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https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-19-021401-03cf.jpeg Advertising Insights for Culture Media Campaigns A guide to sponsored content, display advertising, brand campaigns, media buying, and commercial discovery inside culture media. https://viranova.co.za/guides/media-industry-explainers https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780016422/viranova/1780016421777-216e0435fb-chatgpt-image-may-29-2026-02-53-55-am-1.jpg Media Industry Explainers for South African Culture Evergreen explainers on media coverage, editorial features, content production, interviews, and how culture publications build authority. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-south-african-house https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1784285350/viranova/media-2026-07-17-124909-fc18.jpg south african house Calvin Fallo’s nearly seven-minute “Everybody Wanna Be In Love” is proving that South African house can still win by giving the groove time to breathe. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-south-african-jazz https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1781602809/viranova/1781602809006-e4086331f5-chatgpt-image-jun-16-2026-11-16-18-am-2.jpg south african jazz Abdullah Ibrahim has died at 91. The South African jazz legend leaves behind a legacy shaped by District Six, exile, “Mannenberg,” Mandela and quiet musical power. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-music-industry https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783292927/viranova/media-2026-07-06-010846-a1c8.jpg music industry The 2026 Basadi in Music Awards nominees show how the platform recognises not only performers, but the women managing, styling, producing and documenting South African music. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-house-music https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1784285350/viranova/media-2026-07-17-124909-fc18.jpg house music Calvin Fallo’s nearly seven-minute “Everybody Wanna Be In Love” is proving that South African house can still win by giving the groove time to breathe. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-kwaito https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1784752435/viranova/media-2026-07-22-223352-7d67.jpg kwaito Thandiswa Mazwai’s Sankofa Heritage Festival marked 30 years in music, her 50th birthday milestone and a career built on memory, rebellion and indigenous African sound. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-comic-con-africa https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-06-193632-1ed6.jpeg comic con africa Christopher Judge, the actor behind Kratos in God of War and Teal’c in Stargate SG-1, will appear at Comic Con Africa 2026 in Johannesburg from 25 to 27 September. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-comic-con-africa-2026 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-06-193632-1ed6.jpeg comic con africa 2026 Christopher Judge, the actor behind Kratos in God of War and Teal’c in Stargate SG-1, will appear at Comic Con Africa 2026 in Johannesburg from 25 to 27 September. https://viranova.co.za/entity/award-basadi-in-music-awards https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-04-144151-cd2f.jpg basadi in music awards Basadi in Music Awards 2026 takes place at Joburg Theatre on 7 and 8 August under the theme REWIND, revisiting five years of women shaping music. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-linda-sikhakhane https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1784126466/viranova/media-2026-07-15-164102-9ea1.jpg linda sikhakhane Jazz at Jozi Gold brings live music back to 81 De Korte Street, with Linda Sikhakhane and Vusi Mahlasela performing at the former Orbit address. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-contemporary-african-art https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1784459052/viranova/media-2026-07-19-130410-4c91.jpg contemporary african art Zanele Muholi’s Kanye Nawe opens at Southern Guild Cape Town, gathering more than two decades of photography and sculpture around Black queer visibility and care. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-arts-funding https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780013392/viranova/1780013391519-92cc1a425e-chatgpt-image-may-29-2026-01-29-01-am-2.jpg arts funding The dissolution of the National Arts Council’s Council raises deeper questions about arts funding, governance and whether South African artists can trust public culture institutions. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-digital-culture https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1779317133/viranova/1779317133280-cadd83fc45-article1.jpg digital culture Viranova Trend Room officially launches as a digital culture platform documenting rising talent, trends, music, events, creators, and public conversations with style, context, and credibility. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-experience-economy https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780014074/viranova/1780014073283-2674119d19-chatgpt-image-may-29-2026-02-01-02-am.jpg experience economy Mi Casa’s 2027 Friendship Cruise from Durban to Portuguese Island shows how South African live music is moving into travel, lifestyle and premium fan experiences. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-johannesburg-expo-centre https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-06-193632-1ed6.jpeg johannesburg expo centre Christopher Judge, the actor behind Kratos in God of War and Teal’c in Stargate SG-1, will appear at Comic Con Africa 2026 in Johannesburg from 25 to 27 September. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-nasrec https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-06-193632-1ed6.jpeg nasrec Christopher Judge, the actor behind Kratos in God of War and Teal’c in Stargate SG-1, will appear at Comic Con Africa 2026 in Johannesburg from 25 to 27 September. https://viranova.co.za/entity/venue-joburg-theatre https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-04-144151-cd2f.jpg joburg theatre Basadi in Music Awards 2026 takes place at Joburg Theatre on 7 and 8 August under the theme REWIND, revisiting five years of women shaping music. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-anele-zondo https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-04-144151-cd2f.jpg anele zondo Basadi in Music Awards 2026 takes place at Joburg Theatre on 7 and 8 August under the theme REWIND, revisiting five years of women shaping music. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-moozlie https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-04-144151-cd2f.jpg moozlie Basadi in Music Awards 2026 takes place at Joburg Theatre on 7 and 8 August under the theme REWIND, revisiting five years of women shaping music. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-lerato-kganyago https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-04-144151-cd2f.jpg lerato kganyago Basadi in Music Awards 2026 takes place at Joburg Theatre on 7 and 8 August under the theme REWIND, revisiting five years of women shaping music. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-johannesburg-jazz https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1784126466/viranova/media-2026-07-15-164102-9ea1.jpg johannesburg jazz Jazz at Jozi Gold brings live music back to 81 De Korte Street, with Linda Sikhakhane and Vusi Mahlasela performing at the former Orbit address. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-saudi https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-22-133134-80e5.jpeg saudi “Ibandla” was already a hit before Nasty C’s C-Mix crossed one million views. The official remix shows how fan demand can shape what comes next. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-ruff https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-22-133134-80e5.jpeg ruff “Ibandla” was already a hit before Nasty C’s C-Mix crossed one million views. The official remix shows how fan demand can shape what comes next. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-the-trap-temptations https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-22-133134-80e5.jpeg the trap temptations “Ibandla” was already a hit before Nasty C’s C-Mix crossed one million views. The official remix shows how fan demand can shape what comes next. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-african-trap-movement https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-22-133134-80e5.jpeg african trap movement “Ibandla” was already a hit before Nasty C’s C-Mix crossed one million views. The official remix shows how fan demand can shape what comes next. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-ama-hem-hem https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-04-134907-9def.webp ama hem hem Thatohatsi’s amapiano rise is not based on one isolated hit. Her voice recurs across major Spotify South Africa charting collaborations, from “Abantwana Bakho” to “Ama hem hem.” https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-woza-albert https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-07-31-185522-a0c5.png woza albert Hamilton Dhlamini and Thulani Mtsweni bring Woza Albert! back to the Market Theatre, with technical stage manager Phumeza Damane helping protect a production still asking South Africa difficult questions. https://viranova.co.za/entity/venue-market-theatre https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-07-31-185522-a0c5.png market theatre Hamilton Dhlamini and Thulani Mtsweni bring Woza Albert! back to the Market Theatre, with technical stage manager Phumeza Damane helping protect a production still asking South Africa difficult questions. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-hamilton-dhlamini https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-07-31-185522-a0c5.png hamilton dhlamini Hamilton Dhlamini and Thulani Mtsweni bring Woza Albert! back to the Market Theatre, with technical stage manager Phumeza Damane helping protect a production still asking South Africa difficult questions. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-percy-mtwa https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-07-31-185522-a0c5.png percy mtwa Hamilton Dhlamini and Thulani Mtsweni bring Woza Albert! back to the Market Theatre, with technical stage manager Phumeza Damane helping protect a production still asking South Africa difficult questions. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-mbongeni-ngema https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-07-31-185522-a0c5.png mbongeni ngema Hamilton Dhlamini and Thulani Mtsweni bring Woza Albert! back to the Market Theatre, with technical stage manager Phumeza Damane helping protect a production still asking South Africa difficult questions. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-barney-simon https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-07-31-185522-a0c5.png barney simon Hamilton Dhlamini and Thulani Mtsweni bring Woza Albert! back to the Market Theatre, with technical stage manager Phumeza Damane helping protect a production still asking South Africa difficult questions. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-morena https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-07-31-185522-a0c5.png morena Hamilton Dhlamini and Thulani Mtsweni bring Woza Albert! back to the Market Theatre, with technical stage manager Phumeza Damane helping protect a production still asking South Africa difficult questions. https://viranova.co.za/entity/venue-barney-simon-theatre https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-07-31-185522-a0c5.png barney simon theatre Hamilton Dhlamini and Thulani Mtsweni bring Woza Albert! back to the Market Theatre, with technical stage manager Phumeza Damane helping protect a production still asking South Africa difficult questions. https://viranova.co.za/entity/venue-protest-theatre https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-07-31-185522-a0c5.png protest theatre Hamilton Dhlamini and Thulani Mtsweni bring Woza Albert! back to the Market Theatre, with technical stage manager Phumeza Damane helping protect a production still asking South Africa difficult questions. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-gaming https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-06-193632-1ed6.jpeg gaming Christopher Judge, the actor behind Kratos in God of War and Teal’c in Stargate SG-1, will appear at Comic Con Africa 2026 in Johannesburg from 25 to 27 September. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-slow-burn-hit https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1784285350/viranova/media-2026-07-17-124909-fc18.jpg slow burn hit Calvin Fallo’s nearly seven-minute “Everybody Wanna Be In Love” is proving that South African house can still win by giving the groove time to breathe. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-chart-culture https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1784285350/viranova/media-2026-07-17-124909-fc18.jpg chart culture Calvin Fallo’s nearly seven-minute “Everybody Wanna Be In Love” is proving that South African house can still win by giving the groove time to breathe. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-emotional-storytelling https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780671981/viranova/1780671980904-a464031ad9-chatgpt-image-jun-5-2026-04-07-56-pm-2.jpg emotional storytelling Vusi Nova’s upcoming Here To Stay EP is not just a new release. It is a reminder that Afro-soul still carries emotional weight in a fast, algorithm-driven music culture. https://viranova.co.za/entity/award-sama-awards https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1784752435/viranova/media-2026-07-22-223352-7d67.jpg sama awards Thandiswa Mazwai’s Sankofa Heritage Festival marked 30 years in music, her 50th birthday milestone and a career built on memory, rebellion and indigenous African sound. https://viranova.co.za/entity/album-deep-house https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-07-220013-5b73.jpeg deep house J’Something, !Sooks and King Dashnote bring “Bring On The Night” back through Stay True Sounds, honouring a deep-house classic with a new voice and atmosphere. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-the-orbit https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1784126466/viranova/media-2026-07-15-164102-9ea1.jpg the orbit Jazz at Jozi Gold brings live music back to 81 De Korte Street, with Linda Sikhakhane and Vusi Mahlasela performing at the former Orbit address. https://viranova.co.za/entity/festival-festival-culture https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783624186/viranova/media-2026-07-09-210945-1473.jpg festival culture The Cape Town International Jazz Festival’s 2027 Month of the Mother City expansion shifts CTIJF from a weekend event into a month-long civic jazz season. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-sasezola https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1782162957/viranova/1782162956809-3aa0a63075-chatgpt-image-jun-22-2026-10-57-18-pm-2.jpg sasezola “SASEZOLA” by Novex, Born Kxng, MOONLIGHT AFRIQA and S.N.E shows how TikTok, emotional resonance and chart momentum can build an Amapiano breakout before release day. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-anti-apartheid-music https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1781602809/viranova/1781602809006-e4086331f5-chatgpt-image-jun-16-2026-11-16-18-am-2.jpg anti-apartheid music Abdullah Ibrahim has died at 91. The South African jazz legend leaves behind a legacy shaped by District Six, exile, “Mannenberg,” Mandela and quiet musical power. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-abdullah-ibrahim https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1781602809/viranova/1781602809006-e4086331f5-chatgpt-image-jun-16-2026-11-16-18-am-2.jpg abdullah ibrahim Abdullah Ibrahim has died at 91. The South African jazz legend leaves behind a legacy shaped by District Six, exile, “Mannenberg,” Mandela and quiet musical power. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-jamali https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780491791/viranova/1780491790569-2c1d69a9e6-chatgpt-image-jun-3-2026-01-57-43-pm-2.jpg jamali Jamali’s Full Circle EP marks a powerful return for Jacqui Carpede, Mariechan Luiters and Liesl Penniken, proving South Africa still has room for vocal girl-group nostalgia. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-full-circle https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780491791/viranova/1780491790569-2c1d69a9e6-chatgpt-image-jun-3-2026-01-57-43-pm-2.jpg full circle Jamali’s Full Circle EP marks a powerful return for Jacqui Carpede, Mariechan Luiters and Liesl Penniken, proving South Africa still has room for vocal girl-group nostalgia. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-jacqui-carpede https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780491791/viranova/1780491790569-2c1d69a9e6-chatgpt-image-jun-3-2026-01-57-43-pm-2.jpg jacqui carpede Jamali’s Full Circle EP marks a powerful return for Jacqui Carpede, Mariechan Luiters and Liesl Penniken, proving South Africa still has room for vocal girl-group nostalgia. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-mariechan-luiters https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780491791/viranova/1780491790569-2c1d69a9e6-chatgpt-image-jun-3-2026-01-57-43-pm-2.jpg mariechan luiters Jamali’s Full Circle EP marks a powerful return for Jacqui Carpede, Mariechan Luiters and Liesl Penniken, proving South Africa still has room for vocal girl-group nostalgia. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-liesl-penniken https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780491791/viranova/1780491790569-2c1d69a9e6-chatgpt-image-jun-3-2026-01-57-43-pm-2.jpg liesl penniken Jamali’s Full Circle EP marks a powerful return for Jacqui Carpede, Mariechan Luiters and Liesl Penniken, proving South Africa still has room for vocal girl-group nostalgia. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-coca-cola-popstars https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780491791/viranova/1780491790569-2c1d69a9e6-chatgpt-image-jun-3-2026-01-57-43-pm-2.jpg coca-cola popstars Jamali’s Full Circle EP marks a powerful return for Jacqui Carpede, Mariechan Luiters and Liesl Penniken, proving South Africa still has room for vocal girl-group nostalgia. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-literature https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1782318042/viranova/media-2026-06-24-182041-a147.jpg literature The National Arts Council’s 2026 outcomes show a brutal arts funding gap, with Craft, Dance, Literature and Visual Arts requests far exceeding the available budget. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-visual-arts https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1782318042/viranova/media-2026-06-24-182041-a147.jpg visual arts The National Arts Council’s 2026 outcomes show a brutal arts funding gap, with Craft, Dance, Literature and Visual Arts requests far exceeding the available budget. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-spotify https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1782162957/viranova/1782162956809-3aa0a63075-chatgpt-image-jun-22-2026-10-57-18-pm-2.jpg spotify “SASEZOLA” by Novex, Born Kxng, MOONLIGHT AFRIQA and S.N.E shows how TikTok, emotional resonance and chart momentum can build an Amapiano breakout before release day. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-south-african-art https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1781457428/viranova/1781457427606-7ca0529c43-chatgpt-image-jun-14-2026-05-50-47-pm-2.jpg south african art Portchie, born Jan Hendrik Viljoen, has died at 62. His colourful, joyful work leaves a lasting legacy in South African visual art and Stellenbosch culture. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-cape-town-jazz https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783624186/viranova/media-2026-07-09-210945-1473.jpg cape town jazz The Cape Town International Jazz Festival’s 2027 Month of the Mother City expansion shifts CTIJF from a weekend event into a month-long civic jazz season. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-south-african-drama https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780492299/viranova/1780492299334-7ea93925e8-chatgpt-image-jun-3-2026-02-41-59-pm-2.jpg south african drama Netflix’s The Polygamist brings South African streaming drama back into the spotlight with betrayal, wealth, marriage, power and a story adapted from Sue Nyathi’s novel. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-sakhele-mzalazala https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783195513/viranova/media-2026-07-04-220512-8e40.jpg sakhele mzalazala The Ekurhuleni Music Workshop 2026, hosted by Jozi Entertainment and powered by CAPASSO, gave emerging creators practical music-business education on rights, royalties, distribution, media and sustainability. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-local-television https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780492299/viranova/1780492299334-7ea93925e8-chatgpt-image-jun-3-2026-02-41-59-pm-2.jpg local television Netflix’s The Polygamist brings South African streaming drama back into the spotlight with betrayal, wealth, marriage, power and a story adapted from Sue Nyathi’s novel. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-south-african-rock https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1782170571/viranova/1782170570730-578fe95b0d-chatgpt-image-jun-23-2026-12-20-24-am-2.jpg south african rock Ruff Majik’s limited-CD EP Gods of War shows how South African rock is using scarcity, physical music and DIY strategy to build underground social currency. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-alternative-music https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1782170571/viranova/1782170570730-578fe95b0d-chatgpt-image-jun-23-2026-12-20-24-am-2.jpg alternative music Ruff Majik’s limited-CD EP Gods of War shows how South African rock is using scarcity, physical music and DIY strategy to build underground social currency. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-visual-art https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1781457428/viranova/1781457427606-7ca0529c43-chatgpt-image-jun-14-2026-05-50-47-pm-2.jpg visual art Portchie, born Jan Hendrik Viljoen, has died at 62. His colourful, joyful work leaves a lasting legacy in South African visual art and Stellenbosch culture. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-the-four-of-us https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783293874/viranova/media-2026-07-06-012434-09dd.jpg the four of us The Four of Us premiered on e.tv and landed on Netflix shortly after broadcast, signalling a shift in how South African prime-time drama moves between local TV and global streaming. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-music-tourism https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783624186/viranova/media-2026-07-09-210945-1473.jpg music tourism The Cape Town International Jazz Festival’s 2027 Month of the Mother City expansion shifts CTIJF from a weekend event into a month-long civic jazz season. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-slikour https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783195513/viranova/media-2026-07-04-220512-8e40.jpg slikour The Ekurhuleni Music Workshop 2026, hosted by Jozi Entertainment and powered by CAPASSO, gave emerging creators practical music-business education on rights, royalties, distribution, media and sustainability. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-national-arts-council https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780013392/viranova/1780013391519-92cc1a425e-chatgpt-image-may-29-2026-01-29-01-am-2.jpg national arts council The dissolution of the National Arts Council’s Council raises deeper questions about arts funding, governance and whether South African artists can trust public culture institutions. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-nac https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780013392/viranova/1780013391519-92cc1a425e-chatgpt-image-may-29-2026-01-29-01-am-2.jpg nac The dissolution of the National Arts Council’s Council raises deeper questions about arts funding, governance and whether South African artists can trust public culture institutions. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-culture-funding https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780013392/viranova/1780013391519-92cc1a425e-chatgpt-image-may-29-2026-01-29-01-am-2.jpg culture funding The dissolution of the National Arts Council’s Council raises deeper questions about arts funding, governance and whether South African artists can trust public culture institutions. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-soul-music https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780671981/viranova/1780671980904-a464031ad9-chatgpt-image-jun-5-2026-04-07-56-pm-2.jpg soul music Vusi Nova’s upcoming Here To Stay EP is not just a new release. It is a reminder that Afro-soul still carries emotional weight in a fast, algorithm-driven music culture. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-culture https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1779317133/viranova/1779317133280-cadd83fc45-article1.jpg culture Viranova Trend Room officially launches as a digital culture platform documenting rising talent, trends, music, events, creators, and public conversations with style, context, and credibility. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-events https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1779317133/viranova/1779317133280-cadd83fc45-article1.jpg events Viranova Trend Room officially launches as a digital culture platform documenting rising talent, trends, music, events, creators, and public conversations with style, context, and credibility. https://viranova.co.za/entity/topic-viranova-trend-room https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1779317133/viranova/1779317133280-cadd83fc45-article1.jpg Viranova Trend Room Viranova Trend Room officially launches as a digital culture platform documenting rising talent, trends, music, events, creators, and public conversations with style, context, and credibility. https://viranova.co.za/article/philipstown-wirecar-grand-prix-pressure-cooker-soundtrack https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-25-145932-64ed-vnr.jpg The Philipstown WireCar Grand Prix Made the Karoo Part of Its Soundtrack Pressure Cooker Studios built instruments from wire, scrap metal and found materials to score the award-winning documentary, creating a soundtrack that does not merely accompany Philipstown — it carries the physical sound of the town inside it. https://viranova.co.za/article/shaza-friday-clock-off-pop-escape https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-25-144149-66f2-vnr.png Shaza Turns the Friday Clock-Off Into a Pop Escape On “Friday”, the South African pop artist takes one of the most ordinary feelings in working life — finally being done with the week — and turns it into bright, dance-funk-leaning release. https://viranova.co.za/article/thelastletter-jaded-indigo-stella-wichi1080-rnb https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-24-182504-581b.png TheLastLetter Turns a Lover’s Drunken Switch Into R&B on “Jaded” Featuring Indigo Stella, with additional vocals from Rashè and production by Wichi1080, “Jaded” takes TheLastLetter back towards the R&B roots of her earliest work through a relationship where intoxication seems to reveal a completely different person. https://viranova.co.za/article/durban-filmmart-2026-sa-in-focus-south-african-film-industry https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-24-180944-5081.jpg Durban FilmMart 2026 Is Asking South Africa’s Film Industry to Look Inward From AI and funding uncertainty to performer ownership and the future of documentary, Durban FilmMart’s SA in Focus programme is putting some of South Africa’s most difficult screen-industry questions on the table. https://viranova.co.za/article/easy-freak-only-like-you-do-the-touch-2016-song https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-24-174647-f7a8.jpeg Easy Freak Went Back to 2016 to Find the Song That Points to Their Future “Only Like You Do” began as a slow acoustic song when Easy Freak were just getting started. A decade later, Dom Hurd and Jude Kenrick have rebuilt it with groove, live instrumentation and the confidence of the band they have become. https://viranova.co.za/article/landmyn-silwerskerm-awards-2026-rian-van-heerden https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-23-140119-ad2b.jpg Landmyn Turns Family Trauma Into a Silwerskerm Sweep as Rian van Heerden Owns the Night Nico Scheepers’ intimate family drama collected seven awards across the 2026 Silwerskerm ceremonies, while Rian van Heerden completed a remarkable three-award sweep across three different television formats. https://viranova.co.za/article/dr-moruti-we-will-dance-survival-hope-afro-house https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-22-152417-b93b.png Dr Moruti Is Turning Survival Into Dance Music on Upcoming Album We Will Dance Due on 28 August, We Will Dance turns a difficult personal season into Afro House, Afro Tech and soulful dance built around faith, resilience and the decision to keep moving. https://viranova.co.za/article/vusi-mahlasela-guy-buttery-first-live-shows-2026 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-22-150705-7018.jpg After 20 Years on Each Other’s Records, Vusi Mahlasela and Guy Buttery Are Finally Playing Live Together Their recorded relationship stretches from Vusi Mahlasela’s Naledi Ya Tsela in 2006 to Guy Buttery’s self-titled album a decade later. This September, two South African musical histories finally meet onstage. https://viranova.co.za/article/cleo-sol-gentlewoman-south-africa-apple-music-top-10 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-22-145824-5820.webp South Africa Put Three Cleo Sol Songs in Its Apple Music Top 10 Almost Immediately. Why Does Quiet Soul Travel So Well Here? Within a day of Gentlewoman arriving, “I Only Look to You”, “Sweet Thing” and the title track were all inside Apple Music South Africa’s Top 10 — a striking response to music that succeeds through warmth, space and restraint rather than spectacle. https://viranova.co.za/article/txc-amapiano-global-collaborations-davido-nakupenda-straata https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-22-142928-5437.jpg TXC Aren’t Waiting for International Co-Signs — They’re Building Amapiano Collaborations on Their Own Terms From Davido on “Yebo” and “Nakupenda” to possible future work with Wizkid and Jorja Smith, TXC’s international collaborations increasingly look less like outside validation and more like artists entering a South African musical world the duo already knows how to lead. https://viranova.co.za/article/rogan-productions-south-africa-johannesburg-international-base https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-22-140233-868e.jpg Rogan Productions Chose Johannesburg for Its First Permanent International Base. That Says Something About South African Film The London documentary company behind Free Nelson Mandela is establishing its first permanent international base in Johannesburg, with links to Cape Town — another sign that South Africa is being seen as more than somewhere international productions simply arrive to shoot. https://viranova.co.za/article/izingane-zesthembu-season-4-realnovela-mzansi-magic https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-22-134538-7f3d.webp Mzansi Magic Is Calling Izingane zeS’thembu a “Realnovela” — and the Label Actually Fits Season 4 of Izingane zeS’thembu turns the Mseleku family’s accumulating relationships, conflicts and history into something that sits naturally between reality television and the momentum of a family telenovela. https://viranova.co.za/article/ibandla-remix-nasty-c-fans-african-trap-movement https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-22-133134-80e5.jpeg Fans Made the “Ibandla” Remix Inevitable The original was already one of South Africa’s biggest hip-hop records. Then Nasty C’s unofficial C-Mix crossed one million YouTube views. By the time the official remix arrived, audiences had already made the case for it. https://viranova.co.za/article/chris-q-radebe-shut-up-men-are-talking-youtube-movie-room https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-22-131823-ab49.jpg A Self-Funded YouTube Film Is Heading to National TV. Chris Q. Radebe May Have Built a New Route Around the Gatekeepers Chris Q. Radebe financed Shut Up! Men Are Talking himself, built an audience online and kept ownership of the project. Now Movie Room has acquired the film for television — after the audience had already said yes. https://viranova.co.za/article/lashona-ilanga-inkosyamagcokama-maskandi-spotify-number-one https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-22-130142-eaf1.jpg Maskandi Just Beat the Algorithm: How “Lashona Ilanga” Became One of South Africa’s Biggest Songs Four days after Scebi “Inkos’Yamagcokama” Dlamini’s death, “Lashona Ilanga” arrived. Within days, the Limit Nala and Sne Ntuli collaboration was No.1 on Spotify South Africa and leading YouTube’s local trending charts — powered by something algorithms cannot manufacture from scratch: community. https://viranova.co.za/article/viranova-fame-week-africa-2026-partnership https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-21-170239-4dac.png Viranova Partners With FAME Week Africa 2026 to Spotlight Africa’s Creative Future Under the banner Next Up: Africa’s Creative Future, Viranova will join FAME Week Africa 2026 in Cape Town to document the people, ideas and cultural moments shaping the continent’s next creative era. https://viranova.co.za/article/lordkez-kwesta-4sho-second-sama-neo-nostalgia https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-21-123023-9a2b.jpg lordkez Just Won Her Second SAMA. Now She’s Bringing Kwesta Into Her ‘Neo Nostalgia’ Era Days after You, Me & The 90’s won Best R&B/Soul Album at SAMA32, lordkez links with Kwesta on “4SHO” — a collaboration that feels less like a victory lap than the beginning of something bigger. https://viranova.co.za/article/richard-t-jones-comic-con-africa-2026-the-rookie https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-20-064224-6d72.jpg Richard T. Jones Is Bringing Three Decades of Television to Comic Con Africa 2026 From The Rookie and Judging Amy to Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Richard T. Jones has spent more than three decades moving across television genres. This September, South African fans get to meet him in Johannesburg. https://viranova.co.za/article/brandon-aura-run-boy-childhood-warning-belonging https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-19-114210-955b.jpeg Brandon Aura Turns a Childhood Warning Into Something Bigger on Run Boy For the Zimbabwean-born, South