Certificate in Orchestration for Film and Television at

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. He came to public attention in 1997 as a member of the

group

TKZee TKZee is a South African kwaito music group formed in 1990s by three school friends, Tokollo Tshabalala, Kabelo Mabalane, and Zwai Bala. The group shot to prominence in late 1997 and early 1998 with their chart-topping singles "Phalafala" and ...

Career

When he was 11 years old, he entered ''The Shell Road to Fame'' talent show and reached the semi-finals. Together with school friends Kabelo Mabalane and Tokollo Tshabalala, he formed

group

. TKZee released their singles "Take It Eezy", holiday hit "Phalafala" and their top-selling "

Shibobo "Shibobo" is a successful 1998 South African single by South African kwaito music group TKZee and features South African football player Benni McCarthy. It is also the title song from TKZee's second album ''Shibobo''. The song released in the r ...

", which featured

South Africa national football team The South Africa national soccer team represents South Africa in men's international Association football, soccer and it is run by the South African Football Association, the governing body for Soccer in South Africa. The team's nickname is Baf ...

player

Benni McCarthy Benedict Saul "Benni" McCarthy (born 12 November 1977) is a South African coach and former footballer who is a first-team coach at Manchester United. He previously worked as head coach of South African Premier Division team AmaZulu. A former fo ...

. Later, Bala began a solo musical career. As a music director and producer, Bala has worked on musicals featuring

Ali Campbell Alistair Ian Campbell (born 15 February 1959) is an English singer and songwriter who was lead singer of the British reggae band UB40. As part of UB40, Campbell sold over 70 million records worldwide and toured the globe for 30 years. In 2008, C ...

UB40 UB40 are an English reggae and pop band, formed in December 1978 in Birmingham, England. The band has had more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success. They have been nominated for the ...

, produced ''Grace'' from the two-time Grammy award-winning

Soweto Gospel Choir The Soweto Gospel Choir is a South African gospel group. History The Soweto Gospel Choir was formed in Soweto, South Africa, by David Mulovhedzi and Beverly Bryer, and producers Andrew Kay, David Vigo and Cliff Hocking in 2002. The more than 30- ...

, and has been the featured soloist at the Classical FM–Lexus Soiree at the Sandton Intercontinental. He was a celebrity contestant on the first season of the

SABC 2 SABC 2 is a South African family public television channel owned by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). SABC 2 broadcasts programming in English, Sepedi, Afrikaans, Venda, and Tsonga. As of August 2018, the channel started broadc ...

reality competition ''Strictly Come Dancing'' in 2006, partnered with professional ballroom dancer Kego Motshabi. The pair finished third.

Songs

Bala's recorded music include: *Ndize *Umlilo-Masibase *All I Do *Black 'N Proud *Ndiredi *Moody's Mood For Love *Nozamile *Vuk'uzenzele *Play That Music *Kuyasa *Ikhaya *Bash'abafana *Tino Tino *Folkfanse-My Heritage *Hand Prints *Circle of Life *Solo *Soccer *Gux Duo *Niceland-Guguletu *Everyone Can Drum *Noble Peace *Noyana

Television

His television appearances include: *''All You Need Is Love'' – Season 2 – Host *''Clash of the Choirs South Africa'' – Season 1 – Choir Master *''Clash of the Choirs South Africa'' – Season 3 – Guest Judge *''Popstars'' – Season 2, 3 and 4 – Judge *''Pump Up The Volume'' – Season 1 – Judge *''Red Cake – Not the Cooking Show'' – Season 1 – Houseband leader

Awards

In 2002 he received a

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 ...

(SAMA) For his single "Lifted" and in 2019 he, along with fellow

members Kabelo Mabalane and Tokollo Tshabalala, received a SAMA award for Lifetime Achievement.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bala, Zwai 1975 births South African musicians Living people