thandiswa mazwai

“She
is
the
leader
of
the
past,
which
is
now
the
future”
‐
Hugh
Masekela
on
Thandiswa
THANDISWA MAZWAI
Thandi
Thandiswa
Mazwai
is
one
of
the
most
influen?al
musicians
on
the
South
African
music
scene
today.
She
began
her
career
in
1994
with
Bongo
Maffin,
one
of
the
pioneering
bands
of
the
Kwaito
era.
AJer
6
award‐winning
albums
with
Bongo
Maffin
she
ventured
onto
a
solo
career.
Her
first
project,
Zabalaza
(2004),
reached
double
pla?num
status
and
won
numerous
awards,
including
a
Kora
award
for
Best
African
Female
and
four
South
African
Music
Awards,
including
Best
Album.
It
was
also
nom‐
inated
for
the
BBC
Radio
3
Planet
awards.
Her
latest
album,
Ibokwe,
reached
gold
status
within
a
few
weeks
of
its
February
2009
release
and
has
been
on
the
top
of
the
na?onal
charts
since.
Born
the
year
of
the
revolu?on
(1976),
Thandiswa
has
always
felt
that
she
has
the
soul
of
a
rebel.
Though
she
was
born
in
a
small
town
on
the
Eastern
Cape,
she
was
raised
in
Soweto,
and
is
now
living
in
Johannesburg.
Both
of
her
parents
were
journalists
and
poli?cal
ac?vists,
filling
her
child‐
hood
with
books,
ar?cles
and
thick
poli?cal
discussions.
It
was
this
environment
that
ul?mately
nur‐
tured
her
perspec?ve
as
an
ar?st.
Her
Her
work
is
greatly
influenced
by
the
wri?ngs
of
thinkers
such
as
Bantu
Steve
Biko
and
Franz
Fanon,
and
is
informed
by
the
philosophies
of
black
consciousness
and
decolonizing
the
mind.
She
says,
"My
work
gave
me
an
opportunity
to
share
my
thoughts
and
have
a
meaningful
conversa?on
with
my
genera?on
about
blackness,
African‐ness,
and
about
some
of
the
social
ills
that
plague
us,
also
about
freedom
and
joy.
Music
gave
me
an
opportunity
to
feed
my
revolu?onary
self.”
Born
in
the
Born
in
the
Eastern
Cape,
raised
in
Soweto,
and
now
living
in
Johannesburg,
Thandiswa’s
personal
journey
is
reflected
in
her
music
‐
which
travels
through
the
village
into
the
ghe_o
and
raises
the
roof
in
the
city.
Her
composi?ons
today
include
tradi?onal
Xhosa
rhythms,
upbeat
Mbaqanga,
a
touch
of
reggae,
thumping
Kwaito,
funk
and
jazz.
Through
this,
Thandiswa
straddles
the
urban
and
the
rural,
effortlessly
melding
the
tradi?onal
with
the
modern.
.
Some
of
her
musical
influences
she
says
include
the
great
Miles
Davis,
Fela
Ku?,
Busi
Mhlongo
and
Bi
Kidude,
Dr
Phillip
Tabane.
She
is
also
drawn
to
the
music
of
the
tradi?onal
healers,
which
givers
her
music
that
spiritual
charge.
Thandi
Thandiswa
has
performed
all
over
the
world,
at
venues
ranging
from
the
Apollo
theatre
to
Radio
City
Hall
in
New
York
and
fes?vals
in
Brazil,
West
Africa,
Europe
and
many
venues
around
the
world.
She
has
shared
the
stage
with
Salif
Keita,
Skunk
Anansie,
Cesaria
Evora,
Stevie
wonder,
Angelique
Kidjo
and
many
others.
Her
crea?vity
has
also
led
to
collabora?on
with
stellar
ar?sts
across
the
world.
For
instance,
Thandiswa
collaborated
on
two
songs
with
US
bassist/singer/composer
Meshell
N’degeoCello,
in
an
album
that
was
eventually
nominated
for
a
Grammy
in
2007
('The
World
Has
Made
Me
the
Man
of
My
Dreams').
At
home,
Thandiswa
has
collaborated
with
several
musicians
like
Hugh
Masekela,
Phuzekemisi,
S?mela
and
Busi
Mhlongo,
infact
she
is
one
of
the
most
coveted
ar?st
Hugh
Mase
for
collabora?ons
in
any
genre.
Thinking
about
the
future,
she
says
“I
would
like
to
play
all
over
the
world
to
new
audiences
and
share
my
music
and
perspec?ve.
I
also
want
to
make
albums
that
will
merge
the
sound
from
my
part
of
the
world
with
the
sounds
of
Mali,
Jamaica,
the
jazz
underground
in
the
USA,
Brazil,
Cuba,
and
the
Congo.
I
am
also
interested
in
exploring
electronic
music,
dub
and
funk,
even
punk…I
guess
I
want
to
do
it
all.”
Hear
Thandiswa’s
music
and
watch
her
videos
at:
www.thandiswa.com
and
www.myspace.com/thandiswaofficial