Official 2026 release photograph: Ama hem hem (feat. ShaunMusiq) - Single — Apple Music
Thatohatsi is the stage name of Thato Raphadi, a vocalist from Payneville in Springs, on Gauteng's East Rand. Her voice is formed in church music, and it shows: an amapiano singer who works in sustained, hymn-like phrases rather than hooks. She emerges professionally in 2024, and the breakout is 'Xolele', made with Ntando Yamahlubi, Mphoet, Blaq Note and Jaz, which gains major traction on TikTok.
Kabza De Small's 2025 album Bab'Motha confirms the ascent: she is its most-featured vocalist, appearing on 'Ngiyozama', 'Incwadi Yenduduzo', 'Izimbali' and 'Iphupho'. She has recorded with Mellow & Sleazy and Kelvin Momo, sung at Kelvin Momo's Red Bull Symphonic concert, and keeps the features coming — 'Vulani' with Kelvin Momo and Da Musiqal Chef in early 2025, 'Galile' with MaWhoo, Maline Aura and ShaunMusiq in 2026.
Thatohatsi’s rise is not built on one isolated hit. Her breakthrough is the result of recurring collaborations that have made her voice increasingly recognisable across amapiano’s most successful chart networks.
Shimza’s Sunset in Pretoria arrives after his Pacha Ibiza run with a clear message: Afro House can travel through the world’s biggest club spaces without losing the emotional geography of home.
Thatohatsi’s “Ama Hem Hem” with Sjava and ShaunMusiQ turns a seven-minute single into a cinematic statement about patience, mood and visual music identity.
Apple Music and Shazam are showing two different sides of South African music consumption: what people repeatedly stream, and what they urgently want to identify when a song catches them in real life.
One day after Cleo Sol released Gentlewoman, three of its songs were already inside Apple Music South Africa’s Top 10. The speed of that response says something interesting about this country’s appetite for music that does not need to shout to command attention.
Scatterlings: Johnny Clegg Reimagined brings contemporary South African artists into conversation with Johnny Clegg’s catalogue, showing that legacy can remain open, moving and alive.
SAMA32’s shortlist shows a South African music industry no longer defined by one centre. From Durban Gqom to Maskandi, Amapiano, Jazz, Gospel and regional scenes, the country’s sound is spreading power across many hubs.
Shandesh headlines her own second annual one-woman show at the Polokwane Cricket Club, starting 13:00 on 3 October and running into the early hours of 4 October.
