Official 2026 release photograph: Umkhulu — Apple Music
Rapper blending Zulu hip hop with maskandi; Inkabi Records founder
Big Zulu, born Siyabonga Nene in Bergville, KwaZulu-Natal, in 1986, works in the taxi industry before leaving in 2008 to pursue music full time. He wins Red Bull's Back to the City competition in 2013 and breaks through with 'Donsa Nkabi' in 2016, setting isiZulu rap against maskandi guitar and isicathamiya-schooled harmony — rural KwaZulu-Natal carried intact into the hip hop mainstream.
'Imali Eningi', with Riky Rick and Intaba Yase Dubai, is certified double platinum, and in 2021 he collects seven South African Hip Hop Awards in a single year. Inkabi Records, the label he founds in 2019, develops Lwah Ndlunkulu among others; as half of Inkabi Zezwe, his duo with Sjava, the single 'Umbayimbayi' reaches triple platinum. He releases Icala Le Mpumelelo in April 2025 and Undodakazi, an album with his daughter Nkabikazi, that October, while judging the talent show Ushuni Womhlaba.
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