Africa-raised singer-songwriter, “run boy” was once connected to fear and survival. His new single turns those words into an intimate meditation on movement, belonging and the decision to keep going. https://viranova.co.za/article/k-keed-orish-umgaranto-ii-kasi-memory-cinema https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-19-021401-03cf.jpeg K.Keed and Orish Are Turning Kasi Memory Into Cinema on uMgaranto II On uMgaranto II, K.Keed and Orish turn isiXhosa storytelling, township humour, old South African advertising and the texture of growing up in the kasi into a record that treats local memory as something worth archiving. https://viranova.co.za/article/popartlive-holiday-reunion-south-african-dance-floors https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-19-020644-d051.webp popartlive Went Quiet. South African Dance Floors Kept the Door Open After years apart in London and Amsterdam, Martin Kabamba and Riccardo Amatucci have revived the Johannesburg-born electronic project with “Holiday” — a song from their early catalogue that never entirely left South Africa behind. https://viranova.co.za/article/rowlene-some-strings-attached-guardian-rnb-spotlight https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-19-015148-f30a.jpeg Rowlene Spent Years Being the Voice Beside the Star. Now the Spotlight Is Moving Towards Her After years of becoming one of South African music’s most recognisable featured voices, Rowlene is entering a different frame as Some Strings Attached, international recognition and an upcoming Johannesburg album launch place her firmly at the centre. https://viranova.co.za/article/umthetho-number-one-netflix-south-africa-global-top-10 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-19-012832-680b.jpg Umthetho Is South Africa’s Number-One Netflix Show — And It Has Already Gone Global Within days of release, the South African crime drama has reached number one on Netflix at home and number six on the platform’s global non-English television chart, turning local attention into measurable international reach. https://viranova.co.za/article/rapsody-god-gotta-afro-gold-hoops-johannesburg-south-africa-album https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-19-010407-8de5.webp Rapsody Didn’t Just Come to South Africa to Perform — She Came Here to Build Her Next Album Rapsody’s fifth studio album, God Gotta Afro & Gold Hoops, was shaped partly in Johannesburg, with Nomsa Mazwai and Soweto’s Karabo Ya Morena carrying South African voices directly into the project. https://viranova.co.za/article/druk-dit-terence-opperman-arm-wrestling-silwerskerm-2026 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-15-163646-e461.jpeg In Druk dit!, Pressure Becomes Power at the Arm-Wrestling Table The new Silwerskerm documentary follows Terence “The Highlander” Opperman into a competitive arm-wrestling world built on technique, discipline, rivalry, pressure and an unexpectedly close-knit community. https://viranova.co.za/article/n-poppy-op-die-heuwel-silwerskerm-land-memory-belonging https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-15-162801-b7e1.jpeg ’n Poppy op die heuwel Turns a Burial into a Quiet Fight for Belonging A new Silwerskerm short film follows two siblings whose attempt to honour their grandmother becomes a confrontation with grief, ownership and a past they are no longer permitted to enter. https://viranova.co.za/article/beatlab-soul-candi-music-education-africa-creators https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-15-161710-23c2.jpeg Beatlab and Soul Candi Are Building a Bigger Classroom for Africa’s Music Makers A new partnership gives Beatlab members discounted access to six Soul Candi Institute of Music courses, connecting production, theory, music business and performance training inside one creator-focused ecosystem. https://viranova.co.za/article/south-africa-found-malia-before-she-ever-got-here-touch-rnb https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-12-154710-9d1d.jpg South Africa Found MALIA Before She Ever Got Here The American alternative R&B artist has never performed in South Africa, yet Johannesburg has become her strongest listening city. With “Touch” and If I’m Being Honest, MALIA is beginning to understand what that unexpected connection could become. https://viranova.co.za/article/thabo-rametsi-hugh-masekela-the-road-home-john-legend-r300-million-film https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-12-002759-50c3.webp Thabo Rametsi Is Carrying Hugh Masekela Into a Roughly R300 Million Global Film — Now John Legend Has Joined Him With The Road Home now filming in South Africa, Thabo Rametsi is carrying Hugh Masekela through an international production that places the politics of Graceland, apartheid and South African musical resistance at the centre — alongside Cynthia Erivo, Johnny Flynn, Guy Pearce and now John Legend. https://viranova.co.za/article/amanda-black-mnyama-five-years-catalogue-matters-more-than-noise https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-11-235818-ec7f.jpeg Five Years On, Amanda Black’s Mnyama Shows Why Catalogue Matters More Than Noise Five years after its release, Amanda Black’s Mnyama offers a more meaningful measure of musical success: not how loudly an album arrives, but whether listeners still have reasons to return when the campaign is over. https://viranova.co.za/article/nqobile-nunu-khumalo-umthetho-netflix-mbali-dlamini-law-family-crime-drama https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-11-220548-b0dc.jpeg Nqobile Nunu Khumalo Has to Carry Both Sides of the Law in Netflix’s Umthetho In Netflix’s South African crime drama Umthetho, Nqobile Nunu Khumalo plays a young prosecutor pulled between justice, family and survival when her brother becomes the centre of the criminal world she is supposed to fight. https://viranova.co.za/article/oskido-lifetime-honours-order-of-ikhamanga-metro-fm-still-building https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-11-214907-8dd2.jpg Oskido Is Collecting Lifetime Honours Before He Has Finished Building Oskido’s major honours do not read like a closing chapter. From the Metro FM Lifetime Achievement Award to the Order of Ikhamanga in Silver, they recognise a builder whose influence is still moving through South African music. https://viranova.co.za/article/skye-wanda-zakes-bantwini-echoes-of-botanical-gardens-collaboration https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-11-213438-fd92.jpg Skye Wanda and Zakes Bantwini Have Already Turned Chemistry Into a Full Musical World Echoes Of Botanical Gardens is more than a one-off collaboration. Across seven tracks, Skye Wanda and Zakes Bantwini turn proven studio chemistry into a complete Afro-house world. https://viranova.co.za/article/sama32-women-behind-the-stage-production-team https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-11-210657-45b0.png The Women Building SAMA32 Before Anyone Walks Onto the Stage Before the lights come up at the Sun City Superbowl, SAMA32’s women-led production, communications, logistics and operations teams are building the machinery that allows the awards night to exist. https://viranova.co.za/article/anele-zondo-ney-the-bae-basadi-2026-host-hip-hop-nominee https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-11-190319-c3dc.jpeg Anele Zondo Entered Basadi’s Fifth Anniversary as Both Host and Hip-Hop Nominee At Basadi in Music Awards 2026, Anele Zondo occupied two positions at once: returning as part of the platform’s host history while also appearing in the Hip-Hop Artist of the Year category as Ney The Bae. https://viranova.co.za/article/jazz-at-jozi-gold-south-africa-jazz-masters-braamfontein-august-2026 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-11-163809-a34d.jpeg South Africa’s Jazz Masters Are Taking Over Braamfontein This August From Abathwebuli Trio’s restless African jazz language to Louis Mhlanga’s four-decade guitar history and Herbie Tsoaeli’s commanding bass work, Jazz at Jozi Gold is turning August into a celebration of South African jazz as a living, evolving tradition. https://viranova.co.za/article/delicious-festival-2026-after-dstv-independence-test https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-10-010838-4ec3.webp After DStv: Delicious Festival’s 2026 Independence Test With DStv’s 12-year headline-sponsorship era over, Delicious Festival’s real 2026 story is not a calendar move or broadcast handover. It is whether the cultural property can prove it was always bigger than the corporate prefix. https://viranova.co.za/article/jsomething-sooks-bring-on-the-night-stay-true-sounds https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-07-220013-5b73.jpeg J’Something and !Sooks Bring a House Classic Back Into the Night With “Bring On The Night,” J’Something, !Sooks and King Dashnote do more than revisit a deep-house favourite. They treat memory as something alive, giving one of South Africa’s treasured dancefloor records a new voice, a new atmosphere and a new emotional life. https://viranova.co.za/article/dey-say-better-off-without-you-african-pop-heartbreak https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-07-212823-68a1.jpeg Dey Say Turn Heartbreak Into Forward Motion on “Better Off Without You” The Johannesburg five-piece are channelling the clarity that follows a breakup into a bright, self-assured single and advancing their vision for a distinctly African expression of global pop. https://viranova.co.za/article/christopher-judge-comic-con-africa-2026-kratos-tealc https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-06-193632-1ed6.jpeg Christopher Judge Brings Kratos and Teal’c to Comic Con Africa 2026 The award-winning performer behind two of science fiction and gaming’s most recognisable characters will meet South African fans in Johannesburg from 25 to 27 September. https://viranova.co.za/article/sa-international-ballet-competition-2026-artscape-global-crucible https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-04-154910-cf7c.png A Global Crucible in Cape Town: Inside the 13th SA International Ballet Competition From 4 to 6 August 2026, the Artscape Opera House becomes a competitive stage where young dancers from South Africa and abroad test classical technique, contemporary expression and performance discipline before an international jury. https://viranova.co.za/article/basadi-in-music-awards-2026-rewind-fifth-anniversary-cultural-memory https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-04-144151-cd2f.jpg Rewinding the Archive: Basadi’s Fifth Anniversary as Cultural Memory As Basadi in Music Awards marks its fifth edition, REWIND turns the ceremony’s previous themes, hosts and milestones into a living archive of women shaping South African music. https://viranova.co.za/article/kzn-art-fair-2026-hilton-arts-festival-new-ground https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-04-135809-9a90.png New Ground: KwaZulu-Natal Finally Gets Its Own Major Art Fair The inaugural KZN Art Fair at Hilton Arts Festival gives KwaZulu-Natal’s visual-art and design sector a major new platform for galleries, artists, collectors, education and creative-industry infrastructure. https://viranova.co.za/article/thatohatsi-amapiano-collaborative-chart-network https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-04-134907-9def.webp The Anatomy of a Breakthrough: Thatohatsi’s Collaborative Chart Network Thato Raphadi’s rise is not the story of one sudden hit. It is the story of a voice becoming recognisable across amapiano’s most powerful collaborative circuits. https://viranova.co.za/article/nathi-maq-violin-3-step-orchestral-afro-house https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-07-31-195244-0006.jpg Nathi MaQ Lets the Violin Lead on “Violin 3-Step” Inspired by the orchestral world of August Rush, the Krugersdorp-born producer brings cinematic emotion into the rhythmic language of 3-Step. https://viranova.co.za/article/woza-albert-market-theatre-hamilton-dhlamini-thulani-mtsweni-phumeza-damane https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-07-31-185522-a0c5.png Morena, Come Now: Woza Albert! Is Still Asking South Africa to Look at Itself Through the impeccable performances of Hamilton Dhlamini and Thulani Mtsweni, Woza Albert! returns not simply as a historical work, but as a living confrontation with power, memory and the unfinished promises of freedom. https://viranova.co.za/article/scatterlings-johnny-clegg-reimagined-new-generation-south-african-artists https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1785428237/viranova/media-2026-07-30-181715-2e83.jpg Johnny Clegg’s Songs Were Never Meant to Stand Still On Scatterlings: Johnny Clegg Reimagined, a new generation of South African artists does more than revisit an iconic catalogue. It enters into conversation with it. https://viranova.co.za/article/espacio-dios-human-dios-album-love-presence-purpose https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1785408503/viranova/media-2026-07-30-124823-ef59.jpg Espacio Dios Is Asking What Remains When We Stop Chasing What’s Next On his new single, “Human,” Espacio Dios steps away from the noise of ambition and constant movement to consider the love, presence and purpose that make a life meaningful. https://viranova.co.za/article/flowers-bloom-sickluv-dominic-neill-south-african-music-distance-home https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1785327373/viranova/media-2026-07-29-141610-fecb.jpg How “Flowers Bloom” Makes Distance Sound Like Home Created between the Garden Route, Berlin and Los Angeles, Sickluv and Dominic Neill’s new collaboration reflects a South African music industry no longer confined by geography. https://viranova.co.za/article/maleh-dithapelo-jazz-at-jozi-gold-womens-month https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1785257614/viranova/media-2026-07-28-185332-5ba4.jpg Maleh’s Return Is Being Carried by Prayer, Not Nostalgia As she opens Jazz at Jozi Gold’s Women’s Month programme, Maleh brings Dithapelo into an intimate Braamfontein room, presenting a new creative chapter shaped by faith, restoration and emotional connection. https://viranova.co.za/article/tyla-apop-african-pop-global-south-african-lineage https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1784998999/viranova/media-2026-07-25-190318-9d39.jpg When Tyla Says A*POP Tyla’s second album treats African pop not as the opposite of global pop, but as one of the places from which global pop can now be defined. https://viranova.co.za/article/hey-hillbrow-lets-dlala-2026-arise-children-public-artists https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1784997799/viranova/media-2026-07-25-184318-5282.jpg When Hillbrow’s Children Become the City’s Public Artists The seventh Hey Hillbrow! Let’s Dlala! procession will turn more than 350 children and young people into a living flock of public artists moving through the streets of Hillbrow. https://viranova.co.za/article/diff-2026-industry-programme-isiphethu-isizulu-scriptwriting-film-festival-residency https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1784996954/viranova/media-2026-07-25-182913-39ca.jpg DIFF Is Not Only Screening Films. It Is Trying to Repair the Pipeline Behind Them The 47th Durban International Film Festival is showing films, but some of its most important 2026 work is happening behind the screen — in workshops, residencies and industry sessions built around the people who make cinema possible. https://viranova.co.za/article/cassper-nyovest-samas-32-host-reconciliation-zanele-potelwa https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1784995126/viranova/media-2026-07-25-175846-e309.jpg Cassper Nyovest and the SAMAs: An Iconic Reconciliation After a decade of public tension with the South African Music Awards, Cassper Nyovest will co-host SAMA32 with Zanele Potelwa at the Sun City Superbowl. https://viranova.co.za/article/lethabo-monametsi-strictly-come-dancing-2026-south-african-latin-champion https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1784994271/viranova/media-2026-07-25-174431-327c.jpg Lethabo Monametsi Has Danced Into One of British Television’s Biggest Institutions South African Latin champion Lethabo Monametsi is joining Strictly Come Dancing’s 2026 professional cast, turning a childhood screen inspiration into one of the biggest television platforms of her career. https://viranova.co.za/article/rick-and-morty-voices-comic-con-africa-2026-johannesburg https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1784901677/viranova/media-2026-07-24-160115-702d.jpg The Voices Behind Rick, Morty and Summer Are Opening a Portal to Johannesburg Ian Cardoni, Harry Belden and Spencer Grammer will meet South African fans at Comic Con Africa 2026 for panels, photographs, autographs and interdimensional fan chaos. https://viranova.co.za/article/vusi-mahlasela-jazz-at-jozi-gold-questions-and-answers-interview https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1784815642/viranova/media-2026-07-23-160720-73fa.jpg Vusi Mahlasela: Music Must Continue to Serve the Truth Ahead of his intimate performance at Jazz at Jozi Gold, Vusi Mahlasela reflects on healing through music, the responsibility of being “The Voice” and the questions shaping his forthcoming album. https://viranova.co.za/article/thandiswa-mazwai-30-years-beautiful-trouble-sankofa-heritage https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1784752435/viranova/media-2026-07-22-223352-7d67.jpg 30 Years of Beautiful Trouble: The Unyielding Rebellion of Thandiswa Mazwai Turning 50 in 2026 did not soften Thandiswa Mazwai. If anything, the milestone sharpened the meaning of a career built on memory, rebellion and indigenous African sound. https://viranova.co.za/article/zulumecca-7-colours-priddy-ugly-loatinover-pounds-lyricism https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1784561924/viranova/media-2026-07-20-173843-eb43.jpg A Sunday Feast of Lyricism: ZuluMecca’s “7 Colours” ZuluMecca’s “7 Colours” brings Priddy Ugly and Loatinover Pounds to the same table, turning a familiar South African food metaphor into a sharp collaboration between three distinct rap identities. https://viranova.co.za/article/lordkez-think-twice-on-the-radar-south-african-rnb-global-platform https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1784561655/viranova/media-2026-07-20-173414-184a.jpg Crossing the Atlantic: Lordkez in the On The Radar Booth Lordkez’s On The Radar performance places South African alternative R&B inside one of New York’s most recognisable music-performance spaces without forcing her to abandon the sound she built at home. https://viranova.co.za/article/liesl-penniken-this-is-who-i-am-solo-identity-jamali-return https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1784560634/viranova/media-2026-07-20-171711-173a.jpg Beyond the Trio: Liesl Penniken’s Solo Identity Beside Jamali’s Return Liesl Penniken’s “This Is Who I Am” is not a clean break from Jamali, but a solo statement unfolding beside the group’s renewed activity. https://viranova.co.za/article/bajabulise-thela-miss-universe-south-africa-2026-grounded-story https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1784559675/viranova/media-2026-07-20-170112-6970.jpg The Grounded Story Behind Bajabulise Thela’s Miss Universe South Africa Crown Bajabulise Thela’s path to Miss Universe South Africa 2026 is not a story of instant transformation, but of pageantry experience, professional training, community work and a new route into the global competition. https://viranova.co.za/article/thuso-mbedu-zelie-children-of-blood-and-bone-first-look-orisha https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1784558123/viranova/media-2026-07-20-163519-3527.jpg Thuso Mbedu as Zélie: The Visual Weight of Orïsha The first official images from Children of Blood and Bone place Thuso Mbedu at the centre of a live-action fantasy world built around African characters, mythology, power and political conflict. https://viranova.co.za/article/growl-power-mzansi-disney-cheetah-girls-next-gen-south-africa https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1784536710/viranova/media-2026-07-20-103829-180e.jpg Growl Power Lands in Mzansi: Inside Disney’s South African Cheetah Girls Revival More than two decades after Disney introduced a generation to coordinated tracksuits, fearless friendship and Cheetah-licious confidence, The Cheetah Girls is roaring back to life — this time on South African soil. https://viranova.co.za/article/zanele-muholi-kanye-nawe-southern-guild-visual-activism https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1784459052/viranova/media-2026-07-19-130410-4c91.jpg Zanele Muholi Brings Two Decades of Visual Activism Into Kanye Nawe The major Cape Town exhibition gathers more than 20 years of Zanele Muholi’s work around visibility, memory, Black LGBTQIA+ life and collective care. https://viranova.co.za/article/abdul-khoza-return-to-acting-uzalo-ma-ten-ten https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1784457596/viranova/media-2026-07-19-123953-6f0a.jpg Abdul Khoza’s Return to Acting Through Uzalo After believing his acting career might be over, Abdul Khoza has returned to television through Uzalo as Ma-Ten-Ten, a character that connects his comeback to KwaMashu, Stained Glass Productions and a first-season role transformed by time. https://viranova.co.za/article/tyla-apop-mawhoo-babalwa-m-south-african-women-global-pop https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1784372657/viranova/media-2026-07-18-130413-c0a0.jpg Tyla’s Global Album Did Not Leave South African Women Outside the Room With MaWhoo and Babalwa M confirmed on A*POP, Tyla’s forthcoming second album places South African women inside the primary version of her global pop era rather than leaving them to the margins of remixes or regional editions. https://viranova.co.za/article/calvin-fallo-everybody-wanna-be-in-love-slow-burn-streaming-success https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1784285350/viranova/media-2026-07-17-124909-fc18.jpg “Everybody Wanna Be in Love” Is Winning by Giving the Music Time to Breathe Calvin Fallo’s nearly seven-minute house record has become one of South Africa’s strongest slow-burning streaming successes, proving that patience, repetition and groove still have room inside the modern chart economy. https://viranova.co.za/article/hen-nico-scheepers-african-film-history-neuchatel-narcisse-award https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1784223184/viranova/media-2026-07-16-193300-3704.jpg Born From the Silence of Limpopo, Hen Just Made African Film History Nico Scheepers’ stark, black-and-white psychological horror has become the first African film to win Neuchâtel’s highest honour, offering another emphatic sign that South African cinema is ready for the world. https://viranova.co.za/article/remembering-seputla-sebogodi-south-african-stage-screen-legend https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1784216690/viranova/media-2026-07-16-174446-0109.jpg Some Performances End. Presence Does Not: Remembering Seputla Sebogodi The legendary South African actor, musician and storyteller has died at the age of 63, leaving behind a body of work that helped shape the country’s stage and screen culture. https://viranova.co.za/article/the-orbit-is-gone-jazz-at-jozi-gold-linda-sikhakhane-vusi-mahlasela https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1784126466/viranova/media-2026-07-15-164102-9ea1.jpg The Orbit Is Gone, but the Music Has Not Left the Room At 81 De Korte Street, Linda Sikhakhane returns to the former Orbit stage where he first presented himself as a bandleader, before Vusi Mahlasela follows with a catalogue that has carried South African memory across the world. https://viranova.co.za/article/no-escape-northern-academy-curro-create-national-youth-theatre-festival-2026 https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1784043970/viranova/media-2026-07-14-174607-6617.jpg No Escape, No Small Victory: How Northern Academy Conquered Curro’s National Theatre Stage Northern Academy Secondary School’s No Escape turned Oedipus Rex into a South African cautionary tale of power, loyalty and fate — and left the 2026 Curro Create National Youth Theatre Festival as Best Production. https://viranova.co.za/article/honeymoan-the-stars-are-talking-melancholy-dance-floor https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783976051/viranova/media-2026-07-13-225410-b8d7.jpg Melancholy on the Dance Floor: HONEYMOAN’s “The Stars Are Talking” Released on 10 July 2026, HONEYMOAN’s “The Stars Are Talking” continues the South African-founded, London-based trio’s mix of indie pop, alternative rock, electronic accents and emotionally guarded songwriting. https://viranova.co.za/article/tshepiso-moropa-setswana-memory-collage-archives-dreams https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783974064/viranova/media-2026-07-13-222103-c0ed.jpg Scissors, Dreams and Archives: Tshepiso Moropa’s Reconstruction of Setswana Memory Through collage, archival imagery, Dinaane and Ditoro, Johannesburg-based artist Tshepiso Moropa reopens photographic archives as living spaces where memory, dreams, family and Setswana knowledge can be rearranged. https://viranova.co.za/article/st-marys-dsg-choir-european-cultural-diplomacy-2026 https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783973468/viranova/media-2026-07-13-221107-9429.jpg Polyphony in the Plaza: The St Mary’s DSG Choir’s European Cultural Diplomacy As St Mary’s DSG Kloof’s Tour Choir travels through France, Monaco and Spain, the school ensemble is turning South African choral movement, rhythm and repertoire into a form of youth-led cultural diplomacy. https://viranova.co.za/article/newf-african-wildlife-filmmakers-behind-the-camera https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783971243/viranova/media-2026-07-13-213402-f74c.jpg Dismantling the External Gaze: How NEWF Is Putting Africans Behind the Wildlife Camera Through fellowships, dive labs, eKhaya and Africa Refocused support, NEWF is changing who gets to tell African wildlife stories by training African filmmakers, scientists, divers, composers and conservation storytellers. https://viranova.co.za/article/zakes-bantwini-johnny-clegg-the-crossing-osiyeza-modern-transformation https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783970411/viranova/media-2026-07-13-212010-308d.jpg Sacred Ground Re-Engineered: Zakes Bantwini and the Modern Transformation of Johnny Clegg’s “The Crossing” Zakes Bantwini, Jesse Clegg and Msaki’s 2026 house reinterpretation of “The Crossing (Osiyeza)” brings Johnny Clegg’s grief-marked South African classic into a new communal dance-floor environment without severing it from its original memory. https://viranova.co.za/article/linda-sikhakhane-returns-former-orbit-jozi-gold https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783947695/viranova/media-2026-07-13-150134-d4f2.jpg Linda Sikhakhane Returns to the Room That First Heard Him Lead Nine years after presenting his debut project as a bandleader at The Orbit, the saxophonist returns to the same Braamfontein room to preview LINDA, his forthcoming fifth album. https://viranova.co.za/article/nipe-kitu-major-league-djz-beyond-amapiano-borders https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783881718/viranova/media-2026-07-12-204157-082b.jpg “Nipe Kitu” Shows Major League DJz Looking Beyond Amapiano’s Usual Borders Released on 10 July 2026, “Nipe Kitu” brings Major League DJz, Thabza De Soul, Idd Aziz and Untitled Audio into a cross-African dance conversation shaped by Swahili vocal identity, Afro-house textures and South African club sensibility. https://viranova.co.za/article/tribute-to-women-2026-msaki-sjava-mafikizolo-nomfundo-moh-busiswa https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783880789/viranova/media-2026-07-12-202628-ac15.jpg Msaki, Sjava, Mafikizolo, Nomfundo Moh and Busiswa Lead Tribute to Women 2026 Set for 29 August 2026 at Marks Park in Emmarentia, Tribute to Women brings Msaki, Sjava, Mafikizolo, Nomfundo Moh and Busiswa together for a Women’s Month stage carrying extra weight in the 70th anniversary year of the 1956 Women’s March. https://viranova.co.za/article/morda-asante-iv-ongoing-afro-house-universe https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783880310/viranova/media-2026-07-12-201830-2ec6.jpg Mörda Is Turning Asante Into an Ongoing Afro-House Universe With Asante IV complete and scheduled for release on 31 July 2026, Mörda is turning a personal dedication to his daughter into one of South African Afro-house’s most recognisable ongoing album worlds. https://viranova.co.za/article/dalin-oliver-stuck-in-dubai-biggest-national-comedy-tour https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783879352/viranova/media-2026-07-12-200230-a72d.jpg Dalin Oliver Turned Four Days of Travel Chaos Into His Biggest National Comedy Tour Born from a terrifying Dubai travel ordeal on the way to Adelaide Fringe, Dalin Oliver’s Stuck in Dubai has become an Ovation Award-winning solo show and one of his most ambitious touring projects yet. https://viranova.co.za/article/dj-zinhle-baba-yilwa-slow-burn-hit-three-months-after-release https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783878615/viranova/media-2026-07-12-195014-16d4.jpg DJ Zinhle’s “Baba Yilwa” Is Becoming a Bigger Hit Three Months After Release Released in April 2026, DJ Zinhle’s “Baba Yilwa” with DJ Lace, FunkTone and Thobani White is still climbing months later, proving that some South African hits grow through repetition, rediscovery and daily-life momentum. https://viranova.co.za/article/ama-hem-hem-thatohatsi-sjava-cinematic-music-language https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783878216/viranova/media-2026-07-12-194335-8cc0.jpg “Ama Hem Hem” Is Not Just a Single — Thatohatsi Is Building a Cinematic Music Language Released on 10 July 2026, Thatohatsi’s “Ama Hem Hem” with Sjava and ShaunMusiQ stretches beyond single culture, pairing a seven-minute record with a short film that points toward a more cinematic artistic identity. https://viranova.co.za/article/disney-cheetah-girls-next-gen-south-africa-kamogelo-ramashala https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783877217/viranova/media-2026-07-12-192656-f90e.jpg Disney Found Kendi in South Africa — and Is Bringing The Cheetah Girls Here With The Cheetah Girls: Next Gen set to begin production in South Africa, Disney’s revival places the country inside a major musical franchise — but the real test will be whether South Africa becomes more than a beautiful backdrop. https://viranova.co.za/article/johnny-clegg-the-crossing-anatomy-of-a-bridge https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783679513/viranova/media-2026-07-10-123152-057b.jpg The Anatomy of a Bridge: Johnny Clegg’s “The Crossing” Released on Johnny Clegg & Savuka’s 1993 album Heat, Dust & Dreams, “The Crossing” turns personal grief for Dudu Zulu into one of South Africa’s clearest public languages of survival. https://viranova.co.za/article/shimza-kunye-afro-house-route-back-home https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783631081/viranova/media-2026-07-09-230440-1e13.jpg Shimza, Kunye, and the Afro-House Route Back Home As Shimza’s international profile grows through Kunye, Ibiza and global club circuits, the deeper story is how the brand keeps South African Afro-house connected to home while speaking to the world. https://viranova.co.za/article/after-dark-two-oceans-aquarium-soft-culture-premium-nightlife https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783683584/viranova/media-2026-07-10-133943-a0bb.jpg After Dark at Two Oceans Aquarium: Soft Culture as Premium Nightlife The 2026 After Dark winter concert series turns the Two Oceans Aquarium into an intimate after-hours music space, showing how Cape Town nightlife is expanding beyond clubs, bars and conventional live venues. https://viranova.co.za/article/fame-week-africa-2026-creative-industry-deal-room https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783628676/viranova/media-2026-07-09-222435-71d0.jpg FAME Week Africa: The Creative Industry’s Deal Room Set for 28 October to 1 November 2026 at CTICC 2 in Cape Town, FAME Week Africa positions itself as a business engine for film, television, animation, music, fashion and digital content across the continent’s creative economy. https://viranova.co.za/article/rocking-the-daisies-2026-alternative-rnb-rap-destination https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783628270/viranova/media-2026-07-09-221750-cacf.jpg Rocking the Daisies: The Alternative R&B/Rap Destination With Jorja Smith and Isaiah Rashad announced as 2026 headliners, Rocking the Daisies continues its evolution from indie-rock campout into a genre-fluid lifestyle festival shaped by alternative R&B, rap and progressive youth listening culture. https://viranova.co.za/article/fosta-diff-music-redemption-langa-infrastructure https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783628180/viranova/media-2026-07-09-221620-c014.jpg FOSTA at DIFF: Music, Redemption, and Langa Infrastructure Premiering at the Durban International Film Festival on 24 July 2026, FOSTA follows Thulani “Fosta” Headman’s journey from prison and Langa’s backyard studios to global electronic music stages, while spotlighting the infrastructure needed to sustain township creativity. https://viranova.co.za/article/berlinale-efm-south-africa-2027-global-opportunity-angle https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783626513/viranova/media-2026-07-09-214832-91f4.jpg Berlinale EFM South Africa 2027: The Global Opportunity Angle South Africa’s selection as the European Film Market’s 2027 Country in Focus gives the local screen industry a major global marketplace moment, but the real win will depend on financing, distribution and ownership outcomes after Berlin. https://viranova.co.za/article/naca-2026-prestige-beyond-music-awards https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783625235/viranova/media-2026-07-09-212714-1f98.jpg NACA 2026: Prestige Beyond Music Awards With 2026 nominations open through the DSAC-backed National Arts and Culture Awards platform, NACA’s wider category framework pushes South African creative recognition beyond music, celebrity and screen visibility. https://viranova.co.za/article/ctijf-2027-month-of-the-mother-city-festival-as-city-season https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783624186/viranova/media-2026-07-09-210945-1473.jpg The CTIJF Month-Long Expansion: Festival-as-City-Season By expanding into a month-long city-wide programme in March 2027, the Cape Town International Jazz Festival is shifting from a concentrated weekend event into a broader civic rhythm for music, culture and creative economy. https://viranova.co.za/article/bryson-tiller-sa-plaques-rnb-memory-economy https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783623025/viranova/media-2026-07-09-205024-5be6.jpg Bryson Tiller’s SA Plaques and the R&B Memory Economy Bryson Tiller’s 18 new RiSA certifications show that South African R&B listeners have kept 2010s trap-soul emotionally and commercially alive long after the original global hype cycle moved on. https://viranova.co.za/article/johnnie-walker-culture-music-hospitality-durban-july-2026 