Thandiswa \u201cKing Tha\u201d Mazwai has long been one of the most influential musicians that South Africa has produced.<\/p>\n
\u201cNizalwa Ngobani from my debut album turned out to be the most important song I have written. I wrote it in honour of Mama Winnie [Winnie Madikizela-Mandela] and she graced me with her presence at the launch of my album in 2004,\u201d said Mazawi to Eyewitness News.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat night [when Winnie came to her album launch] would be the first of many times I would perform it in front of her. I would invoke her name at events and festivals worldwide, but singing Nizalwa Ngobani at Mama Winnie Mandela\u2019s funeral was one of the most powerful experiences of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
King Tha\u2019s career took off in 1995 with the illustrious Kwaito band Bongo Maffin.<\/p>\n
The band spawned music with a pan-Africanist leaning in the early days of South Africa’s democratic dispensation and would become one of the pioneering bands of the Kwaito era.<\/p>\n
After six award-winning albums with Bongo Maffin, King Tha pursued a solo musical career and produced unique and award-winning albums.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are so excited to finally bring this production to Cape Town, fans are in for a show like never before,\u201d said the soulful singer, who is taking her previously sold-out show A Letter to Azania to the Artscape Theatre, in Cape Town<\/p>\n
Fans had better prepare to be dazzled by the songstress on 25 February 2023.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope people leave the venue feeling joyous and with the will to imagine a new way for us. Azania lives,\u201d said Mazawi.<\/p>\n
The show tracks a letter that the singer wrote to Azania, as a place of freedom, and takes the audience on a sonic exploration of the utopian idea of Azania while expressing the melancholy that comes with a dream deferred.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe hardest obstacle was losing my mentors MamBusi Mhlongo and Bra Hugh Masekela. I had come to rely on them so much for so many things, not just musical advice. Being without them has forced me to create a new community, and I am so blessed to find it in people like Somi and Nduduzo Makhathini,\u201d explained King Tha.<\/p>\n
Centering on love, the show opens with the words of the revolutionary Ch\u00e9 Guevara, \u201cthe revolution is driven by great feelings of love\u201d and Mazwai adds, \u201ca love for the people, a love for country, and a love for justice.\u201d<\/p>\n
In this audio-visual experience curated by Mazwai in partnership with the Artscape Theatre, the artist will perform songs from her albums including Nizalwa Ngobani, Transkei Moon, Ingoma, Jikijela and renditions of tracks by some of her favourite musicians.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the same spirit as Natalie Cole’s ‘_Unforgettable’, _this show includes a duet performance with the late great Hugh Masekela. Expect a range of sounds that have influenced my recordings and performances over the years: Jazz, Kwaito, Afro Funk, Reggae, Gospel and Traditional music.”<\/p>\n
For over 20 years Mazwai has been a notable force in the South African music scene.<\/p>\n
Her feats include a Kora award for Best African Female and four South African Music Awards.<\/p>\n
Mazwai has shared the stage with legends such as Salif Keita, Hugh Masekela, Busi Mhlongo, Stevie Wonder, Cesaria Evora, Paul Simon, and many others.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Award-winning singer-songwriter Thandiswa Mazwai, aka King Tha, is taking her previously sold-out show A Letter to Azania to the Mother City.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12963,"featured_media":26414,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,31],"tags":[7,14,32],"class_list":{"0":"post-26417","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"category-music","9":"tag-apie-project","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-music"},"yoast_head":"\n