Ihashi Elimhlophe

Ihashi Elimhlophe, born Bheki Ngcobo in KwaBiyela, KwaZulu-Natal, is a maskandi singer and guitarist whose stage name means 'the white horse'. He leaves for Johannesburg in 1976, starts out as bass guitarist for the Soul Brothers and fronts their junior group Imitshotshovu before his solo breakthrough with Wololo in 1986, playing a rare 14-string guitar. Four decades and more than 29 albums later, he is among maskandi's most prolific cross-genre collaborators, working with hip-hop, jazz, kwaito and gospel artists, performing in more than 25 countries and receiving an honorary doctorate for his contribution to music. In September 2022 he becomes the first maskandi artist to record a live DVD at the Soweto Theatre. He now leads an Eastern Cape government-backed mentorship project developing nine emerging maskandi artists, with family close by: his wife of over 37 years, singer Linah 'Ebony' Ngcobo, is his promoter, and their children perform as Amaponi.