https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783591094/viranova/media-2026-07-09-115813-3572.jpg Johnnie Walker Brought Culture, Music And Premium Hospitality To Durban July 2026 From Boomtown’s live performances to curated dining and nightlife experiences, Johnnie Walker used Durban July weekend to place its Keep Walking platform inside one of South Africa’s most influential culture gatherings. https://viranova.co.za/article/mandisi-dyantyis-symphonic-celebration-prestige-culture-economics https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783448120/viranova/media-2026-07-07-201519-0ffe.jpg The Symphonic Shift: Mandisi Dyantyis and the New Economics of Prestige Culture Mandisi Dyantyis’ Symphonic Celebration at Teatro Montecasino shows how South African artists are turning orchestral staging into a premium live-performance language built on atmosphere, arrangement, scarcity and prestige. https://viranova.co.za/article/married-at-first-sight-mzansi-season-3-weekly-national-referendum https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783447019/viranova/media-2026-07-07-195658-d041.jpg The Altar of the Algorithm: Why Married at First Sight Mzansi Is Our Weekly National Referendum Married at First Sight Mzansi Season 3 turns the altar into a national debate stage, asking whether South Africans are willing to trade romantic fantasy for consistency, reliability and emotional readiness. https://viranova.co.za/article/woza-albert https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783444781/viranova/media-2026-07-07-191940-2a3c.jpg The Resurrection of Morena: Why the Woza Albert! Revival Bites Harder in 2026 As Woza Albert! returns to The Market Theatre’s Barney Simon Theatre in July 2026, the protest classic asks a brutal question again: have the conditions that made protest theatre necessary really disappeared? https://viranova.co.za/article/shazam-south-africa-hidden-listening-rooms-local-music-discovery https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783442761/viranova/media-2026-07-07-184600-4bbc.jpg The Geometry of the Scan: What Shazam Reveals About South Africa’s Hidden Listening Rooms Streaming charts show what people choose to play. Shazam shows what interrupts them — and South Africa’s city-level discovery data reveals a music economy built from local rooms, vehicles, venues and regional sound. https://viranova.co.za/article/the-polygamist-piracy-sue-nyathi-book-netflix-african-authors https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783442350/viranova/media-2026-07-07-183910-82a7.jpg Loving a Story to Death: How Piracy Is Cannibalising The Polygamist Netflix’s adaptation of Sue Nyathi’s The Polygamist has become a global screen success, but alleged book piracy in Nairobi shows how demand can harm the very authorial ecosystem that made the hit possible. https://viranova.co.za/article/tyla-roc-nation-rumour-apop-digital-echo-control https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783440442/viranova/media-2026-07-07-180721-7cfc.jpg Noise, Signal, and the Grid: Tyla’s Masterful Control of the Digital Echo After online rumours falsely claimed she had signed with Roc Nation, Tyla corrected the record in one Instagram Story — then redirected the attention economy back to A*POP. https://viranova.co.za/article/capasso-new-csi-call-members-funding-proposals-2026 https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783372615/viranova/media-2026-07-06-231655-d248.jpg CAPASSO Opens New CSI Call, Inviting Members To Submit Funding Proposals CAPASSO is inviting members to submit proposals for the next cycle of its Corporate Social Investment initiative, with support aimed at education, empowerment and creative-sector growth. https://viranova.co.za/article/sydney-mavundla-jazz-at-jozi-gold-braamfontein https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783328725/viranova/media-2026-07-06-110525-0015.jpg Jazz Finds Its Way Back to Braam as Sydney Mavundla Takes Jozi Gold At 81 De Korte Street, the former home of The Orbit is carrying a new rhythm — and this week, SAMA-nominated trumpeter Sydney Mavundla steps into the room. https://viranova.co.za/article/the-four-of-us-netflix-quick-rollout-local-tv-global-streaming https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783293874/viranova/media-2026-07-06-012434-09dd.jpg Why The Four of Us Landing on Netflix So Quickly Matters Tshedza Pictures’ The Four of Us did not only take over e.tv’s 8pm slot. Its near-immediate Netflix rollout signals a shift in how South African prime-time drama is being valued locally and globally. https://viranova.co.za/article/makhanda-national-arts-festival-2026-arts-economy-reality https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783293590/viranova/media-2026-07-06-011949-159d.jpg Makhanda’s Split Screen: National Arts Festival Energy Meets Arts-Economy Reality The 52nd National Arts Festival turned Makhanda into a creative meeting point again, but the brilliance inside the venues sat beside a harder reality outside them: infrastructure pressure, arts funding strain and the fragile economy around cultural work. https://viranova.co.za/article/basadi-in-music-2026-women-who-build-the-industry https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783292927/viranova/media-2026-07-06-010846-a1c8.jpg Basadi in Music Is Mapping the Women Who Actually Build the Industry The 2026 Basadi in Music Awards nominees show why the platform matters beyond the biggest performers: it is making the women behind South African music visible too. https://viranova.co.za/article/feza-chart-run-local-language-maskandi-streaming https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783292265/viranova/media-2026-07-06-005744-02db.jpg Feza’s Chart Run Is Speaking a More Local Language With “Sengithole Omunye” and “Umaqondana” dominating the upper tier of South African streaming, Feza is proving that local, language-rich music can sit at the centre of the digital chart conversation. https://viranova.co.za/article/the-ascots-durban-july-festival-disguised-as-marquee https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783290291/viranova/media-2026-07-06-002450-a7ed.jpg The Ascots Was a Festival Disguised as a Marquee At the 2026 Hollywoodbets Durban July, Aline Media Group’s The Ascots pushed race-day hospitality into a new category: a boutique festival built inside the marquee economy. https://viranova.co.za/article/country-allure-durban-july-2026-countryside-couture https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783289420/viranova/media-2026-07-06-001019-a7af.jpg Country Allure: How Durban July Turned the Countryside Into Couture The 2026 Hollywoodbets Durban July was historic on the track, but its strongest cultural statement came through fashion that translated rural memory, equestrian heritage and regional craft into couture. https://viranova.co.za/article/credo-v-daniels-ai-question-south-african-music-authenticity https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783287717/viranova/media-2026-07-05-234156-8ffc.jpg Credo V Daniels and the AI Question South African Music Can No Longer Avoid Credo V Daniels’ Still Where We Were has become more than a breakthrough album. It has turned into a flashpoint for how South African music thinks about AI, live performance, vocal truth and authenticity. https://viranova.co.za/article/ekurhuleni-music-workshop-2026-music-education-creators https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783195513/viranova/media-2026-07-04-220512-8e40.jpg The Ekurhuleni Music Workshop 2026 Put Music Education Where It Belongs: In the Hands of Creators Hosted by Jozi Entertainment, powered by CAPASSO, and supported by the City of Ekurhuleni and the Gauteng Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation, the workshop gave emerging artists, producers, DJs, songwriters and independent music entrepreneurs practical tools for building sustainable music careers. https://viranova.co.za/article/madonna-confessions-ii-warner-music-africa-release-party-jozi https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783131688/viranova/media-2026-07-04-042126-20e4.jpg The Mother Took Over Jozi: Inside Warner Music Africa’s Madonna Confessions II Release Party Warner Music Africa and Funk It Up turned Sognage into a Madonna universe for the Johannesburg launch celebration of Confessions II — a night of disco, dance, fashion, fan devotion and pop iconography. https://viranova.co.za/article/jay-em-isotta-gqeberha-taxi-memory-house-music-infrastructure https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1783071890/viranova/media-2026-07-03-114448-9a0b.jpg Jay Em Honour Gqeberha’s Taxi Culture on Deeply Personal New EP, iSOTTA With iSOTTA, Jay Em turn Gqeberha’s taxi routes, hometown memory and house music culture into a seven-track love letter to the city that shaped them. https://viranova.co.za/article/cowboii-ikati-elimhlophe-viral-amapiano-album-career https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1782851582/viranova/media-2026-06-30-223301-99fe.jpg CowBoii’s iKati Elimhlophe Tests Whether Viral Amapiano Can Become an Album Career With iKati Elimhlophe, CowBoii is trying to turn viral Amapiano momentum into something longer-lasting: a full album era built around identity, growth, community and Rapiano ambition. https://viranova.co.za/article/kay-kay-ribane-the-perfect-serve-african-opulence-collectors-object https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1782850646/viranova/media-2026-06-30-221725-db30.jpg Kay Kay Ribane’s The Perfect Serve Turns African Opulence Into a Collector’s Object Through The Perfect Serve, Kay Kay Ribane transforms Stella Artois’ Wimbledon-inspired White Can campaign into a refined visual study of movement, precision and contemporary African luxury. https://viranova.co.za/article/lady-zamar-first-class-lightness-south-african-pop https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1782849797/viranova/media-2026-06-30-220316-5f8a.jpg Lady Zamar’s “First Class” Brings Lightness Back to South African Pop With “First Class,” Lady Zamar turns regret into movement, choosing romance, clarity and feel-good pop instead of letting heartbreak carry the whole room. https://viranova.co.za/article/house-of-zwide-final-stitch-soapies-young-stars-public https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1782849008/viranova/media-2026-06-30-215007-3c1d.jpg House of Zwide’s Final Stitch Shows Soapies Still Build Young Stars in Public As House of Zwide closes after five seasons, its final episode reminds us that daily television still does something algorithms rarely sustain: it lets audiences grow with young actors in real time. https://viranova.co.za/article/the-blue-album-township-memory-queer-survival-archive https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1782847722/viranova/media-2026-06-30-212841-e2a0.jpg The Blue Album Turns Township Memory Into a Queer Survival Archive Vuyelwa Maluleke’s The Blue Album uses monologue, movement and fractured memory to confront corrective rape, township silence and the difficult meaning of home for Black lesbian women. https://viranova.co.za/article/jazzwrld-thukuthela-bet-awards-3-step-global-room https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1782846515/viranova/media-2026-06-30-210833-3f78.jpg JAZZWRLD and Thukuthela’s BET Awards Moment Shows 3-Step Is Entering the Global Room JAZZWRLD and Thukuthela did not need a BET nomination for the moment to matter. Their presence in Los Angeles showed that 3-Step is moving into global media rooms while keeping its South African centre. https://viranova.co.za/article/mi-casa-returns-where-it-all-began-15-year-milestone-celebration https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1782745739/viranova/media-2026-06-29-170858-6b84.jpg Mi Casa Returns to Where It All Began for 15-Year Milestone Celebration Fifteen years after J’Something, Mo-T and Dr Duda first met on the rooftop of the Radisson Blu Gautrain Hotel, Mi Casa returned to the same place to launch a new anniversary chapter. https://viranova.co.za/article/mnakwethu-season-5-polygamy-south-african-television-genre https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1782572306/viranova/media-2026-06-27-165825-73f7.jpg Mnakwethu Season 5 Shows Polygamy Has Become a South African Television Genre As Musa Mseleku returns for Mnakwethu Season 5, the show proves that polygamy is no longer just a controversial reality-TV premise. It has become a full South African television genre. https://viranova.co.za/article/bonang-cannes-lions-algorithm-doesnt-know-your-culture https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1782570929/viranova/media-2026-06-27-163528-3cf1.jpg Bonang at Cannes Lions Shows Why “The Algorithm Doesn’t Know Your Culture” Is Bigger Than a Panel Title Bonang Matheba’s Cannes Lions appearance turned a panel on AI, culture and trust into a larger argument about African luxury, lived influence and why algorithms still struggle to understand cultural nuance. https://viranova.co.za/article/before-every-album-needed-a-world-mlazi-milano-built-one https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1782569828/viranova/media-2026-06-27-161707-25c7.jpg Before Every Album Needed a “World,” Mlazi Milano Had Already Built One Okmalumkoolkat’s Mlazi Milano was not just a debut album. It was a fully coded universe of gqom pressure, Durban mythology, digital-maskandi instincts, sci-fi references and Smart Mampara language. https://viranova.co.za/article/the-joy-precious-south-african-vocal-harmony-global-pop https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1782568994/viranova/media-2026-06-27-160313-aa41.jpg The Joy’s “Precious” Tests How Far South African Vocal Harmony Can Travel Into Global Pop With “Precious,” The Joy move their Zulu-rooted vocal harmony deeper into global pop space, testing whether the unadorned human voice can still cut through a heavily processed music world. https://viranova.co.za/article/thabsie-while-you-wait-sa-rnb-comebacks-independent-rebrands https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1782568138/viranova/media-2026-06-27-154857-b1c1.jpg Thabsie’s While You Wait Shows SA R&B Comebacks Are Becoming Independent Rebrands With While You Wait, Thabsie returns through an independent, emotionally mature R&B project that feels less like a desperate comeback and more like a careful rebrand. https://viranova.co.za/article/davido-i-know-who-i-be-sa-3-step-producers-pan-african-hit-architects https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1782567320/viranova/media-2026-06-27-153519-6240.jpg Davido’s “I Know Who I Be” Shows SA 3-Step Producers Are Becoming Pan-African Hit Architects Davido’s collaboration with JAZZWRLD and GL_Ceejay shows that South African 3-Step producers are no longer just exporting rhythm. They are helping shape the architecture of major Pan-African hits. https://viranova.co.za/article/trevor-noah-festival-of-comedy-south-africa-pan-african-comedy-stage https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1782566225/viranova/media-2026-06-27-151704-ae3c.jpg Trevor Noah’s Festival of Comedy Is Turning South Africa Into a Pan-African Comedy Stage Savanna’s South Africa’s Festival of Comedy, led by Trevor Noah, reframes stand-up as a national-team moment — and positions South Africa as a serious continental comedy platform. https://viranova.co.za/article/sama32-shortlist-south-african-music-no-single-centre https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1782462344/viranova/media-2026-06-26-102543-3788.jpg SAMA32’s Shortlist Shows South African Music No Longer Has a Single Centre The SAMA32 shortlist and the awards’ return to the North West show a South African music industry shaped by many hubs, regional scenes and independent paths to recognition. https://viranova.co.za/article/shimza-sunset-in-pretoria-connects-pacha-ibiza-to-home https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1782319832/viranova/media-2026-06-24-185031-26cd.jpg Shimza’s Sunset in Pretoria Connects Pacha Ibiza to Home Released after his Shimza&Co run at Pacha Ibiza, Sunset in Pretoria shows Shimza pulling Afro House’s global movement back toward home, memory and South African emotional geography. https://viranova.co.za/article/sai-hle-red-bull-symphonic-national-television-emerging-music-act https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1782319223/viranova/media-2026-06-24-184021-f7bd.jpg SAI HLE Shows National Television Can Still Introduce an Emerging Music Act to the Country SAI HLE’s Red Bull Symphonic performance on SABC1 proves that national television can still turn an emerging act into a shared cultural question. https://viranova.co.za/article/silwerskerm-2026-afrikaans-cinema-feature-pipeline-pressure https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1782319009/viranova/media-2026-06-24-183648-5ba9.jpg Silwerskerm 2026 Shows Afrikaans Cinema Is Broadening While Its Feature Pipeline Feels Under Pressure The 14th kykNET Silwerskerm Festival shows an Afrikaans screen industry expanding across shorts, documentaries, pilots and industry sessions — while the full-length feature pipeline raises harder questions about sustainability. https://viranova.co.za/article/liquideep-first-curated-live-show-artist-owned-experiences https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1782318420/viranova/media-2026-06-24-182659-d3de.jpg Liquideep’s First Curated Live Show Signals a Shift From Bookings to Artist-Owned Experiences Liquideep’s Untitled Basement show is more than a return to stage. It points to a future where legacy acts control the room, the story and the emotional pace of their own live experiences. https://viranova.co.za/article/national-arts-council-3-4-percent-arts-funding-gap https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1782318042/viranova/media-2026-06-24-182041-a147.jpg The NAC Could Cover Only 3.4% of What Artists Asked For The National Arts Council’s 2026 Annual Project Funding outcomes expose the brutal gap between what South African artists need and what the funding system can actually provide. https://viranova.co.za/article/scorpion-kings-extra-ticket-release-amapiano-stadium-infrastructure https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1782316615/viranova/media-2026-06-24-175654-bf2a.jpg Scorpion Kings’ Extra Ticket Release Shows Amapiano Has Become Stadium Infrastructure With more than 70,000 tickets already reported sold, over 500,000 fans in the online queue and an extra 5,000 tickets being released, Scorpion Kings Live is proving that Amapiano can now operate at stadium scale. https://viranova.co.za/article/ruff-majik-gods-of-war-physical-music-social-currency https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1782170571/viranova/1782170570730-578fe95b0d-chatgpt-image-jun-23-2026-12-20-24-am-2.jpg Ruff Majik’s Secret EP Strategy Suggests Physical Music Is Becoming Social Currency Again With Gods of War available only on limited pressed CDs, Ruff Majik are turning scarcity, scene loyalty and physical music into a new kind of underground social currency. https://viranova.co.za/article/the-medicine-dolls-diy-documentary-sa-rock-building-own-media https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1782170000/viranova/1782169999602-8f69d3d3a6-chatgpt-image-jun-23-2026-12-10-38-am-2.jpg The Medicine Dolls’ DIY Documentary Shows SA Rock Is Building Its Own Media With This God-Awful Buzz, The Medicine Dolls are not waiting for platforms or institutions to archive South African rock. They are documenting the chaos themselves. https://viranova.co.za/article/santu-mofokeng-rumours-2026-black-everyday-life https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1782168835/viranova/1782168834205-07494dc8ac-chatgpt-image-jun-23-2026-12-04-43-am-2.jpg Santu Mofokeng’s Rumours/2026 Asks Who Gets to Define Black Everyday Life At the Standard Bank Art Lab, Rumours/2026 reactivates Santu Mofokeng’s quiet, radical insistence that Black life must be seen beyond trauma, spectacle and official archives. https://viranova.co.za/article/nduduzo-makhathini-the-myth-we-choose-jazz-imagine-the-future https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1782168643/viranova/1782168642127-11ff634d96-chatgpt-image-jun-22-2026-11-58-47-pm-2.jpg Nduduzo Makhathini’s The Myth We Choose Asks Jazz to Imagine the Future On The Myth We Choose, Nduduzo Makhathini turns jazz into a future-facing ritual, asking what myths today’s songs will leave behind for the generations still coming. https://viranova.co.za/article/the-polygamist-drama-dialogue-music-south-african-group-chat-fuel https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1782168096/viranova/1782168095947-02d5d77710-chatgpt-image-jun-22-2026-11-17-45-pm-2.jpg How The Polygamist Turned Drama, Dialogue and Music Into South African Group-Chat Fuel Netflix’s The Polygamist understands how South Africans watch local drama now: loudly, emotionally, musically and straight through the group chat. https://viranova.co.za/article/sasezola-amapiano-breakout-built-before-release-day https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1782162957/viranova/1782162956809-3aa0a63075-chatgpt-image-jun-22-2026-10-57-18-pm-2.jpg “SASEZOLA” Shows Amapiano’s Next Breakout Can Be Built Before Release Day Before “SASEZOLA” officially arrived on streaming platforms, its hook had already become a homecoming feeling across TikTok and social media. https://viranova.co.za/article/scandal-daniel-nyathi-return-soapie-finales-need-their-ghosts https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1781992025/viranova/1781992024520-8dd713dab8-chatgpt-image-jun-20-2026-10-48-06-pm-2.jpg Scandal!’s Daniel Nyathi Return Shows Why Soapie Finales Need Their Ghosts Sello Maake KaNcube’s return as Daniel Nyathi gives Scandal!’s final chapter the kind of television memory, danger and emotional weight that long-running soapies need when they say goodbye. https://viranova.co.za/article/prince-kaybee-playy-deal-next-music-era https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1781991586/viranova/1781991585406-75bebd6351-chatgpt-image-jun-20-2026-10-46-29-pm-2.jpg Prince Kaybee’s PLAYY. Deal Is the Real Beginning of His Next Music Era Prince Kaybee’s new partnership with PLAYY. Records and upcoming single “Heno Babayo” signal more than a label move. They mark a creative reset shaped by endurance, reinvention and Afro-house freedom. https://viranova.co.za/article/basha-uhuru-youth-month-memory-creative-economy-access https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1781990833/viranova/1781990832555-db20a61415-chatgpt-image-jun-20-2026-10-46-18-pm-2.jpg Basha Uhuru Is Turning Youth-Month Memory Into Creative-Economy Access Basha Uhuru’s 2026 edition shows that Youth Month cannot only be about remembering 1976. It also has to create platforms, market access and real opportunities for young creatives today. https://viranova.co.za/article/dear-sis-dolly-south-africa-advice-column-screen-memory https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1781989529/viranova/1781989528248-423879e900-chatgpt-image-jun-20-2026-10-46-11-pm-2.jpg Dear Sis Dolly Turns South Africa’s Most Famous Advice Column Into Screen Memory Twiggy Matiwana’s Dear Sis Dolly turns Drum Magazine’s iconic agony-aunt column into a warm, funny and thoughtful film about expertise, community wisdom and the art of truly listening. https://viranova.co.za/article/tyla-is-it-love-apop-emotional-stakes https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1781989167/viranova/1781989166848-b2bccbccd7-chatgpt-image-jun-20-2026-10-46-03-pm-2.jpg Tyla’s “Is It Love” Makes A*POP’s Emotional Stakes Clearer With “Is It Love,” Tyla brings vulnerability into the centre of her A*POP era, proving that she can make the club feel like a confession without losing the rhythm that made her global. https://viranova.co.za/article/the-trap-temptations-event-album-south-african-hip-hop https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1781989017/viranova/1781989016941-d425b24b9f-chatgpt-image-jun-20-2026-10-45-51-pm-2.jpg The Trap Temptations Is the Event Album South African Hip-Hop Has Been Waiting For Ruff, Emtee, Sjava and Saudi’s The Trap Temptations does more than revive African Trap Movement nostalgia. It turns history, survival and brotherhood into one of South African hip-hop’s most important reunion moments. https://viranova.co.za/article/capasso-inaugural-csi-programme-music-rights-education-starts-at-the-floor https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1781957025/viranova/1781957024764-cb2b2cb4bb-4.jpg CAPASSO’s Inaugural CSI Programme Proves Music Rights Education Has to Start at the Floor CAPASSO’s first CSI funding cycle shows that South Africa’s music rights economy cannot only be built from boardrooms and royalty statements. It has to begin with education, capacity and community-level support. https://viranova.co.za/article/yandani-touch-tiktok-fame-rnb-development-route https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1781726993/viranova/1781726993091-6491b6ca63-chatgpt-image-jun-17-2026-08-04-15-pm-2.jpg Yandani’s “Touch” Shows TikTok Fame Is Becoming an R&B Development Route With “Touch,” Yandani is showing how young South African artists can turn social media attention into polished songwriting, real production and a more sustainable R&B career path. https://viranova.co.za/article/bongeziwe-mabandla-ndingubani-mental-health-ritual https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1781726482/viranova/1781726481769-5e8a4151de-chatgpt-image-jun-17-2026-07-53-09-pm-2.jpg Bongeziwe Mabandla’s Ndingubani Makes Mental Health Sound Like Ritual On Ndingubani, Bongeziwe Mabandla turns emotional struggle, depression and self-questioning into something spiritual, embodied and deeply human. https://viranova.co.za/article/benjamin-dube-sony-deal-gospel-catalogues-legacy-assets https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1781726091/viranova/1781726091014-69ead36426-chatgpt-image-jun-17-2026-07-38-37-pm-2.jpg Benjamin Dube’s Sony Deal Shows Gospel Catalogues Are Becoming Legacy Assets Benjamin Dube’s catalogue partnership with Sony Music Entertainment Africa shows how South African gospel catalogues are being treated as long-term cultural and commercial assets. https://viranova.co.za/article/dbn-gogo-roskilde-amapiano-3-step-travelling-together https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1781723518/viranova/1781723517421-7bb8e16f10-chatgpt-image-jun-17-2026-07-15-30-pm-2.jpg DBN Gogo at Roskilde Shows Amapiano and 3-Step Are Travelling Together DBN Gogo’s Roskilde Festival slot shows that South African dance music is no longer exporting one clean sound at a time. Amapiano and 3-Step are travelling together as part of a restless, adaptive ecosystem. https://viranova.co.za/article/concerts-sa-music-cities-win-infrastructure-behind-south-african-sound https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1781722411/viranova/1781722410519-ada6f1c4c2-l-to-r-james-french-concerts-sa-andre-le-roux-concerts-sa-and-samro-s-lesego-maforah-jpg.jpg Concerts SA’s Music Cities Win Is Really About the Infrastructure Behind South African Sound The international recognition of Concerts SA and IKS Cultural Consulting highlights a truth South Africa often overlooks: music infrastructure is culture too. https://viranova.co.za/article/abdullah-ibrahim-death-south-africa-quiet-jazz-architect https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1781602809/viranova/1781602809006-e4086331f5-chatgpt-image-jun-16-2026-11-16-18-am-2.jpg Abdullah Ibrahim’s Death Marks the Loss of South Africa’s Quiet Jazz Architect Abdullah Ibrahim’s passing closes a physical chapter in South African jazz, but his music remains one of the clearest maps of exile, dignity, resistance and home. https://viranova.co.za/article/the-masked-singer-sa-moving-to-sabc2-public-tv-family-entertainment https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1781458567/viranova/1781458566637-7d75856395-chatgpt-image-jun-14-2026-04-50-07-pm-2.jpg The Masked Singer SA Moving to SABC2 Shows Public TV Still Wants Big Family Entertainment The Masked Singer South Africa’s move to SABC2 for Season 3 proves that public television still wants big, shiny, communal entertainment built for family debate, celebrity spectacle and Saturday-night chaos. https://viranova.co.za/article/xowla-resista-lvovo-kwaito-house-legacy-hip-hop-generation https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1781457593/viranova/1781457592594-6d0ad7fc33-chatgpt-image-jun-14-2026-06-57-37-pm-2.jpg Xowla’s “Resista” Reimagines L’vovo’s Kwaito-House Legacy for a Hip-Hop Generation With “Resista,” Xowla brings Tony Dayimane, Emtee, Touchline and Slim Ego into a modern tribute that turns L’vovo’s kwaito-house energy into a hip-hop handover. https://viranova.co.za/article/portchie-death-south-africa-visual-artist-legacy https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1781457428/viranova/1781457427606-7ca0529c43-chatgpt-image-jun-14-2026-05-50-47-pm-2.jpg Portchie’s Death Marks the Loss of One of South Africa’s Most Recognisable Visual Artists Jan Hendrik Viljoen, known widely as Portchie, leaves behind a colourful artistic legacy that made joy, warmth and everyday wonder feel serious. https://viranova.co.za/article/rebolledo-sa-dates-south-africa-underground-electronic-global-stop https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1781269405/viranova/1781269404714-3444d4c34e-chatgpt-image-jun-12-2026-01-15-21-pm-2.jpg Rebolledo’s SA Dates Show South Africa’s Underground Electronic Scene Is Becoming a Global Stop Rebolledo’s Seasons Tour dates in Johannesburg and Cape Town show that South Africa’s underground electronic scene is not only exporting talent. It is becoming a serious destination for global leftfield club culture. https://viranova.co.za/article/unathi-nkayi-isikhwele-comeback-storytelling-healing-soweto-memory https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1781268250/viranova/1781268250034-0dcda68be3-chatgpt-image-jun-12-2026-01-05-39-pm-2.jpg Unathi Nkayi’s “Isikhwele” Is a Comeback About Storytelling, Healing and Soweto Memory With “Isikhwele,” Unathi Nkayi returns on her own terms — using music, visual direction, Soweto geography and South African fashion to build a comeback rooted in story, healing and cultural memory. https://viranova.co.za/article/sakhele-mzalazala-childrens-copyright-book-music-rights-education-starting-earlier https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1781267396/viranova/1781267395721-8e2d749b27-chatgpt-image-jun-12-2026-12-58-34-pm-2.jpg Sakhele Mzalazala’s Children’s Copyright Book Shows Music Rights Education Is Starting Earlier With What is Copyright? Our Song, Sakhele Mzalazala is pushing music rights education beyond industry workshops and into classrooms, libraries and early creative learning. https://viranova.co.za/article/ne-yo-sa-return-rnb-nostalgia-serious-concert-lane https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1781299885/viranova/1781299884538-22e1dacb50-chatgpt-image-jun-12-2026-12-38-10-pm-2.jpg NE-YO’s SA Return Confirms R&B Nostalgia Is Becoming a Serious Concert Lane NE-YO’s October 2026 Cape Town and Pretoria shows prove that 2000s R&B nostalgia is no longer just a feeling. It is becoming a serious live-event market in South Africa. https://viranova.co.za/article/dj-bongz-sa-studio-camp-next-music-revolution-towns-not-cities https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1781266041/viranova/1781266041253-60ca8649d2-chatgpt-image-jun-12-2026-12-14-35-pm-2.jpg DJ Bongz’s SA Studio Camp Shows the Next Music Revolution May Come From Towns, Not Cities DJ Bongz’s SA Studio Camp is taking mentorship, studio access and industry knowledge into communities beyond South Africa’s usual music capitals. https://viranova.co.za/article/prince-kaybee-600km-ride-artist-branding-endurance-purpose https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1781265555/viranova/1781265554443-b37df12dd6-chatgpt-image-jun-12-2026-01-19-17-pm-2.jpg Prince Kaybee’s 600km Ride Turns Artist Branding Into Endurance, Purpose and Public Spectacle Prince Kaybee’s HiPace Cycle Challenge turns recovery into a public endurance test, proving that artist branding can be built through discipline, vulnerability and purpose — not only lifestyle and luxury. https://viranova.co.za/article/ko-danya-devs-scotts-maphuma-hotela-sa-genre-walls-collapsing https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1781264085/viranova/1781264084373-11b3bd8bdf-chatgpt-image-jun-12-2026-11-13-17-am-2.jpg K.O, Danya Devs and Scotts Maphuma’s “Hotela” Shows SA’s Genre Walls Are Collapsing With “Hotela,” K.O brings hip-hop, Afro-pop melody and Amapiano energy into one record, proving that South African genre lines are no longer walls — they are ingredients. https://viranova.co.za/article/money-badoo-4play-sa-alternative-artists-global-scenes https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1781089863/viranova/1781089862390-34076bbc1e-chatgpt-image-jun-10-2026-12-18-13-pm-2.jpg Money Badoo’s 4PLAY Shows SA Alternative Artists Are Building Global Scenes Outside the Mainstream Money Badoo’s 4PLAY is not chasing local mainstream approval. It shows how South African alternative artists are building genre-fluid, internet-native worlds that can travel globally. https://viranova.co.za/article/naledi-aphiwe-public-pressure-pop-resilience https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1781089650/viranova/1781089650086-fc86eebded-chatgpt-image-jun-10-2026-12-14-34-pm-2.jpg Naledi Aphiwe Is Turning Public Pressure Into Pop Resilience With “Bayazibuza,” Naledi Aphiwe is moving beyond the viral moment and showing how a young artist can turn public pressure, scrutiny and expectation into emotional pop resilience. https://viranova.co.za/article/soa-mattrix-ngikhumbula-amapiano-rnb-pop-storytelling https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1781088294/viranova/1781088293417-3c57a4f87a-chatgpt-image-jun-10-2026-12-00-03-pm-2.jpg Soa Mattrix’s “Ngikhumbula” Shows Amapiano Is Moving Into R&B-Pop Storytelling With “Ngikhumbula,” Soa Mattrix, Bassie and Khathapillar show how Amapiano is expanding beyond club utility into lush, melodic and emotionally driven storytelling. https://viranova.co.za/article/limp-bizkit-return-of-stadium-nostalgia-south-africa https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1781087364/viranova/1781087363786-b25e186ee2-chatgpt-image-jun-10-2026-11-54-06-am-2.jpg Limp Bizkit and the Return of Stadium Nostalgia in South Africa Limp Bizkit’s FNB Stadium date shows that South Africa’s live entertainment market is not only chasing current pop moments. The nostalgia economy is becoming serious stadium business. https://viranova.co.za/article/wouter-kellerman-pangaea-immersive-realms-african-music-tech https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780852928/viranova/1780852927551-56a4552284-chatgpt-image-jun-7-2026-06-25-27-pm-2.jpg Wouter Kellerman’s Immersive Album Shows Where African Music Tech Is Going With Pangaea: Immersive Realms, Wouter Kellerman is showing how African composition can move beyond stereo into three-dimensional sound, immersive listening and the