Thandiswa Mazwai

Available for 328 days

South Africa’s Thandiswa Mazwai has a distinguished 30-year career in music, first with pioneering kwaito band Bongo Maffin, and then as an award-winning solo artist. In 2004, she released her first solo album, Zabalaza, which reached double platinum status. She won a Kora award for Best African Female and four South African Music Awards. Her sound has embraced everything from traditional Xhosa rhythms and kwaito to hip-hop, R&B, ragga, funk and jazz, and she’s collaborated with the likes of Hugh Masekela, Meshell Ndegeocello, Fatoumata Diawara and DJ Black Coffee. In May 2024, she released her long-awaited fourth studio album, Sankofa, which was recorded in Dakar, Johannesburg and New York. DJ Edu talked to her in December 2024 about her new music, about politics and about healing.