Remember the unforgettably infectious kasi vibe sound of ‘Hamba Nawe’. Well, that was then.
Mafikizolo hit the music industry this year with a brand spanking new feel which features deep traces of west African beats in their sound and a more colourful fashion trend which may represent the start of a bright and colourful future for the stylish duo.
Having worked at least two years to put everything together on their latest album, South African super group Mafikizolo returns to the Land of the Brave to share their new sounds with their Namibian fans, live, for the first time tomorrow evening. And they are ready to conquer Africa.
Both Nhlanhla Nciza and Theo Kgosinkwe expressed sheer happiness with their return to Windhoek, which they have a special fondness for.
“We are really excited to visit Namibia again after such a long time. Namibia is like our second home, so this is awesome for us to see our fans again and share our latest releases with them,” Theo said.
After the loss of their fellow band member, Tebogo Madingoane in 2004, the duo decided to take a break in 2008 to pursue individual music careers.
In an interview with ‘Africa 360’ on ENCA this week, Nhlanhla said that they felt that they both needed the change and see what they could do individually.
“We wanted growth. We wanted change and I think that was one of the best moves we made,” Nhlanhla told ‘Africa 360’.
They soon reunited two years later, in 2010, and did a continuation of their last album together, ‘Six Mobane’.
Theo went on to say that they define their music as Afro pop because their music is popular, African and it appeals to the entire African content. With their new sound came a broader fan base which now featured more countries all over Africa and not only South Africa or the southern part of Africa, which explains the evolution.
“In the music industry one has to evolve with time and we recognised that as the music evolves, so too do our fans. In order to hit the international market and to be relevant in Africa, we needed to engage our west African fans. And what a blessing to see that our latest album captured every African, young and old,” Theo told The Weekender.
Mafikizolo is known for their creative dance moves and always having good fashion sense which complement their music style. With the album ‘Six Mobane’, Mafikizolo pulled the 1950s look off perfectly with fur and the Cadillac theme ever present in their work at the time.
When the ‘Khona’ music video came out, fans and music lovers were all glued to their televisions screens amazed by the beautiful work of art the video displayed with the different dance moves, traditional elements from cultures all over Africa and of course the colours.
In addition the duo has also adopted a kind of ‘candy shop’ look which they describe as fresh and vibrant.
“We wanted to be contemporary, fresh and vibrant and that is what the look is all about,” the duo said.
On the South African music industry, the pair said that the country has managed to produce acts which successfully penetrated the international market. They added that the Namibian music industry is growing at a steady pace with the only problem being that the market is small.
“From what we know the industry is slowly but surely growing, producing Channel O winners like Gazza. The challenge however is that the market is small but there are opportunities to capture the African market. Namibia is on a good track,” they said.
The ‘Happiness’ singers said that this visit to Namibia will definitely not be their last as they plan to keep their growing Namibian fan base posted with their latest music.
“We will definitely come back again. As the saying goes music is the fruit of life, therefore as we produce new albums and grow so does our fans in Namibia and elsewhere. We thus will be back with every opportunity we get to share and let our fans have a taste of our latest songs,” they said.
Mafikizolo is nominated for two Channel O Video Music Awards for their song ‘Khona’ in the categories Most Gifted Dance Video and Video of the Year, an MTV EMA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Award nomination in the category Best African Act. They also received a nomination in the category Best African Act for The Music of Black Origion (MOBO) awards.
Mafikizolo will be performing at the Unam pavilion on Saturday 2 November. Tickets cost N$150 in advance, N$200 at the door while N$400 will get you into the VIP section.