future of music technology. https://viranova.co.za/article/nala-collective-women-rewriting-cape-town-jazz https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780852355/viranova/1780852354541-edbcde3c4f-chatgpt-image-jun-7-2026-06-13-18-pm-2.jpg Nala Collective and the Women Rewriting Cape Town Jazz Nala Collective is creating space for women instrumentalists, composers and bandleaders to shape Cape Town’s jazz future on their own terms. https://viranova.co.za/article/ndlovu-youth-choir-edinburgh-run-south-african-soft-power https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780851752/viranova/1780851751741-3aa3693b1a-chatgpt-image-jun-7-2026-06-22-01-pm-2.jpg Ndlovu Youth Choir’s Edinburgh Run Shows Choral Music Is Still South African Soft Power As the Ndlovu Youth Choir heads from Johannesburg’s Teatro to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, their global run proves that South African choral music still carries serious cultural diplomacy power. https://viranova.co.za/article/zolani-mahola-xhosanostra-gqom-tribute-not-just-club-sound https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780851339/viranova/1780851339111-458f684813-chatgpt-image-jun-7-2026-05-54-01-pm-2.jpg Zolani Mahola’s “XhosaNostra” Turns Gqom Into a Tribute, Not Just a Club Sound With “XhosaNostra,” Zolani Mahola uses gqom’s pulse to carry heritage, memory and tribute — proving South African electronic music can be more than a club escape. https://viranova.co.za/article/durban-july-luxury-culture-economy https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780850762/viranova/1780850762003-8e85c2f8ec-chatgpt-image-jun-7-2026-05-39-44-pm-2.jpg Durban July Is No Longer Just Race Day — It Is Becoming a Luxury Culture Economy The Hollywoodbets Durban July has grown beyond horse racing into one of South Africa’s most visible intersections of fashion, hospitality, music, branding, status and social aspiration. https://viranova.co.za/article/shekhinah-love-on-repeat-3-step-home-for-rnb-voicesshekhinah-love-on-repeat-3-step-home-fo https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780850365/viranova/1780850364548-e580c7043e-chatgpt-image-jun-7-2026-05-59-37-pm-2.jpg Shekhinah’s Love on Repeat Shows 3-Step Is Becoming a Home for R&B Voices With Love on Repeat, Vol. 1, Shekhinah shows how 3-Step can give South African R&B voices a dance-floor home without sacrificing softness, intimacy or emotional storytelling. https://viranova.co.za/article/outside-already-amapiano-cultural-meeting-point-not-just-party https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780849929/viranova/1780849928251-ae42d88199-chatgpt-image-jun-7-2026-03-50-31-pm-2.jpg Outside Already Is Turning Amapiano Into a Cultural Meeting Point, Not Just a Party With Kelvin Momo, Mörda and Calvin Fallo leading the line-up, Outside Already is showing how Amapiano culture is moving beyond the dance floor into dialogue, leadership, media and creative infrastructure. https://viranova.co.za/article/internet-athi-rise-of-south-africas-intimate-alternative-soul https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780674807/viranova/1780674807011-9d745c4d54-chatgpt-image-jun-5-2026-05-03-50-pm-2.jpg Internet Athi and the Rise of South Africa’s Intimate Alternative Soul Apple Music’s latest Up Next artist for South Africa is proof that not every powerful local music movement needs to be loud, club-driven or built for the dance floor. https://viranova.co.za/article/fete-de-la-musique-2026-free-music-events-south-african-culture https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780674512/viranova/1780674512416-9c047cc127-chatgpt-image-jun-5-2026-04-59-51-pm-2.jpg Fête de la Musique 2026: Why Free Music Events Still Matter for South African Culture As live music becomes increasingly expensive, Fête de la Musique 2026 reminds South Africa why free public culture still matters — not as charity, but as access, joy and shared civic life. https://viranova.co.za/article/robot-boii-school-talent-pipeline-sa-next-stars-still-in-uniform https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780674098/viranova/1780674097468-fdb80024b4-chatgpt-image-jun-5-2026-04-56-26-pm-2.jpg Robot Boii and the School Talent Pipeline: SA’s Next Stars Are Still in Uniform Through school-facing talent initiatives like #RaiseTheBar: NextGen, Robot Boii is helping spotlight a truth South African pop culture already knows: the next wave of performers may still be sitting in class. https://viranova.co.za/article/yugen-blakrok-underground-side-of-south-african-hip-hop https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780673643/viranova/1780673643132-58e98c6c24-chatgpt-image-jun-5-2026-04-51-32-pm-2.jpg Yugen Blakrok and the Underground Side of South African Hip-Hop Yugen Blakrok’s cosmic, uncompromising lyricism reminds us that South African hip-hop is not only built through charts, brands and radio. Its underground still carries some of the culture’s deepest artistic power. https://viranova.co.za/article/sunornza-goldmax-amarazo-gqom-still-moves-the-floor https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780673140/viranova/1780673139070-9e50b4155b-chatgpt-image-jun-5-2026-04-52-17-pm-2.jpg SunOrnza and GoldMax Are Reminding SA That Gqom Still Moves the Floor With “AmaRazo,” SunOrnza and GoldMax bring Durban’s dark, physical gqom pulse back into focus — proving the genre still knows exactly how to move a dance floor. https://viranova.co.za/article/dj-clock-radiance-comeback-hope-healing https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780672489/viranova/1780672488615-0cf3c41926-chatgpt-image-jun-5-2026-04-10-19-pm-2.jpg DJ Clock’s “Radiance” Is a Comeback Built on Hope and Healing DJ Clock’s Radiance era is not a loud attempt to reclaim a throne. It is a return shaped by survival, fatherhood, personal rebuilding and the quiet courage of stepping back into the light. https://viranova.co.za/article/vusi-nova-here-to-stay-afro-soul-legacy-still-has-power https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780671981/viranova/1780671980904-a464031ad9-chatgpt-image-jun-5-2026-04-07-56-pm-2.jpg Vusi Nova’s “Here To Stay” Era: Why Afro-Soul Legacy Still Has Power Vusi Nova’s upcoming Here To Stay EP is not just a new release. It is a reminder that Afro-soul still carries emotional weight in a fast, algorithm-driven music culture. https://viranova.co.za/article/mzansi-gwijo-vol-2-bafana-bafana-world-cup-return-soundtrack https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780493200/viranova/1780493199793-14d5c25c71-chatgpt-image-jun-3-2026-02-48-53-pm-2.jpg Mzansi Gwijo, Vol. 2: How Bafana Bafana’s World Cup Return Is Becoming a Soundtrack As Bafana Bafana prepare to return to the FIFA World Cup stage against Mexico, MOREKI’s Mzansi Gwijo, Vol. 2 captures the sound of national pride, pressure and football emotion. https://viranova.co.za/article/makhadzi-shutdown-comments-south-african-language-anxiety https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780492505/viranova/1780492504734-acc11ab68d-chatgpt-image-jun-3-2026-02-45-52-pm-2.jpg Makhadzi’s Shutdown Comments Reveal a Bigger South African Language Anxiety Makhadzi’s comments around the planned 30 June shutdown sparked backlash, but beneath the wording debate sits a deeper South African anxiety about language, belonging and who gets treated as fully at home. https://viranova.co.za/article/the-polygamist-return-of-big-local-streaming-drama https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780492299/viranova/1780492299334-7ea93925e8-chatgpt-image-jun-3-2026-02-41-59-pm-2.jpg The Polygamist and the Return of Big Local Streaming Drama Netflix’s The Polygamist brings betrayal, wealth, marriage and public image into a glossy South African streaming drama that looks ready to dominate the cultural conversation. https://viranova.co.za/article/jamali-full-circle-south-africa-girl-group-nostalgia https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780491791/viranova/1780491790569-2c1d69a9e6-chatgpt-image-jun-3-2026-01-57-43-pm-2.jpg Jamali’s Full Circle Moment: Why South Africa Still Has Room for Girl-Group Nostalgia Jamali’s return with Full Circle is more than a nostalgia play. It is a reminder that proper vocal chemistry, sisterhood and grown-woman pop still have emotional power in South African music. https://viranova.co.za/article/june-culture-guide-theatre-music-film-creative-events-south-africa https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780410876/viranova/1780410875085-0ba37b24aa-chatgpt-image-jun-2-2026-03-57-32-pm-6.jpg June Culture Guide: Theatre, Music, Film and Creative Events to Watch From mirrored dinner-cirque spectacle and documentary cinema to Joburg nightlife nostalgia and lordkez’s global COLORSxSTUDIOS moment, June 2026 is refusing to hibernate. https://viranova.co.za/article/royal-countess-zingara-return-premium-live-entertainment-joburg https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780410469/viranova/1780410468493-dd54c26bcf-chatgpt-image-jun-2-2026-03-48-02-pm-1.jpg The Royal Countess Zingara and the Return of Premium Live Entertainment in Joburg With La Dolce Royal arriving at Melrose Arch, The Royal Countess Zingara is bringing Joburg a full-scale dinner-cirque experience built around theatre, spectacle, fine dining and immersive escapism. https://viranova.co.za/article/samro-music-business-lab-graduate-50-music-entrepreneurs https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780410053/viranova/1780410052985-8eac75adbb-chatgpt-image-jun-2-2026-03-40-26-pm-2.jpg The Business Behind the Music: SAMRO and Music Business Lab Graduate 50 Entrepreneurs SAMRO and Music Business Lab’s latest publishing-programme graduation shows why South African music’s future depends not only on talent, but on contracts, royalties, publishing knowledge and ownership. https://viranova.co.za/article/analogue-nites-returns-joburg-nightlife-memory-culture https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780409537/viranova/1780409536689-a018c3918e-chatgpt-image-jun-2-2026-03-35-05-pm-2.jpg Analogue Nites Returns: Joburg’s Nightlife Memory Is Becoming Culture Again After more than a decade away, Analogue Nites returns to Untitled Basement for a one-night reunion that reminds Johannesburg why nightlife needs memory, curation and cultural depth. https://viranova.co.za/article/dj-fresh-kaya-959-radio-still-shapes-south-african-culture https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780408904/viranova/1780408903400-1ef9fe9bd4-chatgpt-image-jun-2-2026-03-23-41-pm-1.jpg DJ Fresh at Kaya 959: Why Radio Still Shapes South African Culture DJ Fresh’s move to Kaya 959 is more than a breakfast-show appointment. It is a reminder that radio still holds serious cultural power in South Africa. https://viranova.co.za/article/rnb-nostalgia-premium-live-events-market-south-africa https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780216304/viranova/1780216303238-d71f3f1705-chatgpt-image-may-31-2026-12-16-12-am-1.jpg R&B Nostalgia Is Becoming a Premium Live-Events Market in South Africa From Boyz II Men and Tamia to Jill Scott and Strictly Soul, South Africa’s love for classic R&B is turning nostalgia into one of the country’s strongest premium live-event lanes. https://viranova.co.za/article/samas-going-back-home-why-north-west-still-matters-to-sa-music https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780216006/viranova/1780216006149-3e133a89ef-chatgpt-image-may-30-2026-11-54-25-pm-1.jpg The SAMAs Are Going Back Home With SAMA32 returning to the North West Province, South Africa’s biggest music awards have a chance to recover something they have been missing: destination energy, history and a stage that feels worthy of the music. https://viranova.co.za/article/delta-the-leo-messi-wa-lekompo-takes-lekompo-global https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780126980/viranova/1780126979208-86453ba63a-chatgpt-image-may-30-2026-09-16-12-am-1.jpg From Limpopo to Bangkok: Delta The Leo’s “Messi Wa Lekompo” Takes Lekompo Global Delta The Leo’s “Messi Wa Lekompo” music video pushes Lekompo into a bold global visual space, carrying Limpopo rhythm into Bangkok while keeping the sound rooted in South African identity. https://viranova.co.za/article/resuni-building-home-south-africa-campus-economy https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780016422/viranova/1780016421777-216e0435fb-chatgpt-image-may-29-2026-02-53-55-am-1.jpg Resuni Is Building a Home for South Africa’s Campus Economy Nape Ntsoane’s Resuni is trying to organise the hidden student economy already moving through WhatsApp groups, residence corridors, textbook resales, food orders and campus vendors. https://viranova.co.za/article/cross-border-african-pop-more-important-than-national-charts https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780014593/viranova/1780014593055-111418abb5-chatgpt-image-may-29-2026-02-06-27-am-2.jpg Cross-Border African Pop Is Becoming More Important Than National Charts Alone Onesimus’s Son of Grace shows how African pop is becoming more fluid, with Malawian identity, South African connection and pan-African collaboration moving through the same song. https://viranova.co.za/article/mi-casa-friendship-cruise-live-music-lifestyle-tourism https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780014074/viranova/1780014073283-2674119d19-chatgpt-image-may-29-2026-02-01-02-am.jpg Mi Casa’s Friendship Cruise Shows Live Music Is Moving Into Lifestyle Tourism Mi Casa’s 2027 Friendship Cruise shows how live music is expanding beyond the concert stage into travel, atmosphere, dining, community and premium lifestyle experiences. https://viranova.co.za/article/fame-week-africa-2026-cape-town-africa-creative-business-room https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780013837/viranova/1780013836651-92089ac32f-chatgpt-image-may-29-2026-01-45-09-am-2.jpg FAME Week Africa 2026 Shows Cape Town Wants to Be Africa’s Creative Business Room FAME Week Africa 2026 is not just a celebration of creativity. It positions Cape Town as a serious meeting point for African film, television, animation, music, fashion and digital content industries. https://viranova.co.za/article/national-arts-council-shakeup-culture-funding-trust https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1780013392/viranova/1780013391519-92cc1a425e-chatgpt-image-may-29-2026-01-29-01-am-2.jpg The National Arts Council Shake-Up Is Bigger Than Politics — It’s About Culture Funding Trust The dissolution of the National Arts Council’s Council is not only an administrative reset. It raises a deeper question about whether South African artists can trust the institutions meant to support them. https://viranova.co.za/article/south-african-entertainment-becoming-experience-economy https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1779704660/viranova/1779704659855-58d002706b-chatgpt-image-may-25-2026-11-18-03-am-2.jpg South African Entertainment Is Becoming an Experience Economy From outdoor concerts to dinner-cirque theatre and intimate sonic rooms, South African entertainment is increasingly being built around atmosphere, identity and the full world around the performance. https://viranova.co.za/article/zakes-bantwini-foundation-bigger-role-for-sa-artists https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1779702807/viranova/1779702806098-300fea25b0-chatgpt-image-may-25-2026-10-49-16-am-1.jpg Zakes Bantwini’s Foundation Points to a Bigger Role for SA Artists Zakes Bantwini’s foundation shows that the next stage of South African creative influence is not only about hit songs. It is about building systems, mentorship and infrastructure for the next generation. https://viranova.co.za/article/battle-between-local-discovery-and-global-chart-domination-south-africa https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1779701999/viranova/1779701998185-3ef1bd6fb1-chatgpt-image-may-25-2026-10-11-52-am-1.jpg The Battle Between Local Discovery and Global Chart Domination in South Africa Apple Music and Shazam reveal two different versions of South African music attention: one shaped by sustained global streaming power, the other by the urgent spark of local discovery. https://viranova.co.za/article/cassper-nyovest-new-era-reinvention-not-comeback https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1779701058/viranova/1779701057785-75a452c77f-chatgpt-image-may-25-2026-09-26-55-am-1.jpg Cassper Nyovest’s New Era Is About Reinvention, Not Just a Comeback With “PHUNYUKA BAMPHETHE,” Cassper Nyovest is not simply trying to return to the spotlight. He is reshaping his own legacy from inside the house he helped build. https://viranova.co.za/article/zolani-mahola-global-deal-sa-legacy-artists-still-matter https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1779668823/viranova/1779668822462-7553dd7bc2-chatgpt-image-may-25-2026-01-39-39-am.jpg Zolani Mahola’s New Global Deal Shows Why SA Legacy Artists Still Matter Zolani Mahola’s Virgin Music Group partnership and upcoming “XhosaNostra” single show that legacy artists do not have to fade into nostalgia. They can reinvent, expand and still shape the future. https://viranova.co.za/article/fakugesi-2026-rise-of-african-creative-technology https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1779667903/viranova/1779667902606-9b59634bf2-chatgpt-image-may-25-2026-01-45-29-am-1.jpg Fak’ugesi 2026 and the Rise of African Creative Technology Under the theme African Imaginaries, Fak’ugesi 2026 pushes back against the idea that Africa is merely adopting the future. It argues instead that African creators are actively building it. https://viranova.co.za/article/nasty-c-tellaman-big-timing-durban-creative-brotherhood https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1779667673/viranova/1779667673300-b5abefd7e3-chatgpt-image-may-25-2026-01-49-47-am.jpg Nasty C and Tellaman’s “Big Timing” Is Really About Durban’s Creative Brotherhood More than a luxury rap record, “Big Timing” feels like a reflection on loyalty, longevity and the creative brotherhood that helped shape Durban’s rise in South African music. https://viranova.co.za/article/south-african-music-going-global-artists-own-the-money https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1779667194/viranova/1779667193740-13d2e5152c-chatgpt-image-may-25-2026-12-53-12-am-2.jpg South African Music Is Going Global, And Now Artists Must Learn to Own the Money South African music has the world’s attention, but global visibility means little if artists do not understand publishing, catalogues, rights management and long-term ownership. https://viranova.co.za/article/sa-2026-creative-calendar-festivals-conferences-cultural-rooms https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1779546900/viranova/1779546899985-282aef9276-chatgpt-image-may-23-2026-02-56-17-pm-2.jpg The Festivals, Conferences and Cultural Rooms Defining SA’s 2026 Creative Calendar South Africa’s 2026 culture calendar is not only about performances. It is also about the rooms, festivals and conferences where culture is archived, challenged, organised and understood. https://viranova.co.za/article/sa-music-bigger-than-awards-prince-kaybee-point-hits-a-nerve https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1779546184/viranova/1779546183598-109f71cdd8-chatgpt-image-may-23-2026-02-52-25-pm-2.jpg SA Music Is Bigger Than Awards: Prince Kaybee’s Point Hits a Nerve Prince Kaybee’s blunt Metro FM Awards comment turned Zee Nxumalo’s snub into a bigger conversation about artists, validation and who really gives award shows their power. https://viranova.co.za/article/showmax-shutdown-new-battle-for-south-african-screens https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1779545535/viranova/1779545534954-2120836c71-chatgpt-image-may-23-2026-02-46-16-pm.jpg The Showmax Shutdown and the New Battle for South African Screens Showmax’s shutdown proves that streaming is not only about strong originals or cultural relevance. It is also about capital, infrastructure, distribution and the brutal cost of owning attention. https://viranova.co.za/article/etv-primetime-shakeup-egagasini-the-four-of-us-local-tv-future https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1779544930/viranova/1779544929323-4a4fc06a05-chatgpt-image-may-23-2026-02-10-13-pm-2.jpg e.tv’s Primetime Shake-Up: What eGagasini and The Four of Us Say About Local TV’s Future e.tv’s new primetime power hour is more than a schedule change. It is a test of whether local linear television can still compete in a streaming-shaped culture. https://viranova.co.za/article/zee-nxumalo-chart-power-outruns-award-trophies https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1779544695/viranova/1779544694960-3d788626bd-chatgpt-image-may-23-2026-01-40-43-pm-2.jpg Zee Nxumalo Proves Chart Power Can Outrun Award Trophies After seven Metro FM Awards nominations and no win, Zee Nxumalo’s 2026 run shows how cultural power can move faster than institutional recognition. https://viranova.co.za/article/oskido-national-honour-kwaito-was-never-just-party-music https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1779543413/viranova/1779543412470-a542f8b06a-chatgpt-image-may-23-2026-12-22-38-pm-2.jpg Oskido’s National Honour Proves Kwaito Was Never Just Party Music Oskido’s Order of Ikhamanga in Silver reframes kwaito as more than a soundtrack of freedom. It was also a cultural economy, a business model and a blueprint for ownership. https://viranova.co.za/article/why-armc-2026-matters-for-the-future-of-african-music https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1779318776/viranova/1779318775904-1460910538-screenshot-2026-05-21-at-01-02-44.jpg Why ARMC 2026 Matters for the Future of African Music Africa Rising Music Conference 2026 is more than an industry gathering. It is where African music’s infrastructure, cross-border collaborations, technology questions, and creator protections are being shaped. https://viranova.co.za/article/tyla-carrying-south-african-culture-globally https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1779317762/viranova/1779317761002-0b09416ba0-screenshot-2026-05-21-at-00-55-14.jpg Tyla Is No Longer Just Trending — She Is Carrying SA Culture Globally Tyla has moved beyond viral fame into global cultural permanence, carrying South African sound, style, and pop identity into fashion, music, and the world’s biggest stages. https://viranova.co.za/article/the-room-is-open-introducing-viranova-trend-room https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1779317133/viranova/1779317133280-cadd83fc45-article1.jpg The Room Is Open: Introducing Viranova Trend Room Viranova Trend Room officially opens as a digital culture platform built to document trends, talent, music, events, and public conversations with context, style, and credibility. https://viranova.co.za/article/afro-house-our-home-red-bull-symphonic-bigger-than-a-concert https://res.cloudinary.com/dohjglym9/image/upload/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,q_auto,f_jpg/v1779312976/viranova/1779312975480-875a02d3c5-screenshot-2026-05-20-at-23-35-40.jpg Afro House, Our Home: Why Red Bull Symphonic Is Bigger Than a Concert Red Bull Symphonic’s Afro House, Our Home is not just a live show. It is a cultural moment bringing Sun-El Musician, Dlala Thukzin, Maestro Chad Hendricks, and a full orchestra into the same room. https://viranova.co.za/artist/tyla https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/artists/tyla-52f28337.png Tyla Tyla Laura Seethal comes from Edenvale, east of Johannesburg, and starts out posting covers and original songs to Instagram during her final year at Edenglen High School. A self-released debut single, "Getting Late" (2019), earns her a deal with Epic Records in 2021. Her sound is "popiano": amapiano's log drums folded into compact pop and R&B songwriting, South African in its rhythm, global in its finish. "Water" (2023) makes her the first South African soloist in 55 years to reach the US Billboard Hot 100 and wins Best African Music Performance at the 2024 Grammys, making her the youngest African artist to take one. She wins the category again in 2026 for "Push 2 Start", the first artist to do so twice. Her 2024 debut album reaches the Billboard 200's top 25; the EP WWP follows in 2025, and second album A*Pop arrives in July 2026 with a world tour underway. https://viranova.co.za/artist/black-coffee https://i.ytimg.com/vi/FH7lIOv1s3Q/maxresdefault.jpg Black Coffee Nkosinathi Maphumulo, born in 1976 and raised between Durban's Umlazi township and Mthatha, loses the use of his left arm at fourteen when a car strikes him during Nelson Mandela's release celebrations in February 1990. He studies jazz at Technikon Natal, passes through the Red Bull Music Academy in 2003, and releases a self-titled debut in 2005 on his own Soulistic Music label. His Afro-house is patient and melodic: deep, jazz-schooled electronic music built for long nights. Albums from Home Brewed (2009) to Pieces of Me (2015) carry his sound abroad; Subconsciously (2021) wins the Grammy for Best Dance/Electronic Album in 2022. He holds eight South African Music Awards and a 2016 BET Award, and in October 2023 becomes the first South African artist to sell out Madison Square Garden. In summer 2025 he headlines Greenwich's Old Royal Naval College, still touring the world's biggest rooms. https://viranova.co.za/artist/trevor-noah https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/artists/trevor-noah-d97a551c.jpg Trevor Noah Trevor Noah is born in Johannesburg in 1984 to a Xhosa mother and a Swiss-German father, a union then illegal under apartheid and the premise of his memoir Born a Crime. Raised in Soweto, he starts in South African television and radio in 2002, takes up stand-up at 21 on a dare, and works his way through SABC programmes to his own late-night show, Tonight with Trevor Noah. He succeeds Jon Stewart on The Daily Show in September 2015 and hosts until December 2022, collecting two Primetime Emmy Awards and a place on Time's 2018 list of the 100 most influential people. Born a Crime (2016) tops the New York Times bestseller list. He hosts the Grammy Awards six years running, 2021 through 2026, fronts the Spotify podcast What Now? with Trevor Noah, publishes Into the Uncut Grass in 2024, and keeps touring stand-up between engagements. https://viranova.co.za/artist/kabza-de-small https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/56/68/86/56688681-7586-f2f7-7420-4e50e6f279a5/196873366234.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Kabza De Small Kabelo Petrus Motha, born in eMalahleni in 1992 and based in Pretoria, starts DJing in 2009 and releases a first album, Avenue Sound, in 2016. It is "Umshove" (2018), with vocalist Leehleza, that fixes him at the centre of amapiano, the log-drum-driven house offshoot he helps define. As Kabza De Small he records at a pace few in the genre can match, across solo albums, joint projects and a long run of singles. By 2020 he is South Africa's most-streamed artist on Spotify, and I Am the King of Amapiano: Sweet & Dust goes double platinum. He holds thirteen South African Music Awards, runs the Piano Hub label, and forms the Scorpion Kings with DJ Maphorisa. His 2024 Red Bull Symphonic concert sells out in five hours; Bab' Motha (2025) becomes his first album to chart globally, and in 2026 he launches a second label, Tech Hub. https://viranova.co.za/artist/kelvin-momo https://i.ytimg.com/vi/FVmGwWgUD24/maxresdefault.jpg Kelvin Momo Thato Kelvin Ledwaba grows up in Diepkloof, Soweto, and produces as Kelvin Momo, the name most closely tied to "private school" amapiano: a soulful, jazz-inflected strain of the genre built on deep house chords and lounge textures rather than raw drums. He surfaces in 2019 with singles such as "Abantu Bethu" and "Yelele", then releases his debut album, Momo's Private School, in 2020 on Kabza De Small's Piano Hub label. Amukelani (2022) wins Best Amapiano Album at the 2023 Metro FM Music Awards; Kurhula (2023) and Sewe (2024) consolidate the run. Ntsako breaks national Spotify streaming records within eleven days of release and takes Best Amapiano Album at SAMA31 in December 2025, by which point his studio albums have passed a collective twenty million streams. The sound he refined from Soweto now sets amapiano's contemplative register. https://viranova.co.za/artist/dj-maphorisa https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/05/cf/e5/05cfe52f-cb09-4a64-5854-5b1dcd28fc24/196874099414.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg DJ Maphorisa Themba Sekowe, born in Soshanguve, north of Pretoria, in 1987, starts out in 2008 with the group Uhuru at Kalawa Jazmee Records, producing hits for Kwesta — including "Ngud'" — Busiswa and DJ Zinhle before co-producing Drake's "One Dance" in 2016. He leaves Kalawa to found his own label, BlaqBoy Music, and works fluently across house, gqom, afropop and, decisively, amapiano. With Kabza De Small he forms the Scorpion Kings, whose run stretches from two 2019 projects to Kings Will Rise (2025) and does much to carry amapiano beyond South Africa. His collaborator list crosses continents — Wizkid, Black Coffee, Major Lazer — and Soundcity names him African DJ of the Year in 2023. Through 2025 he keeps releasing at pace, including the joint project Ngomoya / Rough Dance with Xduppy, while his labels feed the genre new voices. https://viranova.co.za/artist/ciza https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/artists/ciza-904b9697.jpg Ciza Nkululeko Nciza — Ciza — comes from Benoni and from music: his mother is Mafikizolo lead vocalist Nhlanhla Mafu, his father TS Records co-founder TK Nciza. He raps in a high-school group, goes solo at eighteen, releases early singles "Come Alive" and "Adje" in 2020, and signs to Atlanta label LVRN in 2022. His lane is 3-step, the South African dance sound blending Afro tech, amapiano and broken beat. "Isaka (6am)", made with producer JAZZWRLD and vocalist Thukuthela, spends nine weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's South Africa Songs chart and passes 81.5 million global streams by September 2025, when Billboard names him African Rookie of the Month. "Isaka II (6am)", with Tems and Omah Lay, follows in August 2025, alongside the To The World EP. A debut album, Ciza's Palace, is recorded across Africa and London. https://viranova.co.za/artist/zee-nxumalo https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/a5/3d/3d/a53d3d35-1b55-9039-5a62-51d1c8ea1a3a/5059449196701.png/1200x1200bb.jpg Zee Nxumalo Zandile Nxumalo is born in Eswatini in 2003 and raised in Alexandra, Johannesburg, releasing her debut EP KwaNxumalo in June 2022 at nineteen. She sings amapiano and 3-step with an afro-pop instinct for melody, a clear, agile voice that quickly makes her one of the scene's most sought-after features. "Funk 55" (2023), with Shakes & Les, DBN Gogo, Ceeka RSA and Chley, goes five-times platinum and wins Record of the Year at the 2024 South African Music Awards; "Thula Mabota" with Pabi Cooper goes platinum. The EP Inja Ye Game arrives in late 2024, and "Ngisakuthanda" reaches No. 1 with a triple-platinum certification. She is named Artist of the Year at the 2025 Basadi in Music Awards and leads the 2026 nominations, with "Mamma" up for Song of the Year. https://viranova.co.za/artist/jazzwrld https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/ae/09/6d/ae096ded-90f1-b3ea-cf86-85b5dd971a04/199316557930_cover.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Jazzwrld JAZZWRLD is Kamohelo Monese, born in Lesotho and raised in Carletonville, the gold-mining town on Gauteng's Far West Rand. He first produces as Jazzworx, rebranding as his ambitions widen, and grows up steeped in jazz — an influence audible in the warm chords he threads through 3-step, the Afro-house-adjacent sound he builds with vocalist Thukuthela. He produces Ciza's "Isaka (6am)", which spends nine weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's South Africa Songs chart in 2025; by year's end, five of his songs with Thukuthela — among them "Vuka" with Oscar Mbo and "Uzizwa Kanjani" with MaWhoo and GL_Ceejay — have reached No. 1 across Southern Africa. An armed robbery at his home in August 2025 costs him equipment and unreleased music; he keeps working, and plays the Cape Town International Jazz Festival in March 2026. https://viranova.co.za/artist/thukuthela https://i.ytimg.com/vi/sel1mCYFJ8U/maxresdefault.jpg Thukuthela Thukuthela comes from Daveyton, the township on the eastern Witwatersrand established in 1952 for Black mineworkers, and out of its amapiano vocal lineage. He meets producer JAZZWRLD through their manager, Neo Makate, drawn — as he tells OkayAfrica — to the way the producer designs his sounds. Together they anchor 3-step, the strain of South African dance music running between Afro-house and amapiano. His voice carries Ciza's "Isaka (6am)" through nine weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's South Africa Songs chart in 2025, and by the end of that year five of his songs with JAZZWRLD have reached No. 1 across Southern Africa. "Uzizwa Kanjani", with MaWhoo and GL_Ceejay, and "Bengicela" stand among the pair's signature records. In March 2026 the duo plays the Cape Town International Jazz Festival. https://viranova.co.za/artist/nasty-c https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/67/ca/3f/67ca3f70-464c-e9bf-d5fe-235e3859493a/24UMGIM50602.rgb.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Nasty C Nasty C is the rap name of Nsikayesizwe David Junior Ngcobo, born in Diepkloof, Soweto in 1997 and raised in Durban, where an older brother taught him the basics of production at nine. He released his first mixtape at fourteen, and the 2015 single Juice Back — later remixed with Davido and Cassper Nyovest — announced a technician's ear: quick, melodic verses that sit as comfortably over trap as over soul samples. Named Best Freshman at the 2015 South African Hip Hop Awards, he has since released five albums, from Bad Hair (2016) to Free (2025), through his own Tall Racks Records with Def Jam Africa. Zulu Man with Some Power took Best Hip Hop Album at the 2021 SAMAs alongside an MTV Africa award, and I Love It Here carried him onto an international tour that opened in Paris in October 2024. https://viranova.co.za/artist/cassper-nyovest https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/4b/32/22/4b3222e3-410f-65d2-d4fa-3cdc723554e2/26UMGIM63941.rgb.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Cassper Nyovest Cassper Nyovest — born Refiloe Maele Phoolo in Mahikeng in 1990 — began rapping at twelve, left school at sixteen and moved to Johannesburg in 2008 to chase music full time. The gamble paid off in 2013 with Gusheshe and then Doc Shebeleza, singles that fused motswako's Setswana wordplay with big-room hip hop; he has since folded kwaito and amapiano into the mix. He founded Family Tree Records in 2014, released seven albums from Tsholofelo to the chart-topping Solomon (2023), and built the Fill Up series into a national event, selling out the Ticketpro Dome, filling Orlando Stadium and moving 68,000 tickets at Moses Mabhida Stadium. The enterprise has widened since: the Billiato liquor brand, Root of Fame sneakers, television hosting on SABC 1 and a celebrity boxing record that stands at two wins and a loss. https://viranova.co.za/artist/charlize-theron https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-09-001618-41d6.jpg Charlize Theron Charlize Theron, born in Benoni in 1975 and raised Afrikaans-speaking on a farm outside Johannesburg, left South Africa at sixteen on a modelling contract, trained in ballet in New York until a knee injury intervened, and arrived in Los Angeles in 1994 nearly broke. The Devil's Advocate (1997) supplied a breakthrough, and her range has since settled between raw character work and precision-built action. Her transformation into Aileen Wuornos in Monster won the 2004 Academy Award for Best Actress — the first acting Oscar for a South African — with further nominations for North Country and Bombshell. She produces through Denver and Delilah Productions, anchors franchises from Mad Max: Fury Road to The Old Guard, funds HIV/AIDS prevention through her Africa Outreach Project, and plays the goddess Calypso in Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, due in 2026. https://viranova.co.za/artist/sjava https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bjGQhDKlgI0/maxresdefault.jpg Sjava Sjava — Jabulani Hadebe, born in 1983 in Bergville, KwaZulu-Natal — was writing songs for his school isicathamiya group at ten and acting in television dramas by 2005, years before the music paid. His self-styled African Trap Music sets Zulu melody and idiom over trap and soul production, sung almost entirely in isiZulu in a low, deliberate register. The 2016 debut Isina Muva — its title a Zulu idiom for a late bloomer — went gold and preceded a 2018 BET Award for Best New International Act; Umqhele took Album of the Year at the 2019 SAMAs. After leaving Ambitiouz Entertainment he founded 1020 Cartel in 2020, released the platinum, chart-topping Isibuko (2023) and Ukhamba with Big Zulu as Inkabi Zezwe, won Best Afro Pop Album at SAMA31 in December 2025, and issued INkanyezi NeZinkanyezi in January 2026. https://viranova.co.za/artist/uncle-waffles https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/56/f8/37/56f8379e-a202-757c-1dd4-54be1a5df473/820200781901.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Uncle Waffles Uncle Waffles is Lungelihle Zwane, born in Eswatini in 2000, a former television presenter who taught herself to DJ during the 2020 lockdowns — by her own account practising eight hours a day. Her sets treat amapiano as performance: log-drum-heavy selections delivered with the loose, joyful dancing that made her name. That name arrived overnight in October 2021, when a clip of her filling in for a withdrawn DJ at Zone 6 in Soweto went viral. Debut single Tanzania (2022) topped the South African chart and is certified seven-times platinum; Beyoncé sampled it on the Renaissance World Tour. A BBC Radio 1 residency, a BET nomination and a 2023 Coachella slot — the first for an amapiano act — followed, along with four EPs, from Red Dragon to 4 Da Ho's, and near-constant international touring through 2024 and 2025. https://viranova.co.za/artist/master-kg https://i.ytimg.com/vi/TtZlEzaXm48/maxresdefault.jpg Master KG Master KG — Kgaogelo Moagi, born in 1996 and raised in Calais Village outside Tzaneen, Limpopo — started building beats at thirteen on a computer left to him by an uncle. His Bolobedu house carries the dance music of his home region onto festival stages, sung in Khelobedu, the language of Limpopo's Lobedu people, over insistent, celebratory electronic grooves. Debut album Skeleton Move (2018) won an AFRIMA award for African Electro, but Jerusalema, released in December 2019 with vocalist Nomcebo Zikode, redrew the map: a global dance challenge, a Burna Boy remix, the top of Billboard's World Digital Song Sales chart and a diamond certification in France. He remains prolific — the joint album Makhelwane with Nkosazana Daughter, released in August 2024, is certified gold in South Africa, and he continues to tour internationally. https://viranova.co.za/artist/dlala-thukzin https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/3f/c8/18/3fc8187a-6a42-f9a8-6a26-a7d13ef5cebd/6009553466381_Cover.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Dlala Thukzin Dlala Thukzin — Thuthuka Wandile Zindlovu, born and raised in Lamontville, Durban — has been producing since 2016, when he cut tracks for gqom star Babes Wodumo as a teenager. His signature is synthesis: gqom's menace, amapiano's swing and afro tech's polish folded into the rolling hybrid South Africans now call 3-step. Phuze (2021) went gold and its remix double platinum, but iPlan (2023) is his biggest record to date, topping multiple South African charts and earning double-platinum certification. AmaGear, with Zee Nxumalo, debuted at number five in 2024; Finally Famous Too won Best Dance Album at SAMA31 in December 2025; and the projects 031 Studio Camp 2.0 and MAYVIS kept 2025 moving, alongside a BET Award nomination for Best New International Act. https://viranova.co.za/artist/sam-deep https://i.ytimg.com/vi/hRr2UP8U1PE/maxresdefault.jpg Sam Deep Sam Deep — Samukelo Rorisang Mavuso, from Orlando West, Soweto — trained as a youth footballer before turning to the decks in 2016, at fifteen. His amapiano leans deep: unhurried log drums, jazz chords and soulful vocal features that pull the genre back toward the deep house and kwaito it grew from. The 2022 singles Kusezo Khanya, with De Mthuda, Babalwa M and Playgal, and the double-platinum Thokoza, with vocalist MaWhoo, established him, and with Stixx and Nvcho he is credited as a pioneer of the offshoot style known as kwapi. In December 2025 he released Who I Am, a 27-track album threading deep house, kwaito, jazz and R&B through amapiano with guests including Bucie and Leemckrazy, and followed it in July 2026 with the Deepla Sauce EP, featuring Focalistic and Zuma. https://viranova.co.za/artist/mawhoo https://i.ytimg.com/vi/t2_Y3Vq5yd4/maxresdefault.jpg MaWhoo MaWhoo — Thandeka Nontobeko Ngema, born in Eshowe, KwaZulu-Natal in 1994 — was determined early: at eleven she carried a recording to a local radio station, which turned her away as too young. She debuted properly in 2019 with Umshado, featuring Heavy-K, and her light, agile voice, unmistakably Zulu in its phrasing, has become a fixture on amapiano and 3-step records. Thokoza with Sam Deep (2022) is certified double platinum and Kulula, with DJ Maphorisa and Kabza De Small, gold. Four albums in four years — from What a Time to Be Alive (2022) to Amazwi Okubonga (2025) — chart her move from featured vocalist to lead act, and the 2025 single Bengicela topped Apple Music's all-genre chart in South Africa while she performed across Botswana, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. https://viranova.co.za/artist/oscar-mbo https://i.ytimg.com/vi/pF53Yb5JzSs/maxresdefault.jpg Oscar Mbo Oscar Mbo — Oscar Mbongeni Ndlovu, born in Pretoria in 1990 and raised in Kriel, Mpumalanga — deals in deep and soulful house, a warmer, more patient strain of dance music than the amapiano around it. He debuted with the Life & Love EP in September 2019, followed quickly by the album Golden Power, and built his audience through The Ashmed Hour, the podcast he still hosts. For The Groovists (2020) earned nominations at the 27th SAMAs, including Best Dance Album and Male Artist of the Year, and Mohigan Sun (2022) is certified double platinum. Part of the Golden Boys Entertainment collective, he released iMali in 2024, took a GQ best-dressed award the same year, and with Jazzworx and vocalist Thukuthela made Vuka — a number one across South Africa's streaming platforms that entered Shazam's global Top 50. https://viranova.co.za/artist/wizthemc https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/artists/wizthemc-9312fa4c.jpg WizTheMc WizTheMc is the recording name of Sanele Sydow, born in Cape Town in 1999 and raised from the age of two in Lüneburg, Germany. He starts out in 2015 with the NOHOMES collective, relocates to Toronto in 2017 to produce and record, and finds an early audience with 'For a Minute' (2020) — 76 million Spotify streams and placements in Grey's Anatomy and He's All That. His songs move between hip hop, pop and Afro-fusion, melodic and unhurried. The turn comes in 2025 with 'Show Me Love', made with Bees & Honey: No. 3 in the UK and Germany, No. 10 on the Billboard Global 200, gold in the UK and 193 million Spotify streams, with a Tyla remix debuted at Coachella. Now based in Berlin, he closes the year with the album Yebo (November 2025, via Bamboo Artists) and a Rag'n'Bone Man collaboration on The Bad Guys 2 soundtrack. https://viranova.co.za/artist/makhadzi https://i.ytimg.com/vi/_FOAvO8SwuI/maxresdefault.jpg Makhadzi Makhadzi is Ndivhudzannyi Ralivhona, born in 1996 in Ha-Mashamba, a village near Elim in Limpopo. Raised by her mother after her parents separated, she starts performing at taxi ranks around age thirteen and joins the group Makhirikhiri as a dancer by 2010 before recording her own music. Her sound is high-tempo dance and Venda pop, sung mostly in Tshivenda and built for full-scale live shows. 'Matorokisi' (2019) is the breakthrough, and the run since takes in the platinum 'Ghanama', the double-platinum 'Number 1' with Iyanya and Prince Benza, SAMA wins for Best Traditional Album and Music Video of the Year, and Best New International Act at the 2024 BET Awards. She has released through her own label, Makhadzi Entertainment, since 2023 — most recently Sesi Ka Rose (2025), which carries a SAMA Female Artist of the Year nomination into the August 2026 ceremony at Sun City. https://viranova.co.za/artist/feza https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/90/17/7d/90177d61-5c6f-f3f8-eec9-d7f12f033c70/artwork.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Feza Feza is a maskandi singer-songwriter from Nquthu in northern KwaZulu-Natal, part of the young cohort carrying Zulu traditional music into the streaming era. He arrives in 2025 with the Inkanyezi EP, whose single 'Umaqondana' is reported to have held the No. 1 spot on Spotify South Africa for 31 consecutive days. His writing pairs maskandi's guitar lines with an Afro-soul softness — confessional and melodic rather than combative. The album Imizamo Yami follows on 4 April 2026 through the Insika Yethonga label — nine tracks in 42 minutes — and within the same month he returns with Imizamo Yami 2, carrying the Nkosazana Minnie collaboration 'Sana Lwami'. The back-to-back releases mark him as one of the genre's fastest-moving new voices, recording for the label also home to fellow newcomer Umafikizolo. https://viranova.co.za/artist/issa-sisdoh https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/a2/29/05/a22905a0-991f-09ea-3af0-55ec70d3f70d/766214688648.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Issa Sisdoh Issa Sisdoh is the stage name of Doreen Segolame Rabokhokho, a vocalist from Kanye in southern Botswana. Singing from the age of twelve, she waits until 2022 for her first studio session, recording with producer Biq J Musiq, and settles into the percussive end of the dance spectrum: Afro house, Afro tech and the slower, swung 3-step. Her delivery is chant-like, carrying spiritual weight over club-length arrangements. 'Vuma Dlozi Lami', with Ancestral Rituals, is the breakthrough — a track that finds its audience in South Africa before her home market catches up, and appears in mixed form on Apple Music's Afro House Nation 2024 compilation released in January 2025. Collaborations with Heavy K and FME DJs follow through 2025, positioning her within the 3-step wave now moving between Johannesburg, Gaborone and the wider region. https://viranova.co.za/artist/umafikizolo https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PG76apJbTgs/maxresdefault.jpg Umafikizolo Umafikizolo is Khethukuthula Mhlongo, a maskandi singer from uMnambithi — Ladysmith — in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, 24 years old as of late 2025 and one of the genre's youngest chart presences. He records for the Insika Yethonga label, and his EP Uyoncengwa Unyoko — four tracks in eighteen minutes, released on 31 July 2025 — is maskandi in its classic shape: guitar-led, conversational, rooted in Zulu storytelling. The title track does the heavy lifting: 19 million YouTube views inside three months and a dance challenge that carries it far beyond maskandi's usual circuit. In December 2025 he becomes the first Zulu maskandi artist nominated simultaneously in the year-end song-of-the-year competitions of both Ukhozi FM and Umhlobo Wenene FM — a measure of how far one EP can travel in a single season. https://viranova.co.za/artist/mthandeni-sk https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/ba/dc/eb/badceb75-f325-07c6-b287-036f13937f1f/859739066982_cover.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Mthandeni SK Mthandeni SK — Igcokama Elisha to his audience — is Mthandeni Sibusiso Manqele, born in 1988 in Mtubatuba, northern KwaZulu-Natal. He debuts in 2013 with the album Sibiza Abadlwane and builds a catalogue of twelve studio albums by 2024, working in maskandi's fast, danceable 'woolies' sub-genre and pioneering its collaborations with singers from outside the tradition. 'Paris', with Lwah Ndlunkulu, rewrites the genre's ceiling: multi-platinum, over 28 million Spotify streams, and — at the 30th SAMAs in November 2024 — the first Record of the Year ever won by a maskandi artist. 'Gucci', with MaWhoo, follows it: Ukhozi FM Song of the Year 2024, the first maskandi song to reach a million YouTube views in 24 hours, then SAMA Record of the Year and Music Video of the Year in 2025. The Front Seat EP and the MaWhoo single 'Dubai' keep the run going through 2025. https://viranova.co.za/artist/thatohatsi https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/b9/86/ca/b986ca4b-8abc-89ef-37b4-7f8fc193a11f/820233857369.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Thatohatsi 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. https://viranova.co.za/artist/khuzani https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/ed/ab/29/edab29f2-6175-855f-3897-4156f6c5bbce/25UM1IM85985.rgb.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Khuzani Khuzani is Khuzani Mpungose, born in 1989 in Nkandla, deep in maskandi's KwaZulu-Natal heartland. His entry is unusual: in 2009 he is chosen to complete iSecret, the posthumous album of the late Mgqumeni, and its 2010 release makes his name. His own debut, Bahluleke Bonke, follows in 2011, opening a run of commanding, big-voiced maskandi albums. Isixaxa Samaxoki (2017) is certified gold; 'Ijele', featuring Luve Dubazane, takes Ukhozi FM's Song of the Year with roughly 900,000 listener votes, and 'Umjolo Lowo' repeats the feat, announced in 2024. Angidlali Nezingane (2024) becomes the first maskandi album to top Apple Music South Africa's all-genre chart — Apple contacted him directly about the milestone — while SAMA Best Maskandi Album wins in 2017, 2023 and 2025 bracket the decade. Inhlanhla Izanebhadi arrives in 2025. https://viranova.co.za/artist/goldmax https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/ff/a5/db/ffa5db6b-4d0b-4dca-b88b-642be5743769/829829d7-29a7-4b23-b0ab-f8eb95d7d07a.png/1200x1200bb.jpg Goldmax Goldmax is Zipho Mthembu, a gqom producer and DJ from KwaMashu, Durban — the township scene that incubated the genre's raw, off-kilter strain of dance music. He forms Distruction Boyz with Thobani 'Que' Mgobhozi in 2015 after the two keep crossing paths at local venues, and the duo's debut Gqom Is the Future (2017) becomes the first gqom album certified gold by RiSA, with the single 'Omunye' going gold as well. 'Omunye' wins Record of the Year at the 2018 SAMAs, and a BET Best International Act nomination follows the album abroad. When the duo announces a temporary split in February 2023, he moves quickly: a debut solo album, Amaketanga, and his own label, Golden Empire, arrive that April. Play At Your Own Risk, a 20-track joint album with Blacks Jnr released through EMPIRE in November 2024, keeps him at the centre of gqom's current wave. https://viranova.co.za/artist/thandiswa-mazwai https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/b3/82/ec/b382ec55-7c0f-57f1-90b3-f9037ae6ed2e/24UMGIM37797.rgb.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Thandiswa Mazwai Thandiswa Mazwai is born in 1976 in Mqanduli, Eastern Cape, and raised in Soweto by Belede and Thami Mazwai, journalists and anti-apartheid activists — a childhood she has described as thick with books and political argument. She starts out in 1996 as lead vocalist and songwriter of Bongo Maffin, recording six albums with the kwaito pioneers, and her own music folds kwaito, jazz and mbaqanga into a commanding, politically alert Afro-soul. Zabalaza (2004), her solo debut, goes double platinum and wins a KORA Award and four SAMAs; Ibokwe (2009) and the songbook album Belede (2016) deepen the catalogue. Sankofa (2024), recorded across Johannesburg, Dakar and New York with producers including Meshell Ndegeocello and Nduduzo Makhathini, brings an NPR Tiny Desk appearance and four 2025 SAMAs, Female Artist of the Year among them — the fourth solo album in a career now in its fourth decade. https://viranova.co.za/artist/kamo-mphela https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/fe/e7/8f/fee78fc6-b58b-08a8-618d-50c8e035b466/766214681779.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Kamo Mphela Kamo Mphela is a dancer first and a vocalist close behind, and her records keep that order audible. Born Kamogelo Matona in Soweto on 29 November 1999, she performed as a child at YFM events she attended with her father, then built a following through dance videos posted to Instagram. Signed to Major League Music, she released her debut EP Twentee in 2019 and followed it with Nkulunkulu in 2021. 'Amanikiniki' with Major League DJz established her; 'Dalie', with Tyler ICU and Khalil Harrison, debuted at number one in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Malawi, reached number 17 on the UK Afrobeats chart and went platinum. She has played London's O2 arena, appears on the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack, and won Amapiano Artist of the Year and Music Video of the Year at the 2024 Basadi in Music Awards. New material continues, including the 2025 single 'Partii' with Aymos. https://viranova.co.za/artist/focalistic https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/c5/52/67/c5526730-6801-6b96-3ca1-40edde624564/766214664734.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Focalistic Focalistic folds hip-hop phrasing into amapiano, delivered in the street slang of Pretoria. Born Lethabo Sebetso in Ga-Rankuwa on 26 May 1996, he played football and completed a political science degree at the University of Pretoria before committing to music, turning professional in 2016 after winning the Artist on Rise competition; his early single 'Fak'mali' topped YFM's hip-hop chart before his sound shifted decisively toward amapiano. 'Ke Star', with Vigro Deep, went gold in South Africa in 2020 and reached number 16 on Billboard's Top Triller Global chart; its 2021 remix featuring Davido became an international success. He won Best Southern African Artiste at the Headies in both 2022 and 2023, released Ghetto Gospel in 2022, and features on 'Biri Marung' (2024), a number-one single certified platinum in South Africa. He runs his own company, 18 Area Holdings, and released B.O.A.T.S, a joint album with Ch'cco, in 2025. https://viranova.co.za/artist/musa-keys https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/artists/musa-keys-3f02d03e.jpg Musa Keys Musa Keys is an amapiano producer, vocalist and DJ whose route into music ran through the church. Born Musa Makamu in Giyani and raised in Polokwane, he learned keyboard from age 13 at the Light of the Nation Church, and the training shows: his productions favour melody and patient arrangement. His debut album, Samarian Boy, arrived in 2020. 'Vula Mlomo', featuring Sir Trill and Nobantu, went double platinum and won Record of the Year at the 2022 South African Music Awards; 'Selema (Po Po)' extended the run. As featured vocalist and co-writer on Davido's 'Unavailable', he earned a Grammy nomination for Best African Music Performance in 2024; the single spent five weeks at number one on the UK Afrobeats chart and is certified gold in the United States. He won Best Styled Artist at the 2023 Metro FM Music Awards. https://viranova.co.za/artist/mzukulu https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/bb/b0/f3/bbb0f3f3-cfb9-a9e5-4afa-83e58342859b/artwork.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Mzukulu Mzukulu makes maskandi, the Zulu guitar tradition, from inside its heartland. Born Dumisani Sfanele Zulu in Ulundi in rural KwaZulu-Natal, he launched his career in 2018 with the album Vukani and the hit 'MakaBahle', and has remained independent, building an audience without major-label backing. The following has become measurable. He has sold out Durban's Playhouse Theatre, and his album Ng'funa intozami, released in October 2025 through Baqazile Entertainment, runs seventeen tracks of undiluted maskandi. Recognition arrived in the same season: 'Ubu Ghost Bami', featuring Intombi Yaselundi, is nominated for Best Maskandi at the 2026 Metro FM Music Awards, a newly introduced category, and 2026 also brought his first South African Music Award nomination, which he calls proof that perseverance pays off. https://viranova.co.za/artist/shebeshxt https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/29/9f/6b/299f6b20-1655-cf28-4c6c-b2ec5e190cd1/199338785441_Cover.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Shebeshxt Shebeshxt is a central figure in lekompo, the fast, raw dance music of Limpopo. Born Lehlogonolo Katlego Chauke and raised in Lebowakgomo, he began releasing music in 2021 and broke through when 'Ke Di Shxt Malume' went viral on TikTok, drawing an early co-sign from Focalistic. He built his catalogue — Topless Shxta's Journey Vols 1 and 2, and My Music My Story (2024) — without label, radio or television backing. The past two years have been turbulent. In June 2024 his nine-year-old daughter died in a crash involving his car in Limpopo. In 2025 he signed a distribution deal with Virgin Music Group, but was arrested in Polokwane that November on 20 charges, including attempted murder, and denied bail in December. While in custody he received two 2026 SAMA nominations, Record of the Year and Music Video of the Year, for 'Rato Laka'; the case has been postponed to September 2026. https://viranova.co.za/artist/scotts-maphuma https://i.ytimg.com/vi/nRPjVxcAn14/maxresdefault.jpg Scotts Maphuma Scotts Maphuma, born Mpho Lebajoa, is an amapiano vocalist from Daveyton, the East Rand township that also produced Young Stunna. He works the hook-first, chant-driven end of the genre, and his name rose with 'Yebo Lapho' and 'Wishi Wishi', singalong records that put his voice in heavy rotation. In 2024 he was one of the featured vocalists on 'Biri Marung' alongside DJ Maphorisa and Focalistic; the track reached number one in South Africa and was certified platinum with more than 40,000 units sold. In May 2025, videos of him declining fan photographs drew backlash; he apologised publicly, attributing the incidents to being introverted, and senior figures including Oskido, Makhadzi and Black Coffee publicly backed him. https://viranova.co.za/artist/shandesh https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/88/a8/e7/88a8e740-3742-e61f-ccbc-2b241c1e4079/6009553469139_Cover.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Shandesh Shandesh sings lekompo, the up-tempo dance style of Limpopo, with a register that moves easily into amapiano and bolo house. Born Rakgoale Nelly Machete on 25 January 2004 and raised in Solomondale, she began recording professionally in 2018, at fourteen, and earned local recognition with her debut single 'Lomolo'. Her national breakthrough came in 2025 with 'Sdudla or Slender', made with producer Mvzzle, which peaked at number two on the Official South African Charts and was certified platinum; 'Ga Mmapula' went gold and 'Di Chopper' debuted at number five. At the 2026 Metro FM Music Awards she arrived with nominations across Artist of the Year, Best New Artist and the newly created Best Lekompo category, and left with Best Female Artist — a marker of how quickly Limpopo's sound has moved to the centre of South African pop. https://viranova.co.za/artist/dbn-gogo https://i.ytimg.com/vi/WK4zmF3QJJI/maxresdefault.jpg DBN Gogo DBN Gogo is an amapiano DJ and producer whose stage name honours her birthplace. Born Mandisa Radebe in Durban on 28 May 1993 and raised in Pretoria, she sang in school choirs, studied law at the University of Pretoria, and turned to DJing before a Channel O Lockdown House Party set in April 2020 introduced her to a national audience. 'Khuza Gogo' (2021) went platinum in South Africa and 'Funk 55' reached five-times platinum. She played Coachella in April 2022, hosted a Boiler Room session the same year, became the first South African artist featured in Spotify's global EQUAL programme in October 2021, and founded Zikode Records with Universal Music Group in 2022. Two of her features appear on the Grammy-nominated Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack, and her releases run from What's Real (2022) through Click Bait (2024) to The Godmother (2025). https://viranova.co.za/artist/young-stunna https://i.ytimg.com/vi/uWBEKXd8D30/maxresdefault.jpg Young Stunna Young Stunna is an amapiano vocalist from Daveyton, born Sandile Fortune Msimango on 17 November 1997. He started in hip-hop in 2012 and worked it for nearly a decade before amapiano claimed him; the 2021 feature 'Bopha', with Felo Le Tee and Mellow & Sleazy, turned him into a national voice. His debut album Notumato, released in October 2021, entered at number one in South Africa and is certified platinum. 'Adiwele', with Kabza De Small and DJ Maphorisa, reached number one on South African radio with 23.4 million impressions, and 'Imithandazo' took three prizes at the 2024 Metro FM Music Awards: Song of the Year, Best Collaboration and Best Amapiano. Songs such as 'uNonkosi' keep the catalogue moving between church-rooted melody and dancefloor chant. https://viranova.co.za/artist/nkosazana-daughter https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/artists/nkosazana-daughter-f2e018f2.jpg Nkosazana Daughter Nkosazana Daughter sings amapiano at its gentlest — soft, devotional vocal lines that float above the drums. Born Nkosazana Nolwazi Kimberly Nzama in Durban on 6 October 2000, she gained her first wide exposure during lockdown, when an Instagram Live with DJ Maphorisa and Mpura put her voice in front of the genre's tastemakers. 'Sofa Silahlane', with Master KG and Lowsheen, reached number one on the local iTunes chart in May 2022, and the 'Dali Nguwe' video passed three million views within three weeks. Her debut album Uthingo Le Nkosazana entered at number three in South Africa in June 2023, the month Apple Music named her an Africa Rising artist, and Makhelwane, her collaborative album with Master KG, was certified gold in 2024. Her collaborators stretch across the continent — Harmonize, Mr Eazi, Omah Lay, Young Jonn — and new singles such as 'Emsakazweni', with Nobuhle, carried into 2025. https://viranova.co.za/artist/de-mthuda https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/76/2b/08/762b08de-f612-3502-a2d6-04046d121607/26UMGIM90327.rgb.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg De Mthuda De Mthuda is the recording name of Mthuthuzeli Gift Khoza, an amapiano producer and DJ from Vosloorus, east of Johannesburg. He began producing in 2010 while still in high school, leaving in Grade 11 to commit to music full-time, and has worked professionally since 2018. His productions sit at the softer end of amapiano — patient log drums, muted keys and plenty of space — a template heard on 'John Wick' and the 2021 Sir Trill collaboration 'Emlanjeni'. The gold-certified 2019 single 'Shesha Geza' brought his breakthrough and a Record of the Year nomination at the 2020 South African Music Awards. Albums followed at a steady clip: Ace of Spades with Ntokzin (2020), The Landlord (2021) and Baba Yaga (2024), alongside nominations at the SA Amapiano Awards and the DStv Mzansi Viewers' Choice Awards. In April 2025 he released the 12-track Mthuthuzeli, an album carrying his own first name. https://viranova.co.za/artist/dj-stokie https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/2c/17/32/2c173267-a0b6-d983-e787-bab758f1140e/25UM1IM73904.rgb.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg DJ Stokie DJ Stokie was born Setoki Mbatha in 1983 in Mzimhlophe, Soweto, and belongs to the generation of selectors who carried amapiano from township backyards to national radio. His first exposure came in 2006 on Mad Half Hour, YFM's proving ground for young DJs. Behind the decks and in the studio he favours the unhurried end of the genre: soulful keys, deep bass and vocals given room to breathe. His run of albums tracks the genre's own growth: Amapiano Movement, Vol. 1 (2019), My Journey (2020) and the gold-certified My Journey Continues (2023). 'Masithokoze', his single with Eemoh, earned nominations for Best Song of the Year and Best Amapiano at the 2024 Metro FM Music Awards, alongside 2024 SAMA nominations. Apple Music made him its Isgubhu cover star in July 2024, the year he released Immortal; a fifth album, Shandu Ka Ndaba, followed in November 2025. https://viranova.co.za/artist/shimza https://i.ytimg.com/vi/5FJqXSY4AzE/maxresdefault.jpg Shimza Shimza, born Kholofelo Ashley Raphala in Tembisa, is one of the producers credited with shaping Afro-tech, folding tribal and Afro-house elements into tech-house's four-on-the-floor drive. He began DJing as a teenager and released his debut album Shimuzic in 2015. His civic streak runs as deep as his catalogue: since 2009 he has staged the One Man Show, a Christmas Day festival in his hometown whose proceeds buy school uniforms for orphaned children. 'Uwrongo', his 2020 single with Black Motion, Prince Kaybee and Ami Faku, entered the Radiomonitor chart at No. 1 and went gold. In 2020 he launched Kunye, a live-stream series and label showcasing African electronic music. He fronts the Shimza & Co residency at Chinois Ibiza; his Elderbrook collaboration 'Places' has passed 20 million streams, and 'Fire Fire' took Song of the Year at the 2026 Miami Electronic Dance Music Awards. https://viranova.co.za/artist/zakes-bantwini https://i.ytimg.com/vi/pmFAlL52r2M/maxresdefault.jpg Zakes Bantwini Zakes Bantwini, born Zakhele Madida in KwaMashu, Durban, in 1981, is a singer, producer and label owner whose work runs from kwaito into Afro-house and Afro-tech. He studied music formally in Durban, founded Mayonie Productions in 2004 and built a catalogue that pairs dancefloor pressure with vocal writing that borders on the devotional. 'Osama', his 2021 single with Kasango, topped the national airplay chart for 12 straight weeks, went four-times platinum and won Best Collaboration at the 2022 South African Music Awards. In February 2023 he took the Grammy for Best Global Music Performance for 'Bayethe', with Wouter Kellerman and Nomcebo Zikode. The albums Ghetto King (2021) and The Star Is Reborn (2023) bracket that peak. In 2025 he announced his retirement from music after 15 years, with a final studio album, Abantu, slated for a November release — a deliberate closing chapter rather than a fade. https://viranova.co.za/artist/kasango https://i.ytimg.com/vi/5BAGmBeENOw/maxresdefault.jpg Kasango Kasango, born Kasmario Thulani Ike Fankis in Welkom, Free State, is an Afro-house DJ and producer who treats the genre as a songwriter's medium — melodic, vocal-led, built for radio as much as for the club. He started making music at sixteen and formalised the craft in 2010 with studies in Advanced Music Production and Music Business at the Soul Candi Institute of Music. 'Osama', released with Zakes Bantwini in September 2021, changed his standing overnight: 12 consecutive weeks atop the RAMS airplay chart, a four-times-platinum certification, Best Collaboration at the 2022 South African Music Awards and the SAMRO Highest Radio Airplay Composer award. He has kept the momentum with 'Sikelela' alongside TNS and Bukeka (2022) and 'Dance for Me' with Julia Church (2023). In 2026, 'Fire Fire' won Song of the Year at the Miami Electronic Dance Music Awards, confirming an audience well beyond South Africa. https://viranova.co.za/artist/sun-el-musician https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/41/cb/60/41cb6054-44be-6f7c-3931-5bb711806729/5059449359632.png/1200x1200bb.jpg Sun-El Musician Sun-El Musician, born Sanele Tresure Sithole in Mooi River, KwaZulu-Natal, in 1989, makes Afro-house that feels widescreen — patient builds, glassy synths and township soul. He began remixing and cutting mixtapes in 2007, then served a long apprenticeship as a producer in Demor Sikhosana's stable before striking out alone, founding the label EL World Music in early 2017. 'Akanamali', his 2017 debut single with Samthing Soweto, reached No. 1 on Shazam in South Africa and swept three prizes at the 2018 South African Music Awards, Best Collaboration among them. The albums Africa to the World (2018) and To the World & Beyond (2020) are both platinum, and he added Remix of the Year at the 2022 SAMAs. His fourth album, Under The Sun, arrived in February 2026, and his Red Bull Symphonic staging with Dlala Thukzin — set for Montecasino in June 2026 — sold out within two hours. https://viranova.co.za/artist/dj-zinhle https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/24/41/27/244127d7-6d37-5e96-899d-197beebdab67/766214702566.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg DJ Zinhle DJ Zinhle, born Ntombezinhle Jiyane in Dannhauser, KwaZulu-Natal, in 1982, is a house DJ, producer and entrepreneur who has spent two decades as the most visible woman in South African dance music. Drawn to the decks after watching her brother mix vinyl, she turned professional around 2004 as resident DJ on the youth dance show Jika Majika. 'Umlilo' (2019) drew 5.1 million streams inside three months and is certified triple platinum; 'Thula', her 2023 single with Cici, topped the Metro FM Top 30. Recognition has followed the music — the Forbes Woman Africa Entertainer Award and Pan African Artist of the Year in 2020, the Basadi in Music Trailblazer Award in 2024 — as has business: she runs Era by DJ Zinhle, Boulevard Rose and Jiyane Atelier, and fronted the BET Africa reality series DJ Zinhle: The Unexpected from 2021. https://viranova.co.za/artist/tyler-icu https://i.ytimg.com/vi/eR1HWnqn-Ok/maxresdefault.jpg Tyler ICU Tyler ICU, born Austin Khulani Baloyi, is an amapiano producer and DJ from Kempton Park, Gauteng, whose records are engineered for the biggest rooms available. He broke through nationally in 2020 through studio work with DJ Maphorisa and Kabza De Small, including the single 'Bella Ciao', and quickly established a knack for hooks that travel. 'Banyana', his 2021 DJ Maphorisa collaboration, is double platinum, and 'Izolo' took Record of the Year at the 2022 South African Music Awards. Then came 'Mnike' (2023): sixteen consecutive weeks at No. 1 at home, No. 8 on the UK Afrobeats chart, platinum certification, the CAPASSO Most Streamed Song of the Year at the 2024 SAMAs and an MTV Europe Music Award nomination in a year the ceremony was cancelled. In June 2025 he released Lucent, a 15-track album on his New Money Gang imprint made in tribute to his grandmother. https://viranova.co.za/artist/dj-tira https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/d1/3c/5e/d13c5e27-e565-f378-0954-8a8340ef5034/198704774843_Cover.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg DJ Tira DJ Tira, born Mthokozisi Khathi in KwaHlabisa, KwaZulu-Natal, in 1976, has spent almost three decades as the engine of Durban dance music. He started DJing in 1996 while studying at university and turned professional the following year, moving through Durban kwaito into gqom, Afro-house and Afro-tech as each wave arrived — usually with him pushing it. In 2007 he founded Afrotainment, the label that signed DJ Cndo as its first act and later Big Nuz. His compilation Ezase Afro Vol. 1 sold over 20,000 copies, and the catalogue kept building: Ikhenani won Best Kwaito Album at the 26th South African Music Awards, 21 Years of DJ Tira (2020) is certified platinum, and he took Best Kwaito/Gqom Song at the 2023 Metro FM Music Awards. He continues to run Afrotainment as both a talent pipeline and an argument that Durban's sound deserves the national stage. https://viranova.co.za/artist/prince-kaybee https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/bd/53/76/bd537646-3e07-e30b-64a5-ac46eb55cd62/820233577052.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Prince Kaybee Prince Kaybee, born Kabelo Motsamai in Senekal, Free State, in 1989, came to music the hard way: he left school in Grade 11, moved to Bloemfontein and found work as a club DJ. National attention arrived when he won the second season of SABC1's DJ competition 1's and 2's in 2015, and his productions since — polished Afro-house with commanding vocal features — have defined the genre's radio-facing wing. 'Club Controller' (2018) is certified six-times platinum and 'Banomoya', with Busiswa and TNS, four-times; both topped the Channel O chart, and 'Banomoya' won Ukhozi FM's Song of the Year. The platinum album Re Mmino (2019) earned him Male Artist of the Year at the 2020 South African Music Awards, and further albums followed through Music Theory (2023). In June 2026 he signed with PLAYY. Records and announced the single 'Heno Babayo' for release under the new deal. https://viranova.co.za/artist/heavy-k https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/b2/fd/61/b2fd61d4-3269-0dd9-2002-0cfe061fb7b8/6009553468330_Cover.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Heavy K Heavy K is Mkhululi Siqula, an Afro-house producer and DJ from Veeplaas in Gqeberha, known across South Africa as the Drumboss. He was producing as a schoolboy — at 16 he made 'Lento' for house vocalist Professor — and moved to Johannesburg in 2013, the year his debut album Respect the Drumboss 2013 arrived through his own label, Drumboss Musik. His signature is weighted, insistent drum programming underneath big vocal hooks. The certifications are substantial: 'Inde', with Bucie and Nokwazi, is six-times platinum, and 'Uyeke', with Natalia Mabaso, is platinum. In 2023 he took on South Africa's emerging 3-step sound at album length with Respect the Drumboss (3-Step Edition), following in 2024 with The Anointed and the DJ Tira collaboration 'Inkululeko'. In December 2025 he released The Blueprint, a ten-track album on Drumboss Musik — one of the steadiest release schedules in South African house, still running. https://viranova.co.za/artist/morda https://i.ytimg.com/vi/iKM-IXZAuyg/maxresdefault.jpg Mörda Mörda is Bongani Mohosana, a Pretoria-born drummer and producer who spent more than a decade as Murdah Bongz, one half of Black Motion, the percussion-driven house duo he co-founded in 2009. Musically grounded in church choir, he helped carry Black Motion to national prominence after their 2011 album Talking to the Drums before stepping out alone. His solo work keeps the drum at the centre, folding Afro-house into the slower, roomier pulse of 3-step. Since 2022 he has released three albums on his own Asante Music label — Asante, named for his daughter, Asante II and 2025's Asante III — plus the CR4ZY EP in 2024, with 'Mohigan Sun' certified double platinum along the way. In 2024 he shared a NAACP Image Award for the soundtrack compilation of The Color Purple, and in 2025 he collected a Metro FM Music Award for Best Styled Artist. https://viranova.co.za/artist/themba https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/c8/42/de/c842de81-2527-bb1a-018a-296630e408c8/885288037098.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Themba Themba is Themba Mbongeni Nkosi, born in Mpumalanga in 1983 and raised on his father's Marvin Gaye and Hugh Masekela records. He began DJing in his late teens, joined youth station YFM in 2004 and national broadcaster 5FM in 2006, and spent more than a decade as one of South Africa's best-known house DJs under the name Euphonik. In 2017 he retired the alias to perform as Themba, running house warmth through techno architecture. The 2018 single 'Who Is Themba?' answered its own question: championed early by Black Coffee, it charted on Beatport for 18 months and carried him to Ultra Music Festival and back-to-back Ibiza DJ Awards nominations. His debut album Modern Africa Volume 1 (Ekhaya), released on Armada Music in 2021, set vocalists from across the continent against strings recorded at Abbey Road. For the 2026 Ibiza season he is billed across several Hï Ibiza residencies. https://viranova.co.za/artist/dj-lag https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/media-2026-08-09-002343-27bf.jpg DJ Lag DJ Lag is Lwazi Asanda Gwala from Clermont, the Durban township where gqom took shape, and he is recognised as one of the genre's pioneers. A cousin in Durban's hip-hop scene introduced him to FL Studio; he taught himself production, played his first club gig while still in grade 10, and distributed an early EP to fans over WhatsApp. His style is gqom at its most functional — raw drums and sub-bass pressure, engineered for the dancefloor. He made his international debut at Poland's Unsound Festival in 2016, toured under the banner #GqomIsThePresent, and co-produced 'My Power' on Beyoncé's The Lion King: The Gift in 2019. His 2022 debut album Meeting With The King, DJ Mag's Album of the Month, was received as gqom's first landmark artist album. Late 2025 brought Southside, a 12-track mixtape threading gqom through amapiano, Afrotech and 3-step alongside Zee Nxumalo, Thobeka and DJ Maphorisa. https://viranova.co.za/artist/felo-le-tee https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6-twfJcSA3c/maxresdefault.jpg Felo Le Tee Felo Le Tee is Tsholofelo Mokhine, an amapiano DJ and producer working out of Pretoria. The stage name is a family tribute: 'Felo' from the end of his first name, 'Le Tee' from his grandmother Lettie Mokhine, who helped raise him. His uncle Abby taught him to DJ, he moved into production in grade 10, and he later studied sound technology at Damelin. The output is peak-hour amapiano — heavy basslines, brassy hooks, drums aimed squarely at the club. His 2021 single '66', with Myztro, reached number 3 on the Official South African Charts and is certified triple platinum; its companion 'Dipatje Tsa Felo' made him, in TimesLIVE's phrase, 'the Dipatje hitmaker'. The pair of tracks brought a 2022 AFRIMA nomination in the African Electro category. He releases through the New Money Gang label under Sony Music Entertainment Africa and remains one of the genre's most vocal public defenders. https://viranova.co.za/artist/mellow-sleazy https://i.ytimg.com/vi/TvRI44qd74c/maxresdefault.jpg Mellow & Sleazy Mellow & Sleazy are Phemelo Sefanyetse and Olebogeng Kwanaite, a Pretoria duo formed in 2020 and central to amapiano's harder, drum-first wing. Their sound leans on bacardi, the raw percussive style associated with Pretoria, stripping amapiano back to log drums, chants and relentless forward motion. Few acts in the genre release faster: six studio albums appeared between 2021 and 2024, among them the Midnight In Sunnyside series and 2022's Barcadi Fest. The breakout was 'Bopha' (2021), with DJ Maphorisa and Young Stunna, which reached number 1 in South Africa and is certified platinum; 'Wenza Kanjani' is platinum as well, with 'Kwelinye' and '10111' certified gold. 'Imnandi lento' earned Metro FM Music Awards nominations for Best Collaboration and Best Amapiano, alongside a Best Duo/Group nod at the same ceremony. The third Midnight In Sunnyside instalment landed in April 2024, and the collaborative output has continued at pace since. https://viranova.co.za/artist/titom-yuppe https://i.ytimg.com/vi/KK4dC7rASYs/maxresdefault.jpg TitoM & Yuppe TitoM & Yuppe are the amapiano pair behind 'Tshwala Bam', the song that dominated South African streaming in 2024. TitoM — Thato Seth Mathobela, born in Mamelodi outside Pretoria in 1998 — mixed his first house tracks in 2012 and turned to amapiano in 2015, years of groundwork behind the partnership with producer Yuppe. Together they favour unhurried, chant-led grooves whose hooks travel well beyond home. 'Tshwala Bam', released in February 2024 with S.N.E and EeQue, went to number 1 on South Africa's streaming chart and number 3 on both Nigeria's TurnTable Top 100 and the UK Afrobeats chart. The fastest amapiano release of 2024 to pass 8 million Spotify streams, it held South Africa's Spotify daily chart for 26 straight days, carried by a TikTok dance challenge joined by Tyla and Jason Derulo. A Burna Boy remix followed in May 2024, now triple platinum in Nigeria, and the song took Song of the Year at the 2025 Trace Awards. https://viranova.co.za/artist/lloyiso https://i.ytimg.com/vi/UKnZtXevus0/maxresdefault.jpg Lloyiso Lloyiso is Loyiso Gijana, a pop and R&B vocalist from Kariega, formerly Uitenhage, in the Eastern Cape. Drawn to music from around age 12, he reached national attention as a teenager on Idols SA season 11 in 2015, then signed with Ambitiouz Entertainment in 2018 for early singles including 'Intliziyo' with Langa Mavuso. His lane is the full-voiced ballad: soul phrasing, patient builds, choruses that land with gospel weight. In 2021 he signed with Universal Music South Africa and Republic Records, described as the first South African artist on Republic's roster. His EP Seasons (2023), made with producers including Stargate and Mr. Hudson, won Best Pop Album at the 2023 South African Music Awards, and 'Real Love' paired him with Martin Garrix. In October 2025 he announced the EP Never Thought I Could together with his first European tour. https://viranova.co.za/artist/elaine https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/f5/dc/9a/f5dc9a8d-4403-b21f-381a-9482a4a773d4/766214702252.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Elaine Elaine is Ndivhuwo Elaine Mukheli, an R&B singer-songwriter born in Pretoria in 1999. She sang from age six in school choirs and talent competitions, won choir gold at the 2014 World Choir Games in Riga, and was reading law at Wits when her recording career began. Her sound is measured trap-soul: hushed, airy vocals over spare, moody production. Her self-released 2019 EP Elements reached number 1 on iTunes and Apple Music in South Africa — the first independent female artist to manage it — and is certified platinum, while the single 'You're the One' stands at seven-times platinum. Columbia Records signed her in August 2020; a BET Awards nomination and a Best Female Southern Africa win at the 2021 African Muzik Magazine Awards followed. Her debut album Stone Cold Heart arrived in October 2024, the same month she was named a Spotify EQUAL Artist Ambassador. https://viranova.co.za/artist/shekhinah https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/25/1c/72/251c72c8-b271-6807-4b6d-f2472bbccf7c/859738968089_cover.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Shekhinah Shekhinah is Shekhinah Thandi Donnell, born in Pietermaritzburg in 1994 and long based in Durban. She served a televised apprenticeship, reaching the top 32 of Idols SA in 2011 and the top 6 in 2012 while still a teenager, before developing into a songwriter of polished, radio-fluent pop with an R&B undertow. Her 2017 debut Rose Gold is certified multi-platinum and swept the 2018 South African Music Awards, taking Album of the Year and Female Artist of the Year; 'Suited' is certified diamond and 'Please Mr' platinum. In 2019 she founded Rosefest, a festival platforming women in music, whose 2025 edition ran at Johannesburg's Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens in August. After Trouble In Paradise (2021, certified gold) she self-released her third album Less Trouble in August 2025, following it with the EP Love on Repeat, Vol. 1 in June 2026. https://viranova.co.za/artist/ami-faku https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vznEXGFTjSI/maxresdefault.jpg Ami Faku Ami Faku is an Afro-soul and R&B vocalist from Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape. Born Amanda Faku in 1993, she sang in church choirs from the age of six in eZinyoka township and reached a national audience as a contestant on the second season of The Voice SA in 2017. Her work sets a warm, hymn-schooled Xhosa vocal against soul, house and amapiano production. Her debut album Imali (2019) entered the South African chart at number one and went gold, and in 2020 she won Female Artist of the Year at the SAMAs while Deezer named her the country's most-streamed female artist. 'Abalele', with Kabza De Small and DJ Maphorisa, won Most Streamed Song of the Year at the 2022 SAMAs; 'Into Ingawe', with Sun-El Musician, is certified triple platinum. In 2024 'Ndisize', a collaboration with Caiiro, debuted at number one. https://viranova.co.za/artist/msaki https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DvQiyVkwY94/maxresdefault.jpg Msaki Msaki, born Asanda Lusaseni Mvana in East London in 1988, is a singer-songwriter whose guitar-led indie folk and Afro-soul runs parallel to a second life as one of South African house music's most trusted voices. She started out in 2008 with the rock band The Patience, holds a Master of Fine Arts from Rhodes University, and has released independently through her own label, One Shushu Day Artistry, since her 2013 debut EP Nal'ithemba. 'Fetch Your Life', with Prince Kaybee, is certified six-times platinum and 'Sondela', with TRESOR, three-times platinum, while her album Platinumb Heart won Best Adult Contemporary Album at the 2022 SAMAs. Named Best House Artist at the 2024 Mzansi Kwaito and House Music Awards, she returns in February 2026 with Entropy, a collaborative EP with Jesse Clegg born of a friendship forged through mutual grief, led by 'Wayside Lover' featuring Sjava. https://viranova.co.za/artist/nomcebo-zikode https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/d4/f7/39/d4f73956-4c06-ac20-5fdb-acd0bc601e13/766214695592.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Nomcebo Zikode Nomcebo Zikode, born in Hammarsdale, KwaZulu-Natal in 1985, spent more than fifteen years as a backing singer — working behind artists including Zahara and Deborah Fraser — before stepping forward. Her break arrived through house music: 'Emazulwini' with DJ Ganyani, then the vocal on Master KG's 'Jerusalema' (2019), which travelled from South African radio into a worldwide hit with chart runs and remixes across continents. Her debut album Xola Moya Wam' (2020) is certified platinum, and in February 2023 she won the Grammy for Best Global Music Performance for 'Bayethe' with Zakes Bantwini and Wouter Kellerman. The 2023 SAMAs recognised her International Achievement and Forbes Woman Africa named her Top Entertainer. The success carries a shadow: in May 2025 the Pretoria High Court dismissed her royalties application against Open Mic Productions over 'Jerusalema', a fight she says she will continue. https://viranova.co.za/artist/boohle https://i.ytimg.com/vi/b2OqMqi2VO0/maxresdefault.jpg Boohle Boohle, born Buhlebevangeli Hlengiwe Manyathi in Vosloorus on Gauteng's East Rand, grew up singing in church, and the gospel training still anchors her sound: a controlled, hymn-like vocal set against amapiano's log drum and Afro-pop melody. She emerged in 2020 with Umbuso Wabam'nyama, a collaborative album with Josiah De Disciple, alongside her solo debut Izibongo. Recognition came quickly — Best Amapiano Newcomer and Best Amapiano Female Vocalist at the 2021 South African Amapiano Awards, then SAMPRA Artist of the Year at the 2022 Basadi in Music Awards. Songs such as 'Ngixolele', 'Hamba Wena' and 'Siyathandana' carried her voice across the genre, and the albums iSlomo (2022) and Umhlobo (2024) deepened the catalogue. In 2025, OkayAfrica counts her among the female vocalists defining amapiano's current era. https://viranova.co.za/artist/lady-du https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/3f/c0/ec/3fc0ec2c-2994-6caa-7698-4436abe90cad/6009553440923_Cover.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Lady Du Lady Du, born Duduzile Ngwenya in Vosloorus, was behind the decks long before amapiano existed: the daughter of veteran DJ Choc and niece of DJ Zan D, she started DJing at nine and won her first DJ competition at that age. Her voice — husky, conversational, instantly recognisable — broke through on 'Umsebenzi Wethu' with the late Mpura, 'Woza' featuring Boohle, 'Dakiwe' and 'Catalia'. She released her 20-track debut album Song Is Queen in April 2023 as an independent artist through InGrooves Africa, with 'uZuma Yi Star' certified gold after passing a million Spotify streams, and a Spotify billboard in New York's Times Square marked her part in the genre's international push. In July 2025 she previewed a bubblegum-inspired single that nods to Brenda Fassie, folding South Africa's pop past into its present. https://viranova.co.za/artist/daliwonga https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/9c/35/e0/9c35e00f-cf66-a42b-179e-fb9fa565505b/196874325896.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Daliwonga Daliwonga, born 4 June 1994 in Diepkloof, Soweto, came up as a backing vocalist before amapiano gave his melodic instincts a home. Emerging in 2019 and signing to DJ Maphorisa's BlaqBoy Music, he broke through on 'Tester' with King Monada, and his writing — call-and-response hooks built for the dancefloor — has made him one of the genre's busiest pens, with 137 songwriter credits logged in the African Music Library. He released two projects in 2020, Uyang'testa and Chameleon, working with Kabza De Small, Sha Sha and Tyler ICU, and 'Abo Mvelo' with Mellow & Sleazy became a signature record. Dali Dali (2023), a twelve-track album released through New Money Gang Records under Sony Music Entertainment Africa, gathered guests from Nkosazana Daughter to Tyla and confirmed his move from featured voice to bandleader. https://viranova.co.za/artist/aymos https://i.ytimg.com/vi/spL3BCkhgsE/maxresdefault.jpg Aymos Aymos, born in Tembisa, Gauteng in 1989, sings amapiano as if it were soul music, which in his hands it largely is. He rose to prominence on 'Emcimbini', produced by Kabza De Small and DJ Maphorisa, and his warm, weathered tenor has become one of the genre's defining textures — carrying 'Fatela' with Ami Faku and 'Izenzo' with Bassie and T-Man SA to multi-platinum certifications in South Africa. His catalogue runs from Shonamalanga, a 2020 collaborative album with Mas Musiq, through Yimi Lo (2021) to Impilo (2024), released via Lyf Styl Entertainment, Sound African Recordings and Platoon. At the 2024 Metro FM Music Awards he took Best Male and Best Music Video, and he continues to appear as a sought-after featured voice across the genre's new releases. https://viranova.co.za/artist/toss https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Gi_ZbBlxW7Y/maxresdefault.jpg Toss Toss, from Tsakane in Ekurhuleni, danced before he sang: he started out performing pantsula in the township and spent time in a Kaizer Chiefs soccer development programme — where he picked up the stage name Toss, meaning 'fire' — before turning to music in 2014. His records carry that dancer's instinct, chant-led amapiano built for movement. 'uMlando', with 9umba and Mdoovar, released in January 2022, went platinum, passed 7.5 million streams, peaked at number two on the local chart and won TikTok's 2022 Viral Song of the Year; its dance challenge generated some 270 million TikTok views. He has been candid about the cost of that velocity, speaking about his mental health after fainting on stage in March 2022. In October 2025 he announced a new EP, 1550, his next full statement. https://viranova.co.za/artist/mlindo-the-vocalist https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/8e/fb/53/8efb5373-5077-9fa9-7914-67b4bb2f35d8/196872664140.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Mlindo The Vocalist Mlindo The Vocalist, from Port Shepstone on KwaZulu-Natal's south coast, was discovered by DJ Maphorisa through social media and signed to Blaqboy Music under Sony Music Entertainment. His Afro-pop is plainspoken and melodic — a clear Zulu vocal over unhurried production — and it connected immediately: his 2018 debut single 'AmaBlesser', with Maphorisa, is certified four-times platinum. The debut album Emakhaya (2018) went platinum on the strength of around 45 million streams, and 'Macala' reached number one in South Africa; a second album, Lindokuhle, followed in July 2022. He then stepped away for two years to look after his mental health. In July 2025 he returned — reconciled with Maphorisa after a public falling-out, direct in denying the substance-abuse rumours that trailed him, and at work on a new Afro-pop album. https://viranova.co.za/artist/nomfundo-moh https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/b6/3b/24/b63b2467-84b6-22c1-a0f9-731ee70c2821/196874111796.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Nomfundo Moh Nomfundo Moh, from Ndwedwe in rural KwaZulu-Natal, writes Afro-pop in Zulu that treats the language as an instrument in its own right. Active since 2016, she broke through in 2021 with 'Phakade Lami' featuring Ami Faku and Sha Sha — now certified six-times platinum — while 'Lilizela' went platinum the same year. Her debut album Amagama (2022) was certified platinum and won Best Afro Pop Album at the South African Music Awards, and she signed with Universal Music South Africa as 'Soft Life' climbed to number three and triple-platinum status. Ugcobo (2023) and Twenty Four (2024) kept the pace, and in April 2026 she released her fourth album, Farm Julia — thirteen tracks, sung in Zulu, via Sound African Recordings and Sony Music Entertainment Africa — consolidating her place in the province's long vocal tradition. https://viranova.co.za/artist/amanda-black https://i.ytimg.com/vi/VWZaKsPFlQc/maxresdefault.jpg Amanda Black Amanda Black is the stage name of Amanda Benedicta Antony, an Afro-soul singer and songwriter from the Eastern Cape. Her apprenticeship is long and public: church choirs from the age of six, talent contests through her teens, three runs at Idols South Africa — reaching the top seven of season eleven — and a music education degree at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. The music that emerges folds Xhosa lyricism into soul and R&B, measured and rooted. Her debut album Amazulu (2016) is certified platinum within a month, selling more than 31,000 copies, and in 2017 she takes four South African Music Awards — Album of the Year and Best R&B/Soul/Reggae Album among them — plus two Metro FM Music Awards and a BET Awards nomination. Signed to Sony Music since 2019, she has built out the catalogue with Power (2019), Mnyama (2021) and From My Soil To Yours (2023). https://viranova.co.za/artist/samthing-soweto https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/ff/29/cb/ff29cbd2-0a6c-9f28-1e71-09e057844d76/5059449225029.png/1200x1200bb.jpg Samthing Soweto Samthing Soweto, born Samkelo Lelethu Mdolomba in 1988, grows up in Protea North, Soweto, and co-founds the a cappella group The Soil — unaccompanied singing chosen partly because instruments were beyond the members' means. He later fronts the nu-jazz band The Fridge before going solo, carrying a supple falsetto that moves easily between soul, vocal harmony and amapiano's log-drum pulse. His 2017 feature on Sun-El Musician's 'Akanamali' is the commercial breakthrough; 'Akulaleki' with Sha Sha tops Apple Music South Africa and is certified gold. The debut album Isphithiphithi (2019) goes platinum and wins Best Afro-Pop Album at the 26th South African Music Awards. After a long recording silence, he returns in July 2025 with Touch Is a Move: Good Morning, a concept album structured as a single day in 1990s Soweto, narrated by his five-year-old self. https://viranova.co.za/artist/lwah-ndlunkulu https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/84/44/b0/8444b001-9487-ba6b-aedc-c742aeb595b0/6009553463090_Cover.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Lwah Ndlunkulu Lwah Ndlunkulu, born Lwandile Mtshali in Hluhluwe, KwaZulu-Natal, moves to Johannesburg in 2020 while still in Grade 11. She presents at a Hillbrow radio station and works at a Maboneng club, where producer Celza hears her and brings her to Big Zulu's Inkabi Records. Her Afro-pop is built on isiZulu songwriting — melodic, plainspoken, closer to ballad than dancefloor. Her 2022 debut single 'Ithuba', with Siya Ntuli, is certified platinum and wins Song of the Year at the 2023 Basadi in Music Awards, where she is also Artist of the Year; 'Ngiyeza' repeats the platinum mark. 'Paris', her multi-platinum 2023 collaboration with maskandi singer Mthandeni SK, takes Record of the Year at SAMA 30, where her debut album Imizwa wins Best Afro Pop Album. Named Metro FM Artist of the Year in 2024, she releases her second album, Amaciko, in 2025. https://viranova.co.za/artist/a-reece https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Zzv7GhCoFo4/maxresdefault.jpg A-Reece A-Reece, born Lehlogonolo Ronald Mataboge in 1997, grows up in Danville, Pretoria, writing raps from primary school in the footsteps of his older brother, Jay Jody. Signed to Ambitiouz Entertainment in 2015, he breaks through with 'Couldn't' featuring Emtee and releases the debut album Paradise (2016) — then leaves the label in late 2016 over financial disputes, co-founding The Wrecking Crew and building one of South African hip hop's most durable independent catalogues. The gamble holds. He is Lyricist of the Year at the South African Hip Hop Awards in 2016 and again in 2021, when Today's Tragedy, Tomorrow's Memory also takes Mixtape of the Year. P2: The Big Hearted Bad Guy (2023) debuts at number one in South Africa; Kill The King, his 2024 mixtape with PistolWhipPapi, draws three million Spotify streams in a week. Business As Usual arrives in September 2025 on Revenge Club Records. https://viranova.co.za/artist/k-o https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ydc8o3eGma4/maxresdefault.jpg K.O K.O, born Ntokozo Mdluli in 1980, earns a public relations diploma at Vaal University of Technology and is working in the field when he forms the hip hop trio Teargas with Ma-E and Ntukza in 2004. When the group winds down he goes solo, launching Cashtime Life in 2013 and codifying skhanda rap — a style that grafts township slang and kwaito-era cadence onto contemporary hip hop. His debut solo album Skhanda Republic (2014) is certified platinum, and its single 'Caracara' wins Record of the Year at the South African Music Awards. Nearly a decade on, 'SETE' with Young Stunna and Blxckie repeats the feat at scale: nineteen consecutive weeks at number one on the Radio Monitor charts and multi-platinum certification. With six SAMAs and three South African Hip Hop Awards behind him, he releases the 14-track Phara City in June 2025 through Sony Music Africa and his Skhanda Republic imprint. https://viranova.co.za/artist/blxckie https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tCQy7r-_Q0U/maxresdefault.jpg Blxckie Blxckie, born Sihle Philmon Sithole in 1999, comes out of Sydenham Heights, Durban, recording songs with friends from the age of six and later studying psychology at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. When the pandemic lockdown interrupts the degree, music takes over: melodic trap and R&B delivered in quick, tuneful bursts, flagged early when Apple Music names him an Up Next artist in March 2020. His 2021 is compressed and total. 'David' is certified gold in April, 'Ye x4' with Nasty C goes double platinum in May, and the debut album B4Now earns gold and Freshman of the Year at the South African Hip Hop Awards; MTV Base ranks him the country's hottest MC that December. A feature on K.O's double-platinum 'SETE' follows. Signed to Def Jam since November 2023, he tours the United States in early 2024 and releases the EP see u soon that July. https://viranova.co.za/artist/emtee https://i.ytimg.com/vi/sYibm25VvnI/maxresdefault.jpg Emtee Emtee, born Mthembeni Ndevu in Matatiele, Eastern Cape, in 1992, grows up in Rockville, Soweto, working the township talent-show circuit before joining the African Trap Movement trio alongside Sjava and Saudi. He brands his sound African trap music: Auto-Tuned melody over heavy 808s, sung as much as rapped, its street-level detail delivered with an unhurried melancholy. 'Roll Up' (2015) wins Song of the Year at the South African Hip Hop Awards, and his debut album Avery is certified platinum, taking Best Hip Hop Album at the 2016 Metro FM Music Awards. After leaving Ambitiouz Entertainment, he founds his own label, Emtee Records, in 2019 — and the independence holds: third album Logan (2021) debuts at number one in South Africa. DIY 3, released on 31 October 2024, extends the self-made run. https://viranova.co.za/artist/kwesta https://i.ytimg.com/vi/G21KlOtOXrw/maxresdefault.jpg Kwesta Kwesta, born Senzo Mfundo Vilakazi in 1988, raps for Katlehong, the East Rand township whose streets supply his subject matter. A high-school poet, he co-founds the group Ghetto Fellas at fifteen before going solo; his 2010 debut Special ReKwest makes him the first South African rapper with seven songs on multiple radio charts in a single year. The voice is gravel, the writing township realism set to kwaito-leaning hip hop. DaKAR II (2016) becomes South African hip hop's best-selling album — 210,000 copies, certified 7x platinum — powered by 'Ngud'' with Cassper Nyovest and the diamond-certified 'Ngiyaz'fela Ngawe'. 'Spirit', with US rapper Wale, goes platinum. With six SAMAs, four South African Hip Hop Awards and a Forbes Africa 30 Under 30 listing behind him, he releases g.o.d guluva (2021), pairs with Kabza De Small on Speak N Vrostaan (2022), and takes a Metro FM Music Award in 2025. https://viranova.co.za/artist/big-zulu https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/3e/58/c2/3e58c27d-df27-3409-1387-f20ea5770272/6009553470678_Cover.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Big Zulu 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. https://viranova.co.za/artist/25k https://i.ytimg.com/vi/k5RfFzC1OnM/maxresdefault.jpg 25K 25K, born Lehlohonolo Molefe in 1994, raps from Atteridgeville — Pheli, in local shorthand — the Pretoria township that supplies his subject matter and his slang. His kasi trap is unhurried and detail-heavy, sliding between English and Setswana as it narrates street economics. 'Culture Vulture', released in 2017, catches fire in 2019, and its remix with Cassper Nyovest, AKA and Emtee wins Best Remix at the South African Hip Hop Awards. Signed to Sony Music Entertainment Africa, he opens his album campaign in June 2021 with 'Pheli Makaveli (Intro)' and follows with the debut album Pheli Makaveli, made with producer Zoocci Coke Dope. The record draws five nominations at the 2021 South African Hip Hop Awards, including Album of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Best Male. His second album, Loyal to the Plug: The Life & Times of Don Kilogram, arrives in 2024. https://viranova.co.za/artist/nadia-nakai https://i.ytimg.com/vi/YiKOrl6CFoQ/maxresdefault.jpg Nadia Nakai Nadia Nakai raps under the alias Bragga, and the name is a mission statement. Born in Johannesburg to a South African father and a Zimbabwean mother, she studied marketing at Monash University's Johannesburg campus, became the first woman to win the Mixtape 101 competition on e.tv's Shiz Niz, and released her debut single Like Me in 2013. Signing to Family Tree Records in 2016 yielded the Bragga EP and her signature: heavyweight trap production and unapologetic flexing. Her debut album Nadia Naked (June 2019) won Best Female Artist at AFRIMA and Best Female at the South African Hip Hop Awards. She joined Def Jam Africa in May 2020, left Family Tree in 2021, and was named Hip Hop Artist of the Year at the 2023 Basadi in Music Awards. In March 2025 came Braggacy, a 13-track tribute to the late AKA featuring Shekhinah, Zakes Bantwini, Moozlie and Manu WorldStar. https://viranova.co.za/artist/maglera-doe-boy https://i.ytimg.com/vi/VeO4sRkdRUI/maxresdefault.jpg Maglera Doe Boy Maglera Doe Boy, born Tokelo Moyakhe, raps motswako from the inside: raised in Kanana township in the North West, he started rapping at 10, mentored by the genre's architects Towdeemac, Khuli Chana and Kay Gee of Morafe. His debut EP Progression arrived in 2015, and his writing has stayed rooted in township detail — dense, cinematic storytelling carried on motswako's bilingual Setswana-English cadence. The breakthrough was borrowed velocity: his verse on MashBeatz's Never Ride went viral on TikTok, bringing a Universal Music deal through Khuli Chana's Mythrone Records imprint. His debut album Diaspora (2022) coincided with Best Male Artist and Best Remix at the South African Hip Hop Awards and an Apple Music Up Next selection. Maglera Tapes followed in 2024, and in 2025 he earned a BET Awards nomination for Best New International Act, alongside compatriots TxC and Dlala Thukzin. https://viranova.co.za/artist/k-keed https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ysY6paUzGq0/maxresdefault.jpg K.Keed K.Keed, born Mihlali Koyana in Gugulethu, Cape Town, came to rap through poetry, writing rhymes at school inside the township's DIY hip-hop scene. Her 2019 debut single Similes earned community-radio play, and the seven-track Religion (2020) set out the blueprint: trap production, Cape Town slang, and an unorthodox flow that pivots between aggressive bars and melodic hooks. The ALTER-EGO EP (2022), including a Blxckie collaboration, carried her beyond the city and onto stages at Boiler Room's Contemporary Scenes and Rocking the Daisies. By December 2024 she was South Africa's most-streamed female hip-hop artist. Her debut album Bite the Bullet (2025) drew features from A-Reece, Priddy Ugly and Shekhinah and an Apple Music Rap Life Africa spotlight in March; a deluxe edition late in the year added Tellaman, Blxckie and Sastii. https://viranova.co.za/artist/sho-madjozi https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/9e/fb/45/9efb45a3-6057-2490-a2f6-ddcf78a72065/98151.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Sho Madjozi Sho Madjozi, born Maya Christinah Xichavo Wegerif in Shirley Village, Elim, Limpopo, made Tsonga culture the engine of a pop career: rapping in Xitsonga, dancing xibelani in traditional tinguvu skirts, wearing braids she frames as Afrofuturist. She studied creative writing and African studies at Mount Holyoke College in the United States, wrote poetry as MayaThePoet, and entered music through collaborations with Okmalumkoolkat before launching her gqom-driven solo run in 2016. Her debut album Limpopo Champions League (December 2018) yielded the platinum Huku and the gold Wakanda Forever; 2019 brought a SAMA for Newcomer of the Year, the BET Award for Best New International Act, and the viral John Cena, first performed on the COLORS platform. A Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award followed in 2020. She has announced Limpopo Champions League Vol. 2 as her final album, shifting her energy to film, children's books and her hair brand Sparkle. https://viranova.co.za/artist/moonchild-sanelly https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/fd/fa/67/fdfa6763-59c6-09f2-0ded-5af7f0430294/840054904653.png/1200x1200bb.jpg Moonchild Sanelly Moonchild Sanelly was born Sanelisiwe Twisha in Gqeberha, then Port Elizabeth, into a musical house — her mother sang jazz — and moved to Durban in 2005 to study fashion design. Performing poetry and hip hop there from 2006, she distilled kwaito, gqom, punk and electronic pop into a genre she named herself: future ghetto funk, sung mostly in Xhosa beneath her trademark blue hair. Her debut Rabulapha! (2015) earned a SAMA nomination for Best Alternative Album, and the international run came quickly: My Power on Beyoncé's The Lion King: The Gift (2019), a Gorillaz feature on Song Machine (2020), and a signing to Transgressive Records the same year. Phases (2022) broadened the palette; Full Moon, her third album, arrived in January 2025, followed by a UK and Ireland tour from March. https://viranova.co.za/artist/joyous-celebration https://i.ytimg.com/vi/JcLX7I7NAnQ/maxresdefault.jpg Joyous Celebration Joyous Celebration began in 1994, when Mthunzi Namba, Jabu Hlongwane and Lindelani Mkhize met at a Durban concert and set about building a contemporary gospel ensemble; the name arrived in 1996, marking South Africa's transition to democracy. A 1997 debut intended as a one-off became an annual institution: rotating vocalists, a live audience, and a new volume nearly every year, recorded at the country's biggest venues. The numbers track the reach. Vol. 9 (2005) went double platinum; Vol. 19: Back to the Cross (2015) entered the South African album chart at No. 1 and passed 51,000 copies for platinum. The group holds 15 South African Music Awards among more than 20 honours, and signed with Universal Music and Motown Gospel in March 2021. Recent volumes keep the pace — Vol. 27 in twin 2023 editions from Emperors Palace, Vol. 28 in dual sets from the Durban ICC. https://viranova.co.za/artist/benjamin-dube https://i.ytimg.com/vi/j_H6IQZGLUc/maxresdefault.jpg Benjamin Dube Benjamin Dube was born in Johannesburg in 1962 and was singing gospel at seven, performing with his siblings as the Dube Family singers. After his father was murdered in 1976, music became the family's means of telling his story. Dube rose to prominence in the early 1980s as a singer, guitarist and pianist, and his catalogue of gold- and platinum-certified albums moves between choral gospel and contemporary worship. The In His Presence series, running since 2007, is his signature; Glory in His Presence won Best Contemporary Faith Music Album at the 2020 South African Music Awards, where he also received a Lifetime Achievement honour. He leads High Praise Centre in Vosloorus as its General Overseer, released Legendary in His Presence (2023) and its 2024 sequel, and in April 2025 announced his exit from Spirit of Praise, having appeared on all but the collective's first two live recordings. https://viranova.co.za/artist/ntokozo-mbambo https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/73/c8/93/73c89322-ede6-e9f9-6d57-febfb7db2d35/15912.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Ntokozo Mbambo Ntokozo Mbambo, born in Umlazi, Durban, in 1985, joined Joyous Celebration at 15 — then its youngest member — and remained a lead singer until 2011. Going solo through Koko Records, she gave worship music a contemporary finish: supple, precise vocals over arrangements that slide between choral gospel and soul, often built with her husband, producer Nqubeko Mbatha, whom she married in 2008. Her solo debut Filled (2012) went double platinum; Spirit and Life followed in 2015. Lavish Worship (2023) swept the 2023 South African Music Awards — Album of the Year, Best Contemporary Faith Album and Female Artist of the Year — then took Best Gospel Album at the 2024 Metro FM Music Awards. Her honours run to five SAMAs and six African Gospel Music and Media Awards, and in July 2024 she sang the national anthem for the Springboks at Kings Park. https://viranova.co.za/artist/dr-tumi https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/artists/dr-tumi-62669767.jpg Dr Tumi Dr Tumi is the recording name of Tumisang Makweya, born in Seshego, Limpopo, in 1981 — a practising medical doctor who never gave up the day job. He sang in church from childhood, qualified at Medunsa, now Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, and won the SABC2 Gospel Star competition in 2012, the springboard for a career of measured, scripture-rooted worship music. His debut album Heart of a King took Best RnB Gospel at the 2012 SABC Crown Gospel Music Awards, and the Gathering of Worshippers live series became his trademark, capped by the 2017 recording at Johannesburg's Ticketpro Dome. The 15-track live album Love and Grace reached gold status within two months of release. He continues to split his weeks between the consulting room and the stage, medicine and ministry running in parallel. https://viranova.co.za/artist/rebecca-malope https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/03/80/19/0380192c-f234-5953-2cd5-83336ad71730/24UMGIM84685.rgb.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Rebecca Malope Rebecca Malope, born Batsogile Lovederia Malope in Lekazi outside Mbombela in 1968, sang hymns in church as a child and reached Johannesburg as a teenager alongside her sister Cynthia, where producer Sizwe Zakho took her on. Victory in the 1987 Shell Road to Fame competition launched her recording career, and when the gospel tracks on her early records outsold the pop, she followed them — a compact, powerhouse voice that earned her the title Queen of Gospel. Rebecca Sings Gospel (1992) passed a million copies; Shwele Baba (1996) became the fastest-selling South African album of its time, at 100,000 units in three weeks. Across 36 albums she has sold at least 10 million records, won Best Contemporary Gospel Album at the first South African Music Awards in 1995, hosted television's It's Gospel Time from 2004 to 2019, and in 2021 received the Order of Ikhamanga from President Cyril Ramaphosa. https://viranova.co.za/artist/spirit-of-praise https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/4c/84/79/4c84797a-27e1-3b92-b6a1-25ef1fa5f6a0/6009888659809_Cover.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Spirit Of Praise Spirit of Praise is a Johannesburg gospel collective built around the live recording as an event. Established in 2008 by Aubrey Peacock and Matthew Nkabinde under the Spirit Music Group, it debuts with a two-volume set taped at the Pretoria State Theatre and grows into a rotating roster of more than 40 soloists, among them Benjamin Dube, Dumi Mkokstad and Solly Mahlangu. The sound is massed praise and worship, recorded before arena-sized congregations. Eleven live volumes follow, through Volume 11 in June 2025. Volumes 4, 6 and 7 each take the SAMA for Best Traditional Faith Music Album, alongside Crown Gospel wins for Best Gospel Group and Best Praise Song. In 2023 the recordings move from Carnival City to Pretoria's SunBet Arena to hold larger audiences, and by 2024 the collective ranks among the 100 most-streamed gospel artists worldwide on Spotify. Dube departs for independent ministry in April 2025. https://viranova.co.za/artist/dumi-mkokstad https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/fc/c1/e7/fcc1e797-822b-8f29-22ba-06521cccd9ad/820233580328.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Dumi Mkokstad Dumi Mkokstad is one of South African gospel's most decorated traditional faith voices. Born Mdumiseni Nzimande in Cabazana, Mount Ayliff, in the Eastern Cape, he grows up in Kokstad, the town echoed in his stage name, where music takes root from the age of nine. He begins recording in 2003 with a self-titled debut, singing traditional faith music that leans on hymnal weight and direct, scriptural writing. Across ten studio albums he becomes a fixture of the SAMA gospel categories: Calvary wins Best Traditional Faith Music Album at the 26th awards in 2020, and The Overflow Gcwala Kimi repeats the feat at the 29th in 2023. At the 16th Crown Gospel Music Awards he is among the most-nominated artists across five categories and takes Best Gospel Songwriter for 'Vumbelimnandi'. Songs such as 'Ziphozenkosi' and 'Ungayeki Ukuthandaza' anchor a catalogue that stays rooted in the church. https://viranova.co.za/artist/nontokozo-mkhize https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9l1P_3-w584/maxresdefault.jpg Nontokozo Mkhize Nontokozo Mkhize is a contemporary gospel singer from KwaZulu-Natal who serves a long apprenticeship in other people's bands. From 2017 she works as a backing vocalist for artists including Sjava and Nomfundo Moh, and her 2023 feature on Moh's 'Lu Strong' first puts her voice in front of a national audience. The breakthrough is 'Esandleni', which debuts at number one on Spotify's South Africa chart in early 2025 and sets a record for the most-streamed solo song by a female artist in a single week, passing Adele's mark. She takes Best Newcomer at the 2024 Metro FM Music Awards and Newcomer of the Year at the 2024 Basadi in Music Awards, then Song of the Year and Gospel Artist of the Year at Basadi 2025, plus Best Female Artist in Southern Africa at AFRIMA 2025. Lindiwe (Deluxe), released in October 2025, enters the national Top Albums chart at number eight. https://viranova.co.za/artist/xolly-mncwango https://i.ytimg.com/vi/NqV5Q7FIDMI/maxresdefault.jpg Xolly Mncwango Xolly Mncwango is a gospel vocalist from KwaZulu-Natal who sings traditional gospel through a soul singer's phrasing, folding R&B warmth into contemporary faith music. She joins the choir Joyous Celebration in 2013 and records and performs with it until 2017, then spends the following years as a backing vocalist before stepping out alone with Jesus Is Enough in 2020. The album Unusual turns the corner: it wins Best Contemporary Faith Album at the 30th South African Music Awards in November 2024. In 2025 she takes two Metro FM Music Awards, Best Female Artist and Best Gospel Album, adding to Crown Gospel Music Awards for Best Female Artist of the Year and Best Streamed Song. Songs such as 'Ungukuphila' extend a catalogue that keeps traditional gospel conviction inside a contemporary sound, and she stands among the country's most consistently awarded faith voices. https://viranova.co.za/artist/ndlovu-youth-choir https://i.ytimg.com/vi/gbljPQbxtTQ/maxresdefault.jpg Ndlovu Youth Choir Ndlovu Youth Choir is a choral group from Elandsdoorn, a rural community in Limpopo's Moutse region, formed in January 2009 by the Ndlovu Care Group with Ralf Schmitt as artistic director. Drawn from local young people, the choir sets South African vocal harmony and dance against pop arrangements, carrying community choral practice onto international stages. The turn comes in 2019, when the choir reaches the final of America's Got Talent's fourteenth season and signs with Syco Entertainment in partnership with Sony Music; the debut album Africa enters the South African chart at number one the same year. The 2020 South African Music Awards bring Best Adult Contemporary Album and the International Achievement Award. In 2025 the group records a Zulu-language version of 'Bohemian Rhapsody' authorized by Queen's surviving members, and a tour announced for February to August 2026 keeps the choir on the road. https://viranova.co.za/artist/ntencane https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/33/19/1c/33191cad-d4cc-04bf-6656-51d0a45df06d/820200302229.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Ntencane Ntencane, born Senzo Zondi, is a maskandi singer-songwriter from Greytown in KwaZulu-Natal. Beginning his professional career in 2019, he fuses traditional Zulu maskandi, the province's guitar-led storytelling idiom, with contemporary songwriting, writing about love, heartbreak, cultural identity and everyday life. The arrival is abrupt: 'Wawuthembeni' wins Ukhozi FM's 2019 Song of the Year, drawing almost half a million of the more than one million listener votes cast, in an announcement delayed past New Year's Eve by a court interdict against the SABC and made only once the case was withdrawn. The title carries a R50,000 prize and a reputation as KwaZulu-Natal's most sought-after maskandi newcomer. He consolidates with Alingeni in 2024, a 15-track album that binds acoustic tradition to modern production while keeping community narratives and Zulu heritage at the centre. https://viranova.co.za/artist/mduduzi-ncube https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/8d/6d/ed/8d6ded46-bc21-c401-0305-8e91d628381d/6009553468019_Cover.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Mduduzi Ncube Mduduzi Ncube is an afro-pop and afro-soul vocalist from Hammarsdale, KwaZulu-Natal, whose guitar-led songs deal in plainspoken emotional storytelling. DJ Tira discovers him in 2019 and produces his first recordings, including the Berita duet 'Malokazi'; in 2020 he messages Big Zulu on Instagram and becomes the first artist signed to Inkabi Records, the label whose early identity he helps define. The Inkabi years yield 'Isiginci' featuring Big Zulu and a run of collaborations, from 'Njalo' with Mafikizolo to Big Zulu's 'Inhlupheko'. In February 2026 he releases Buyel'ekhaya, a 14-track afro-soul album led by the single 'Imizwa Nje', and the following month he and the label confirm a mutual, amicable parting: his contract concluded, he plans to launch his own label and to work as both performer and executive. https://viranova.co.za/artist/ladysmith-black-mambazo https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/artists/ladysmith-black-mambazo-99134a6d.jpg Ladysmith Black Mambazo Ladysmith Black Mambazo is the choral group founded in 1960 by Joseph Shabalala in Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, singing in the Zulu vocal traditions of isicathamiya and mbube: soft-stepping, close-harmony music built for a cappella voices. International recognition arrives through Paul Simon's 1986 album Graceland, where the group co-writes and sings 'Homeless'. The catalogue that follows collects five Grammy Awards from 17 nominations: Shaka Zulu (1988), Raise Your Spirit Higher (2004), Ilembe (2009), Live: Singing for Peace Around the World (2013) and Shaka Zulu Revisited (2018). Shabalala retires in 2014 and dies in February 2020 at 78; his sons now lead the group. The work continues: Soothe My Soul: Songs From Our South African Church wins Best African Indigenous Faith Album at the 2024 South African Music Awards, and as of 2026 the group is recording Beyonder, a collaborative album with the UK folk band Stornoway. https://viranova.co.za/artist/mafikizolo https://i.ytimg.com/vi/IO9pOYGs4dY/maxresdefault.jpg Mafikizolo Mafikizolo is the Johannesburg duo of songwriter Theo Kgosinkwe and lead vocalist Nhlanhla Mafu, formed in 1996 and working across kwaito, Afro-house and Afro-soul. Songs such as 'Ndihamba Nawe' fix the group at the centre of South African urban pop, and the early years absorb real loss: founding member Tebogo Benedict Madingoane is shot and killed in February 2004. Sibongile (2002) and Van Toeka Af (2005) establish the name before a hiatus; the 2013 return Reunited carries the hit 'Khona' featuring Uhuru. The honours now number 14 South African Music Awards and two MTV Africa Music Awards, including Best Duo or Group of the Year. The album 20 marks the duo's twentieth anniversary in 2017, and the twelfth studio album Idwala arrives in 2022, the year Kgosinkwe and Mafu mark 25 years of working together. https://viranova.co.za/artist/ihashi-elimhlophe https://i.ytimg.com/vi/YgwnVvt8QtY/maxresdefault.jpg 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. https://viranova.co.za/artist/inkos-yamagcokama https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/90/42/97/904297a9-8894-6dec-caef-782148c77a87/766214691525.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Inkos'yamagcokama Inkosi Yamagcokama (also styled Inkos'yamagcokama), born Scebi Dlamini, was a KwaZulu-Natal maskandi singer known for soft, high-pitched vocals, love-themed songs and tracks such as 'Kungcono Ngife' (2017) and 'Asenzele Bona' (2019). He died at age 26 in a car crash in Richards Bay on 9 August 2026 while en route to the Basadi Let's Dance Music Festival, and his current chart presence is a posthumous surge of mourning. https://viranova.co.za/artist/novex https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/79/6c/ec/796cec7b-a461-3382-7977-e536b0a88d9c/823375279280_Cover.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Novex Novex is the South African producer behind 'SASEZOLA', a single with Born Kxng, Nigerian singer MOONLIGHT AFRIQA and S.N.E, released on 19 June 2026 through SASEZOLA INC and EMPIRE. The track folds soulful amapiano into Afro-pop songwriting around themes of homecoming and healing, and after spreading through TikTok it debuted at number one on Apple Music in Botswana, eSwatini and Namibia and reached number two in South Africa. Novex's 2026 catalogue also includes the EP TU AMOR and 'In Her Jazz', and one week of Viranova's Pulse tracking logged 22 appearances across verified South African platform charts, with a best position of eight. https://viranova.co.za/artist/idelakufa-lethu https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/35/d5/4e/35d54e44-48b9-1666-d759-5d33b4c7e44f/artwork.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg IDELAKUFA LETHU. IDELAKUFA LETHU. is a South African maskandi act active since 2019. The single 'Ngiyabamba bamba', released on 28 May 2026, spread across South African download platforms and TikTok and later gained a remix version featuring Pilato, released as its own single in 2026. The act's recent output also includes the single 'Fokof' and the album Ithuna Lami. Fourteen appearances across verified South African platform chart collections in a single recent week, with a best position of 15, mark it as one of maskandi's emerging chart presences. https://viranova.co.za/artist/tweezy https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/03/f9/93/03f99338-1dff-e5fd-7b1c-3dda336b6c5c/199633723476-copy-93620a26.png/1200x1200bb.jpg Tweezy Born Tumelo Thandokuhle Mathebula in Durban in 1992 and raised in Johannesburg, Tweezy is a hip-hop producer and rapper who shaped the sound of AKA's Levels era, producing 'Run Jozi', 'Sim Dope' and 'All Eyes on Me' — the last winning Best Collaboration at the MAMAs. He was named Producer of the Year at the SA Hip Hop Awards in both 2015 and 2016, and his production credits stretch to Nasty C, Emtee, Stogie T and Riky Rick. As a solo artist he released the EP BAUCE'D in 2025 and features on 'Wamuhle' with Sino Msolo and Yumbs, which has charted on South African platforms. https://viranova.co.za/artist/nkeshemba https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/5c/f2/2c/5cf22c63-93b6-6be4-0a59-4ccbc01994a6/6009553471729_Cover.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Nkeshemba Nkeshemba, reported to have been born Wandile Mkhize, is a South African singer-songwriter working where contemporary maskandi meets Afro-soul. His single 'Usungikhombisile' ('You Have Shown Me') was released on 20 March 2026 through Nkeshemba Music as part of the Imikhonto EP and has since charted across South African platforms; the same year brought the single 'LIZOVUKA IKHAYA'. Active since 2020, he remains an emerging figure, logging ten appearances across verified South African platform chart collections in one recent week, with a best position of 35. https://viranova.co.za/artist/memie https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/e1/fe/96/e1fe9605-f7e8-6542-6d7f-ab20ffc42c0d/766214702993.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Memie Memie is a vocalist in Limpopo's dance scene, best known as the featured voice on 'Sanamarena', the Makhadzi Entertainment single with Prince Benza released on 31 July 2026 as part of the Tsotsi EP, an amapiano and Afro-house dance record. The track carried Memie onto South African platform charts, where the artist logged nine verified chart appearances in a single recent week with a best position of nine. Memie's other 2026 releases include the project King of Melodies and the single 'Le Mafia' featuring Dr Skaro. Beyond those releases and chart listings, little verified biographical detail is publicly available. https://viranova.co.za/artist/asambe-boi https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/fe/18/e7/fe18e747-15d7-907f-cdfa-8d2e8dec04f8/5064020851689_cover.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Asambe Boi Asambe Boi is a gqom performer in the Durban scene, active since 2025 and tied to Deejay Morgan's circle of collaborators. Deejay Morgan's 'Barakkat', released on 10 April 2026 with Naked Souls DBN and Infinite Sounds Musiq, carries an Asambe Boi feature and spread through South African TikTok gqom playlists and dance challenges; further collaborations include 'Amagida Ngoma' and 'Chommie'. Releases under Asambe Boi's own name in 2026 include the single 'Rangers' and the project 2 Kings in 1 Castle. In a single recent week, Asambe Boi appeared eight times across verified South African platform chart collections. https://viranova.co.za/artist/razolo https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/2b/e4/3b/2be43bd6-1093-e867-2428-b698257e0878/artwork.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Razolo Razolo is a dance artist in the Bolobedu house scene that grew out of Limpopo, with collaborations alongside Master Betho and releases through the Oska Minda Ka Borena stable. The single 'Lea chancer bafana', released on 8 August 2025 via 5081905 Records DK, blends dance, amapiano and Bolobedu elements and fuelled TikTok dance challenges well into 2026. Newer singles 'Monate wa lerato' and 'Koma new 45', both from 2026, followed, and in one recent week Razolo appeared seven times across verified South African platform charts, reaching position six at best. https://viranova.co.za/artist/maqatha https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/9d/ee/86/9dee86e4-e059-c4be-6194-c5a690f5deaa/26UMGIM95623.rgb.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg MAQATHA MAQATHA is a South African maskandi act, active since 2020, whose album AmaKillometre arrived through Universal Music (Pty) Ltd in 2026. Its single 'Ngiphelele', featuring Inkosi Yamagcokama and released on 24 July 2026, has charted on South African platforms: in one recent week the act appeared seven times across verified platform chart collections, reaching position 28 at best. Other releases include 'Uxolo Shwi No Mtekhala' and 'Myekele', a collaboration with Shenge Wasehlalankosi. https://viranova.co.za/artist/uncool-mc https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/76/86/46/7686464f-8969-051f-e711-b17c14db6bfc/26UMGIM52439.rgb.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Uncool MC Amapiano vocalist and MC from KwaThema on Johannesburg's East Rand who built his name as a party MC before moving into recording around 2023, encouraged by DJ Maphorisa. He came up as a rapper and is known for a sharp, rhythmic vocal approach that shifts between rap and amapiano, with features including 'Imali iKhona' and 'iNganekwane', and a credit on Vetkuk vs Mahoota's 'BELE' (April 2026). https://viranova.co.za/artist/s-n-e https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/16/3d/26/163d2664-fe06-3a2a-0e91-f4b5b920e8b1/199316653748_cover.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg S.N.E S.N.E is a vocalist featured on 'SASEZOLA' (Novex, Born Kxng, MOONLIGHT AFRIQA & S.N.E), a South African amapiano single released in June 2026 that went viral via TikTok. The track hit number one on South Africa's iTunes Top 200 and Shazam Top 200 and number two on Apple Music South Africa, and topped Apple Music charts in Botswana, eSwatini and Namibia. Music In Africa covered it as a South African release; no individual biographical details for S.N.E are published. https://viranova.co.za/artist/shaunmusiq https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/42/93/b6/4293b6a9-6fda-20f2-6708-825f0161966a/766214702795.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg ShaunMusiq ShaunMusiq is a South African amapiano producer and DJ, best known as half of the duo ShaunMusiq & Ftears, which formed around 2018 and released the debut album 'Skrr Thang II' in 2021. The duo is known for hits such as 'Bhebha' and 'Thata Ahh' with Young Stunna, Madumane and Tyla, and has worked with Daliwonga, Myztro, Mellow & Sleazy and Freddy K. In June 2026 ShaunMusiq released 'Ngiyak'cela' featuring Bassie, LeeMcKrazy and Mashudu. https://viranova.co.za/artist/bassie https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/7f/e3/1a/7fe31ac8-17ca-04b1-fbd7-2574c731ba0a/820233624565.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Bassie Bassie is a South African amapiano singer-songwriter known for a soft, soulful voice, blending amapiano with R&B and Afro-soul influences. Her collaborations include Azana ('Ngibusisiwe', 'Sekuseduzane'), Russell Zuma ('Maduze'), Reece Madlisa and Aymos, and in 2026 she featured on ShaunMusiq's charting single 'Ngiyak'cela' with LeeMcKrazy and Mashudu. Fan biography sites give her real name as Basetsana Maluleka, from Boksburg, Gauteng. https://viranova.co.za/artist/mjikelo https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/4a/06/5a/4a065afa-e477-098e-4ce6-20815d9dc957/8721465721126.png/1200x1200bb.jpg Mjikelo Mjikelo, also credited as uMjikelo, is a South African maskandi vocalist active since 2019. His album Bonnie and Cylde, a twelve-track maskandi project released on 21 September 2025, anchors his own catalogue. In July 2026 he featured on 'uBhanyazile', the title track of Njabulo Langa's album, released via Virgin Music Group SA; coverage of the release describes him as a respected maskandi artist whose contribution adds traditional weight to the song. The collaboration has since registered across verified South African platform chart collections. https://viranova.co.za/artist/ez-maestro https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/b4/a7/24/b4a72424-07cd-eda4-d66e-664e45761627/199376092037_cover.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Ez Maestro Ez Maestro is a South African amapiano artist whose single 'Head Movement' with producer M00tion was released April 17, 2026 under LVRN Records and HGA, and crossed 2 million Spotify streams after going viral through a TikTok dance challenge. He began his career rooted in hip hop before moving into log-drum-driven amapiano, and South African outlet SlikourOnLife has covered the single's success. https://viranova.co.za/artist/sami-kay https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/28/a1/0c/28a10c1f-7a21-52af-2592-1ef718fe81f9/766214697756.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg sami kay Sami Kay, also styled Sami'Kay, is a South African amapiano vocalist heard most often alongside the singer Misokuhle. The pair featured on 'Lengoma' by LKG and MSA, released on 15 August 2025 by Mud House Music Entertainment; the track, rooted in Johannesburg's underground sound, climbed to number eight on the charts and passed 250,000 streams, its featured vocals credited for the song's party-ready groove. The same label issued 'Amanxeba', a joint single with Misokuhle, in July 2025, and in 2026 the two appear together again on Noxolo Ngema's 'Ngiyakhuleka', with Sfundo and Khaya sharing the chorus. https://viranova.co.za/artist/unkosazana https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/65/ef/e0/65efe0d6-4fbd-f070-108b-4d2b4f2145c4/artwork.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg uNkosazana uNkosazana is a South African singer known for soulful vocals on amapiano releases, most visibly as the regular featured voice on Master KB singles including 'Baphi Na', released on 10 April 2026, alongside 'Vuma Vuma', 'Siyabiza Baba', 'Sidakwa Sami' and 'Phumula Ngokuthula (RIP)'. In August 2026 she stepped forward under her own name with 'S'phila Kanjani?', a fourteen-track album released on 7 August through PianoFever, with SKING featured across several songs. Little individual biographical detail is published beyond these credits, but the album marks her shift from featured vocalist to a headline act in her own right. https://viranova.co.za/artist/dj-liddz https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/f1/41/af/f141af08-1dcb-2d72-7f59-5c28b9fe2025/5064021816311_cover.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg DJ Liddz DJ Liddz is a South African gqom DJ and producer, active online as Liddz_ZA, whose catalogue has grown quickly since the album In My Veins 2 in 2024. MY SOLO followed in 2025, and 2026 brought the album LAMONT 4027 alongside the EPs Spam W's Chat and NANDA 4310. He is a presence in the gqom production community beyond his own releases, giving away the free Liddz Gqom Sample Pack Vol 1 for other producers to build on. In August 2026 he featured on GqoMLorD's single 'Mad Dwgs', which has registered across verified South African platform chart collections. https://viranova.co.za/artist/zakwe https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/e7/91/e2/e791e27f-7879-a577-11d4-e3e3ffe79e2b/6009553469900_Cover.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Zakwe Zakwe, born Ntokozo Zakwe on 8 March 1988 in KwaMashu, KwaZulu-Natal, is a South African rapper regarded as one of the faces of kasi rap, known for isiZulu wordplay and hits such as 'Thixo Wami' and 'AMA Level'. His 2011 self-titled debut album was certified gold, and the albums Impande (2015) and Cebisa (2018) followed, the latter also reaching gold. His 2017 single 'Sebentin', featuring Cassper Nyovest and Musiholiq, produced a remix that won Remix of the Year at the 25th South African Music Awards, and in December 2020 he released a joint album with Duncan. He remains active, appearing on the current single 'Umshikashika' alongside SmartBlack Mampondo. https://viranova.co.za/artist/menzi-music https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/2c/b3/dc/2cb3dc65-f41a-68ab-3520-d8d76717266f/artwork.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg MENZI MUSIC MENZI MUSIC is a South African maskandi act led by Menzi Mabizela, releasing under its own MENZI MUSIC PRODUCTION banner. The single 'Kushoda Obaba', featuring Thabiso Shange, Stshomi and Menzi Mabizela, arrived on 19 May 2026 as part of the fourteen-track project Ezohlala Nawe, and a remix of 'Vuma' followed as a single in August 2026. The act is currently one of maskandi's strongest chart presences: in a single week in August 2026 it logged sixty-four appearances across verified South African platform chart collections, peaking at number one. https://viranova.co.za/artist/sandy6eats https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/9d/24/e8/9d24e8a4-b568-2447-3701-8ad987c19f9d/7a2eb97b-2f13-405e-86ad-af1634e5a27e.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Sandy6eats Sandy6eats is a South African amapiano vocalist whose name has spread through a run of heavily collaborative 2026 singles. In March the singer contributed vocals to Tkcreedlion and Mordecai's 'Swidi K'Phela' alongside Springle, Philharmonic and Miikey Ndlovu, a track pitched as a high-energy amapiano anthem of street culture. July brought 'Lilizela', co-fronted with ManQue and Ntaxmu6iQue and featuring NOEX and Buhle Ndalow, while 'Lawula Nkosi', with Mgiba 011, Ashley Shane and Buhle Ndalow, runs under Sandy6eats' own name. These features have registered repeatedly across verified South African platform chart collections, reaching the top twenty. https://viranova.co.za/artist/ntaxmu6ique https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/5e/27/a5/5e27a59f-7750-ee7a-fca7-6e0b3b61cd5d/885288040890.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Ntaxmu6iQue Ntaxmu6iQue is a South African amapiano act whose 2026 has been built on collaboration. On 3 July the act shared billing with Sandy6eats and ManQue on 'Lilizela', featuring NOEX and Buhle Ndalow, a groove-driven amapiano song carried by an isiZulu chorus. Four weeks later came 'Buye Khaya', a joint single with Potoko ZA featuring Masinya Ent and DJ Kasi Duchaz, released on 31 July 2026. Both sit alongside the 2026 project Echoes Of The Current Life in a fast-growing catalogue, and the act's singles have registered repeatedly across verified South African platform chart collections, reaching the top twenty. https://viranova.co.za/artist/njabulo-langa https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/1e/13/fd/1e13fdba-cb4c-39c1-2110-150aef38062f/6009553473174_Cover.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Njabulo Langa Njabulo Langa is a South African maskandi vocalist. He features on Qhabula's single 'Wayedakwa', released on 14 May 2026 in the traditional maskandi style, and steps out as a lead artist with 'uBhanyazile', a collaboration with the respected maskandi singer uMjikelo released on 9 July 2026 and distributed by Virgin Music Group SA. It serves as the title track and lead single of a full-length album of the same name, built on classic maskandi string work: intricate acoustic guitar, fast-paced vocal delivery and deep Zulu storytelling. https://viranova.co.za/artist/slade https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/4b/b3/f7/4bb3f794-9f75-55cf-0883-b94b11c282c1/artwork.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Slade Slade is a South African amapiano singer-songwriter, described by African music outlets as a skilled Mzansi producer and DJ. His single 'Wamuhle', featuring Sino Msolo, Tweezy and Yumbs, was released in 2022 and appears on his seven-track EP 'My Turn'. Note: this is the South African artist, not the British rock band of the same name. https://viranova.co.za/artist/g-jealous https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/ae/49/44/ae49441b-b573-62f6-689c-eea8eed0b923/artwork.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg G-Jealous G-Jealous is the stage name of Bongumusa Jealous Xulu, a South African maskandi singer and producer. His nine-track album 'SIDLA IMALI', released on 16 September 2025, carries a title track featuring Mzukulu and NQOBILE. The single 'Luqale sakudlala', featuring KaMaphanga, followed on 9 July 2026: written, performed and produced by Xulu and released through DistroKid, it pairs fast-paced Zulu acoustic guitar and concertina with a call-and-response between the two vocalists. https://viranova.co.za/artist/newie https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/c8/4f/39/c84f39bc-20a7-503b-4e05-da0f0f5debd7/artwork.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Newie Newie is a gospel vocalist from Limpopo, South Africa. He features on DJ Maryko's single 'Song of Hope (Zwi do luga)', released on 3 April 2026 under a Tshivenda-language title, and has performed the song live in the Venda region of his home province. His own eight-track album 'Songs Of Hope' followed on 15 July 2026 through Rams Media Production, joining a catalogue that also includes the 2026 live collection 'The Best Of Newie'. https://viranova.co.za/artist/deejay-morgan https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/3d/c2/f3/3dc2f383-81ee-3906-322f-d50d99ae5b44/7333591189537.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Deejay Morgan Deejay Morgan is a South African dance music producer and DJ. He records frequently with Asambe Boi — the pair share 'Amagida Ngoma' and mixed volume 315 of African Music Concepts' GqomFridays series — and works with Durban-scene collaborators such as Toolz Umazelaphi. His April 2026 single 'Barakkat' brings in Asambe Boi, Naked Souls DBN and Infinite Sounds Musiq, and his fifteen-track album 'Dynamite Dude' followed on 6 June 2026; his other 2026 singles include 'Intel', with Da Soul Boyz and General C'mamane, and 'Rangers'. https://viranova.co.za/artist/mark-khoza https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/9f/e4/3b/9fe43bc6-97f3-df72-9ed3-0832f48154cc/196874565605.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Mark Khoza Mark Khoza is a South African amapiano MC and DJ, featured in SHAYA!, the 2019 documentary on the genre, alongside Kabza De Small and MFR Souls. His collaborations include 'Mdantso' and 'Ama BBW' with DJ Maphorisa and Kabza De Small, and he is a credited lead artist on Vetkuk vs Mahoota's April 2026 single 'BELE'. On Ricky Lenyora's 2026 album 'LENYORA SZN', released through New Money Gang Records, he features on 'Gucci Tsena', the 'Malacosta' remix and 'Sthombe Esihle Whistle (Revisit)' alongside Zuma. https://viranova.co.za/artist/royal-musiq https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/6b/90/ee/6b90ee03-f8ee-7de8-eac3-4dc87f1825f2/766214702757.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Royal Musiq Royal MusiQ is a South African amapiano DJ and producer who rose to wider attention through 'Wadibusa', a hit collaboration with Uncle Waffles that spread across streaming platforms and social media. The partnership runs deep — the pair also share 'Zenzele' and 'Baphi' — and in May 2026 it produced '4 Da Streets', a joint EP released through Encore Recordings. His own sixteen-track project 'SZEID' followed in 2026, carrying the single 'H's On The Table', released on 3 August 2026. https://viranova.co.za/artist/born-kxng https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/0c/91/40/0c914045-8ae0-6085-77e4-85012320fe3f/1200214421090.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Born Kxng Born Kxng (Sihle Zibane) is a South African vocalist born and raised in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, blending amapiano, 3-step and Afrobeats with Zulu-rooted vocals. His six-track solo project 'Ascension' appeared in August 2024 through Born Music Alliance. He is a featured vocalist on Novex's single 'SASEZOLA' alongside MOONLIGHT AFRIQA and S.N.E, released on 19 June 2026 through SASEZOLA INC and EMPIRE; the single went on to chart on South African platforms. https://viranova.co.za/artist/noex https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/d9/bb/30/d9bb30fb-e39e-3be0-6726-7e4680a4e9c9/6009553473778_Cover.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg NOEX NOEX is a featured vocalist on 'Lilizela', a South African amapiano single by Sandy6eats, ManQue and Ntaxmu6iQue released on Push Recordings in 2026. A profile in Zimbabwe's Herald describes R&B/amapiano singer Noex (Nkosinodumo M Ngwabi) as Bulawayo-raised and South Africa-based, having left Zimbabwe in 2015; it is not fully confirmed that this profile and the charting credit are the same act. https://viranova.co.za/artist/sihayo https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/3d/24/24/3d242438-f18d-f191-93f3-d544adff3871/712132023764_cover.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg SIHAYO SIHAYO is a maskandi act whose single 'Owabulala uBaba', featuring maskandi artist Shenge Wasehlalankosi (Thobelani Buthelezi), was released on 12 June 2026. The song — its title translates to 'The One Who Killed My Father' — is a traditional-style maskandi lament about grief and family loss built on acoustic guitar and storytelling vocals, and it charted on South African platforms. https://viranova.co.za/artist/al-xapo https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/7f/7d/9d/7f7d9d1f-2533-2644-8b98-c1f256dd7be7/766214702283.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Al Xapo Al Xapo is a Johannesburg amapiano artist, DJ and producer whose breakout came with 'Snokonoko', a collaboration with Benzoo and EeQue released in January 2026 through HGA/LVRN Records. The track passed a million streams within days of release and fuelled TikTok dance trends. He followed it with 'Fast Fast' alongside 031Choppa and Benzoo, featuring Roscosteazy, Optimist Music ZA and JussGigi, in March 2026, then the project ESCAPE PLAN: NEW AGE HEIST and the single 'Boots' with Optimist Music ZA, Carter IV and Chle. His releases continue to appear across South African platform charts. https://viranova.co.za/artist/prince-benza https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/bf/42/a8/bf42a839-6e0d-e18a-4fee-e6311f655b5c/766214696957.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Prince Benza Prince Benza, born Benny Raolane in Wisani village, Limpopo, is a producer, DJ and vocalist central to bolobedu house, the style that melds Afro house with traditional Balobedu melodies. Signed to Open Mic Productions, he has worked with Master KG, produced roughly half of Makhadzi's album African Queen, and scored the 2021 hit 'Ghanama' with Makhadzi. His 2026 singles 'O Nrobile Pelo' and 'Life Is Too Short' extend a steady release run, and 'Sanamarena', which carries his feature credit, has charted on South African platforms. https://viranova.co.za/artist/naked-souls-dbn https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/c6/a7/ec/c6a7ecfa-76f8-1e72-60e2-150249b19573/881453448621_cover.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Naked Souls DBN Naked Souls DBN is a gqom production act rooted in Durban's dance scene, releasing through the Durban Gqom Music Concepts label. The 2025 album We Believe in Gqom Umdanso announced the project, and collaborations followed: 'Gqom 4' with IRohn Dwgs and Deejay Morgan's 'Barakkat', which credits Naked Souls DBN alongside Asambe Boi and Infinite Sounds Musiq and has charted on South African platforms. In 2026 the act has kept a rapid pace, issuing the album Gqom Within Me and the singles 'Mgilane's Holiday' and 'Gqom Without Limits', a run that has held its place on South African platform charts. https://viranova.co.za/artist/dark-horse https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/10/fb/ed/10fbedd4-f7ed-b94b-a876-14859f004f33/766214702047.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Dark Horse Dark Horse, also credited as Dark-Horse SA, is a Mpumalanga-born deep house and Afro house producer and DJ who has been active in South African dance music since 2013. Beyond the studio he runs Somnyama Sunsets, an event series showcasing South African dance acts. His August 2026 album Flora Ntlemo is named after his late grandmother, whom he credits with shaping his values, and stands as a tribute to her. The album carries 'Vinny's Meditation', which has charted on South African platforms, where his music has placed as high as seventh in Viranova's verified chart tracking. https://viranova.co.za/artist/ntwaizin https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/93/25/5b/93255ba2-af27-1878-5df1-7af99af6bdfa/artwork.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Ntwaizin Ntwaizin is credited as a lead artist on 'Ntombenhle', a seven-and-a-half-minute amapiano single with Tee Jay and Abuti Lowkey (feat. KP Musiq, K Bryant & Tido da_keyz), released 12 December 2025 and charting on South African platforms. No artist-level biographical profile could be found; South African identity is inferred from the release context and collaborators. https://viranova.co.za/artist/candy-flow-rsa https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/df/e3/33/dfe333f8-e6c4-8879-c73d-ea4ebecf32c1/cover.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Candy Flow RSA Candy Flow RSA is an amapiano artist from Standerton, Mpumalanga, who frequently records with ShennyDaDeejay — the pair released the joint EP 'Road 2 Dubai Mafias' and are associated with the gqom-influenced 'Papta Dubai' amapiano style. Candy Flow RSA is also a co-lead artist on 'BELE' with Mahoota, Mark Khoza and Uncool MC, released 15 April 2026 on Hootas Records. https://viranova.co.za/artist/w4de https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/1d/15/4b/1d154bb6-ffe9-02b5-8bf4-5856474602e1/196874631843.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg W4DE W4DE, born Kutlwano Aleze Moloi, is an amapiano producer and DJ from Gauteng whose percussive, log-drum-driven take on the genre sits in the sgija lane. He released his first commercial project, Sgijapreneur, in 2023 and has kept the series running: 'Hamba Nam', his charting single with vocalist Malemon, appears on Sgijapreneur III. In 2026 he added the Strachan Boys EP and the single 'TEZE' with Royal Musiq, and his records have become fixtures of South African platform charts, appearing thirty times across verified collections in a single week and climbing as high as third. https://viranova.co.za/artist/shenge-wasehlalankosi https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/62/6e/14/626e1454-c415-5ebb-cb4f-8ce8e8513918/6009553468941_Cover.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Shenge wasehlalankosi Shenge wasehlalankosi is a South African maskandi vocalist who folds Afro-soul influences into the traditional style and has built his profile largely through featured appearances on other artists' releases. His credits include SIHAYO's 'Owabulala uBaba', released in June 2026 through Zeligeh Productions and since charted on South African platforms, alongside collaborations with Nhloso Khwela, G-Jealous and Mahostela 97. Under his own name he has released 'Ngafika Ngamatoho' in 2025 and 'Uthando Lwami 2.0' with Samkelisiwe Ncwane in 2026, and in a recent week his music appeared thirteen times across verified local chart collections. https://viranova.co.za/artist/plg-chanty https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/5f/f4/ec/5ff4ec9c-ea01-5c2e-18d2-5461355915d2/820233710114.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg PLG Chanty PLG Chanty is a young vocalist from Bolobedu, Limpopo, working in the province's lekompo and Bacardi dance scene, where she has been active since 2021. Her single 'Stofi Stofoza' with King Master, released in May 2026, charted on South African platforms and drew a bigger name into her orbit: the June 2026 remix, 'Stofi Stofoza 2.0', pairs the two with Focalistic. In 2026 she released the EP 20Chanty6, which includes the track 'Ke Boss', and her records continue to appear across verified South African chart collections. https://viranova.co.za/artist/location-pk https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/fc/10/97/fc1097e0-767a-efc7-5d2f-7dd8017db952/artwork.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Location PK Location PK is a South African maskandi artist whose breakout EP, 'Vuka Vuka Ksile!!!', was released on 15 May 2026. A remix of the title track featuring KaMaphanga, Somcwayi and Stshom followed on 3 July 2026 via ILalelihle ENT, keeping the original's maskandi acoustic strings, rhythmic concertina and spoken-vocal delivery while adding new voices. Short vocal snippets from the song have circulated on social platforms through Zulu dance challenges and performance clips, and Viranova's Pulse tracking logged nine chart appearances for the artist across verified South African platform chart collections in a single August 2026 week, peaking at position 48. https://viranova.co.za/artist/gqomlord https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/f1/41/af/f141af08-1dcb-2d72-7f59-5c28b9fe2025/5064021816311_cover.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg GqoMLorD GqoMLorD is a gqom producer active since at least 2021, with a catalogue that includes 'The Dream Is Big' (2021), 'The Equalizer II' and 'The Equalizer III' (both 2025) and the charting single 'Mad Dwgs' with DJ Liddz (August 2026). The act works within South Africa's gqom scene, collaborating with artists such as Da Soul Boyz, Gqom Twiins and MilyMillz; no hometown has been publicly sourced. https://viranova.co.za/artist/tee-jay https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/bd/04/c0/bd04c0b2-661c-3882-ec9e-447bd52cebca/820200634788.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Tee Jay Tee Jay is a South African amapiano producer who broke through in 2021 with 'Samsokolo' and released his debut solo album, 'Inzalo (The Rebirth)', in August 2023. A frequent collaborator of ThackzinDJ, Sir Trill, Boohle and Nkosazana Daughter, he has kept a steady release schedule since: 'Ntombenhle', a December 2025 single with Ntwaizin featuring KP Musiq, K Bryant and Tido da_keyz, carried him onto verified South African platform chart collections, and 'Oluwa', featuring Novika, followed in 2026. Viranova's Pulse tracking logged seven chart appearances for him in a single August 2026 week, peaking at position 29. https://viranova.co.za/artist/smartblack-mampondo https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/49/a5/fb/49a5fb78-eea4-fd33-33f7-ed5a6faac27b/885288032956.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg SmartBlack Mampondo SmartBlack Mampondo is a Durban-based artist listed by Music In Africa as a spoken-word performer active since 2022, and described there as a writer, poet and fashion stylist behind the 'Amaroto' sartorial movement. His catalogue spans 'Isibani', 'Syofela Khona' and the 2025 project 'Kgatelopele 2.0'. In 2026 he released 'Umshikashika', a single featuring award-winning South African rapper Zakwe that put him on verified South African platform chart collections: Viranova's Pulse tracking logged seven appearances in a single August 2026 week, peaking at position 39. https://viranova.co.za/artist/vetkuk https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/fa/b6/77/fab677d5-42f2-dcd9-bc5d-7679016ffed3/cover.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Vetkuk DJ Vetkuk (Jotham Mbuyisa) is one half of Vetkuk vs Mahoota, the veteran South African house and kwaito duo he formed with Zynne 'Mahoota' Sibika; the pair launched their compilation series in 2001 and have been active for more than two decades. The duo has collaborated with DJ Maphorisa among others, and Vetkuk currently charts as a featured act on 'BELE'. https://viranova.co.za/artist/zeh-mcgeba https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/b4/b5/0a/b4b50a0f-8859-835b-05ac-4668aeda94e8/766214696360.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Zeh McGeba Zeh McGeba is a vocalist based in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, with releases including 'Sohlala Sisonke', 'Khuphuka' and 'Muthi'. He charted as the featured amapiano vocalist on DJ Skillz's 'Phumelela' (November 2025) alongside Afro-soul singer Simmy, and was described by SlikourOnLife as a 'rising Amapiano vocalist'. His own run has kept pace: the project 'VO III' and the single 'Mina Nawe', featuring Massive DJ, both arrived in 2025, followed by a remix of 'Moya Wakho' in 2026. Viranova's Pulse tracking logged nineteen chart appearances for him in a single August 2026 week, peaking at position 9. https://viranova.co.za/artist/benzoo https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/09/d0/75/09d075a1-cb68-f392-c17f-f7019bf8e330/885288186949.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Benzoo Benzoo is a South African amapiano vocalist, described by The Yanos magazine as 'a rising force in the Amapiano industry who has quickly made an impact despite spending less than a year in the spotlight'. He charted as a lead artist on 'Fast Fast' (March 2026) with Durban's 031Choppa and Al Xapo, featuring Roscosteazy, Optimist Music ZA and JussGigi, and has kept the collaborations coming: 2026 singles include 'Stop and Go', featuring Gwitsi, Officixl RSA and De Papzo, and 'Asiwafuni', featuring Marvens. Viranova's Pulse tracking logged sixteen chart appearances for him in a single August 2026 week, peaking at position 30. https://viranova.co.za/artist/original-sedi https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/b1/9c/e5/b19ce5d1-841e-0291-eeab-b5353ec4b172/820233883702.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Original_sedi Original_sedi is a lekompo artist and producer from Polokwane, Limpopo, named by The Heightz Journal among artists 'etched deep into Lekompo's DNA'. The charting single 'Lekunye', released on 3 July 2026 through Limp Flow (Pty) Ltd, is a one-person operation: platform credits list Lesedi Ramphele as performer, songwriter, producer and engineer. Another 2026 single, 'LeQdom', extends a catalogue built since 2023. On Viranova's Pulse tracking, Original_sedi logged thirteen appearances across verified South African platform chart collections in a single August 2026 week, peaking at position 12. https://viranova.co.za/artist/maganga-thishela https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/15/26/55/152655f7-0e24-e6a0-18d4-048e1b1173a9/26UMGIM98246.rgb.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Maganga thishela Maganga Thishela is a South African maskandi vocalist described by FakazaHub as blending 'traditional Maskandi sounds with heartfelt lyrics'. His 2026 album 'Ischaka Esiziqhenyayo' is a fifteen-track project built on collaboration — Sa Hip Hop's listing names Slungile, kaMaphanga, Shenge wasehlankosi, Saliwa and Amabhodigadi among the features. Its charting single, 'Ngethemba umdali' featuring Slungile, was released on 20 July 2026 and carried him onto verified South African platform chart collections: Viranova's Pulse tracking logged twelve appearances in a single August 2026 week. https://viranova.co.za/artist/dj-maryko https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/85/48/95/8548951b-2170-aebb-dc7a-1680f4c80f03/artwork.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg DJ Maryko DJ Maryko is a South African gospel DJ and producer who surfaced in 2026 with the charting single 'Song of Hope (Zwi do luga)', featuring Newie. Released in April 2026, the track is a gospel song sung in English and Tshivenda — African Gospel Lyrics files it under South Africa (Venda) — and is credited to composer Marcus Nkhangwe Nthabalala. On Viranova's Pulse tracking, DJ Maryko logged nine appearances across verified South African platform chart collections in a single August 2026 week, peaking at position 9 — a notable run for an artist active only since 2026. https://viranova.co.za/artist/cardinal-x25 https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/62/8e/e6/628ee6c8-0e0b-a9ef-7da9-8f9aec04dbe5/7333591948097.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Cardinal X25 Cardinal X25 is a South African amapiano vocalist who works mainly as a featured collaborator, lending his voice to other producers' tracks; his real name and hometown are not publicly documented. His February 2026 single "Anginayo Imali" with HBK Live Act, Dj 9.8 SA and Pexi-Tonic SA featuring Ceekay Musiq, released via Mgege Music, reached number four on the iTunes Top 40 amapiano chart according to Mzansi27. A steady run of 2026 singles has followed, including "Izinto Zami" with Elteeflaggz, Makabaza and Pudi Ya Straata, "Thando" and "Bang'qamba", and his songs keep surfacing on verified South African platform charts. https://viranova.co.za/artist/dj-janisto https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/ac/e4/41/ace441d8-a101-d8b6-9d68-196ca5188eba/cover.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg DJ Janisto DJ Janisto is a DJ, producer and events coordinator from Ga-Kgapane in Bolobedu, Limpopo, described on South African music platforms as a pioneer of Balobedu house music. His collaborations include "Wa Inama" with Kharishma and Buddy Sax and "Heal'lang" with Mack Eaze. In 2026 he has released the singles "The Return Of Bolobedu Sound" — a title that doubles as a mission statement — and "My Mother (DJ Mix)", while the collaboration "Skhethe" with WestBoy and Caeser has charted on South African platforms. https://viranova.co.za/artist/mahoota https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/fa/b6/77/fab677d5-42f2-dcd9-bc5d-7679016ffed3/cover.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Mahoota Zynne "Mahoota" Sibika (born 15 March 1963) is a South African DJ and producer, a founding member of the kwaito group Trompies and a partner in the Kalawa Jazmee record label. Since 2001 he has recorded as half of the house duo DJ Vetkuk vs Mahoota, whose club anthems include "Come Duze" and "Lombole" across more than 12 albums. He remains active decades on: recent singles include "Bazomudla imali" (2025) and "Kiss" (2026), both stacked with guest vocalists, while "BELE" has charted. https://viranova.co.za/artist/die-piesangskille https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/e1/01/40/e10140fb-0a4d-e7d2-2f97-7fb4a434db89/26UMGIM82757.rgb.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Die Piesangskille Die Piesangskille is an Afrikaans indie-pop duo formed in August 2022 by North-West University Potchefstroom students Daniel Marais (vocals, from Kimberley) and Johan Balt (guitar, from Knysna). They signed a two-album deal with Universal Music South Africa in January 2023, and their charting song "Inge 2" (2023) appears on debut album Almal Gly. The pair have kept releasing steadily since, with the 2026 singles "Duikweg Vreemdeling" and "Mia (Remix)" keeping them on South African platform charts. https://viranova.co.za/artist/calvin-fallo https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/43/6e/84/436e843a-c125-4860-a911-bb234c6bda33/823375145356_Cover.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Calvin Fallo Calvin Fallo, born Katlego Mashilane, is a Pretoria (Mamelodi) DJ, producer and songwriter working across house, deep house and amapiano, and is recognised as one of the early contributors to the amapiano movement. His catalogue includes the albums Mind Your Bassness (2022), Distorted (2025) and Blueprint (2026), and he has collaborated with Major League DJz, Abidoza, Kaylow and Lady Zamar. 'Everybody Wanna Be In Love', released 17 April 2026, appears on his project 'If Its Not Broken Dont Fix It'. https://viranova.co.za/artist/nia-pearl https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/24/41/27/244127d7-6d37-5e96-899d-197beebdab67/766214702566.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Nia Pearl Nia Pearl, born Peleka Lwana in Mthatha, Eastern Cape, is a South African amapiano, Afro-pop and soul vocalist. She broke through via collaborations with Kabza De Small, appearing on five tracks of his 2020 album I Am the King of Amapiano: Sweet & Dust, and has also worked with DJ Maphorisa. Her releases include the EP Dreamers & Believers (2021) and the collaborative EP TRINITY (2022) with Nicole Elocin and Bontle Smith. https://viranova.co.za/artist/we-dem-boyz https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/25/65/0a/25650a66-72a1-b5e4-0826-e927d8611a35/766214701996.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg We Dem Boyz We Dem Boyz are a South African group straddling gqom and amapiano: their single "Isulumane" with Assiye Bongzin and Naitor, released 29 May 2026, is described as a gqom anthem, while other coverage notes hard-hitting log-drum amapiano production and chant-style vocals. Their releases include the albums NGOB IDOMBOLO and F[OUR] SOUNDS (2026) and the single "Still Searchin". No verified information about individual members or a hometown has been published, yet the music carries: the group currently appears across verified South African platform charts, peaking inside the top 20. https://viranova.co.za/artist/nvcho https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/e2/cd/7b/e2cd7b91-700c-1e07-7f7a-99306181e6bd/199316699982_cover.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Nvcho Nvcho is a South African amapiano vocalist and composer from the East Rand who came up through DBN Gogo's Zikode Records studio alongside producer Stixx. His November 2023 breakout "Dlala Stixx" with Mathandos and his hand in composing Babalwa M's "Bo Thata" (2024) established him in the scene. His debut album Letters I Didn't Send, released in March 2026, works through love, loss and regret and was led by the single "AmaCorrection" featuring Babalwa M; the singles "Thandanda" and "Phone Yam" have followed this year. https://viranova.co.za/artist/kaycherlow-nll https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/11/4f/18/114f18c9-b5d6-33ad-be19-ea385bcdcf8f/196874546840.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg KayCherlow NLL KayCherlow NLL is a South African singer-songwriter working between amapiano and lekompo: his 2026 single "Chocolate Gaga" with Cliff Kayden is classified as amapiano, while its official video is billed as a lekompo-inspired anthem, and coverage describes him blending pop, R&B and Afrobeat elements. The Mail & Guardian calls him a rising lekompo star and one of Limpopo's fastest-growing new voices; his collaboration with King Monada, "LAEF", appears on the deluxe edition of King Monada's album I Khant Do Dhis Enimo (2026). He currently appears across verified South African platform charts, peaking in the top 15. https://viranova.co.za/artist/m00tion https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/b7/45/3d/b7453dc3-8994-249b-0b76-3ac1f33e0cfd/196874556832.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg M00tion M00tion is an amapiano and electronic producer who releases through the M00tion Music imprint and whose biographical details remain scarce: no published source documents the act's nationality or hometown. The single "YOH HAI" with Brodie.Bro, released 1 May 2026, is tagged amapiano and electronic and has passed 500,000 plays on Audiomack. A productive 2026 has also brought the Ma Brodo EP and the singles "Ka Letheka" and "Seducer", and M00tion's tracks currently appear across verified South African platform chart collections. https://viranova.co.za/artist/tsebebe-moroke https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/2a/f3/37/2af33736-b29d-6558-fe10-1acc477a943b/766214703020.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Tsebebe Moroke Tsebebe Moroke, the Katlehong producer and DJ known as 'The Soulful Prince', makes amapiano that leans deep, soulful and jazz-inspired. He built his reputation through the For the Matured promo mixtape series — continued in 2026 with FORTHEMATUREDPROMOMIXTAPE25 — and the projects Soulful Prince 2.0 (2024) and Soulful Prince 3.0 (2025), and has appeared on Groove Cartel's amapiano showcase. In August 2026 he appeared alongside Mick Man on 'Ingress', a track on Mick Man's album Stellenbosch Drive, while his own charting single 'MAJOBELA' has carried his name onto verified South African platform charts. https://viranova.co.za/artist/ba-bethe-gashoazen https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/d6/2b/7d/d62b7d61-1ecc-61df-59e9-929f3b2fbad3/766214702290.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Ba Bethe Gashoazen Ba Bethe Gashoazen is a record producer and DJ widely credited as a pioneer and 'godfather' of lekompo, the Limpopo dance style that grew out of Bolo House; platform bios also describe him as Pretoria-based, mixing amapiano, house and Limpopo dance sounds. He is signed to Sony Music and his collaborations include 'Di Number' with Makhadzi and Enny Man Da Guitar and 'Skhethe' with WestBoy, Caeser and DJ Janisto. https://viranova.co.za/artist/mashelela https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/90/78/90/90789051-c834-1c2e-8f42-8a96e4fc9ecc/artwork.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Mashelela Mashelela, born Sabelo Ngubane on 29 September 1990 in Ulundi, KwaZulu-Natal, came up through school choirs and traditional Zulu dance before launching a maskandi recording career. His albums include Iskhwele Seshende (2019) and Icala Lobushende (2022), and the 2026 album Imbongolo Yishende carries the single 'Hamba Sathane', featuring Sne Ntuli, released on 31 July 2026. The run has registered on the charts: in one recent week Mashelela logged 30 appearances across verified South African platform chart collections, peaking at position 7, with 'Hamba Sathane' among the charting titles. https://viranova.co.za/artist/phelelani-vox https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/a1/43/a2/a143a263-fba3-1999-c5ed-e6cf5d985415/artwork.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Phelelani Vox Phelelani Vox is a South African gospel singer known for live-recorded worship. His signature release, 'Khanyisa (Live)', has charted on South African streaming platforms, and the live track 'Ngiyazibongela' works in the same register. He followed in 2026 with the singles 'Ungikhetha Kanjani?' and 'Hamba Nathi'. The momentum is measurable: in one recent week he logged 22 appearances across verified South African platform chart collections, peaking at position 8. Beyond the music, little verified biographical detail about the singer is publicly available. https://viranova.co.za/artist/natiey-lepaka https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/5f/f4/ec/5ff4ec9c-ea01-5c2e-18d2-5461355915d2/820233710114.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Natiey Lepaka Natiey Lepaka, born Jack Nthoneng Makwela, is a rapper from Mankweng, Limpopo, who champions a regional style he calls Lekompo, folding Sepedi slang and social commentary into hip-hop production. Early releases 'Mankweng Stand Up' (2021) and 'Staya Nobody' (2024) root the project in his home town. 2026 brings the EP 20Chanty6, the single 'Warrior' with LTD Muzika and KayyKayy Production, and the charting single 'Dipelo', featuring Wendy M and DJ Tsp; in one recent week he logged 18 appearances across verified South African platform chart collections. https://viranova.co.za/artist/mahostela-97 https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/5e/aa/cd/5eaacd62-0c7b-ce11-9375-711128ab4304/artwork.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Mahostela 97 Mahostela 97 is a South African maskandi act about whose members little verified biographical detail is publicly available — the records have travelled regardless. Its single 'Yimi Umaqondana', featuring kaMaphanga, Yolokazi and Nalithi, arrived on 31 July 2026 through 5833909 Records DK and is the act's charting title: in one recent week Mahostela 97 logged 13 appearances across verified South African platform chart collections, reaching number 1 at best. Earlier releases include the single 'Ngibhale', and a second 2026 single, 'Uwena Wedwa', extends the run. https://viranova.co.za/artist/leemckrazy https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/f0/4d/52/f04d5230-355b-1825-aa22-15ced2e771cf/196874213629.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Leemckrazy LeeMcKrazy, born Linda Mnisi on 9 May 1999 in Diepkloof, Soweto, broke through in 2021 with 'Eloyi', recorded alongside DJ Jaivane, Sinny Man'Que and Mashudu. The amapiano vocalist's albums Intando ka God and Intando Ka God 2.0 (2024, under Sony Music Africa) were followed by Krazyway (Agent 2.0) and the eight-guest single 'Ba Rata Monate' in 2025, and in March 2026 by Macala, a joint album with QuayR Musiq. His single 'Ngiyak'cela', featuring Mashudu, has charted on South African platforms. https://viranova.co.za/artist/trechyson-molly-vx https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/29/ba/a3/29baa39b-f447-210c-a2d0-0fd5a3a2e6bb/766214700098.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Trechyson Molly vx Trechyson Molly vx is a South African amapiano producer, DJ and vocalist who has been making music since 2014 and cites Kabza De Small and Kelvin Momo among his influences. His single 'Ka Di Weekend', recorded with Jinger Stone and distributed globally through Africori under the Hit Music Money imprint, has charted on South African platforms — in one recent week he logged 10 appearances across verified platform chart collections. A second 2026 single, 'Botshelo Ke Eng 2.0', continues the run. https://viranova.co.za/artist/babalwa-m https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/e6/1c/bd/e61cbddd-eb01-fee9-0eda-29aa894e374f/ticket.wadxucwr.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Babalwa M Babalwa M, born Babalwa Mavuso on 25 January 1994 in Soweto, rose to prominence through her 2020 EP Bayeke with producer Kelvin Momo and is widely described as the 'Queen of Private School Amapiano'. She won Amapiano Artist of the Year at the 2025 Basadi in Music Awards, and her 2025 album Acquiesce earned a SAMA nomination for Best Amapiano Album. https://viranova.co.za/artist/winter-hotel https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/d6/5d/c4/d65dc4dd-b134-135d-b73b-64a987f9cf3d/1200214644864.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Winter Hotel Winter Hotel is a South African Afrikaans music project that grew out of the collaboration between singer Bernice West and Droomsindroom on 'Toelaat'. Its debut single 'Heuning' introduces a deliberately nostalgic blend of music, story and imagery: staging developed with theatre director Jannes Erasmus, costumes by Chantelle Schnetler Design, and a stated ambition to one day seat audiences in a theatre and let them inhabit the project's world for an hour. 'Heuning' has charted on South African platforms, and a second 2026 single, 'A Grave for Hope', extends the catalogue. https://viranova.co.za/artist/mashudu https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/46/69/33/466933f5-29a7-24c1-26eb-d63fbb992d14/766214698968.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Mashudu Mashudu is a South African vocalist credited across current amapiano releases. She delivers a featured vocal on ShaunMusiq, Bassie & LeeMcKrazy's single 'Ngiyak'cela' (released June 12, 2026, ahead of ShaunMusiq's 'Missing Piece' album) and appears alongside Nia Pearl and Rory Diamondz on Tycoon's 'Emazweni' (June 2026, from the album 'Art of Love III'). Her single 'Deliwe' (May 2026) is a three-way credit with De Soul and Frank Mabeat that features Tumisho, while 'Ngiphuma Khona' carries Cnethemba Gonelo and Frank Mabeat. Over the past week she logged 26 appearances across verified South African platform chart collections, peaking at number 2. https://viranova.co.za/artist/makhadzi-entertainment https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/e1/fe/96/e1fe9605-f7e8-6542-6d7f-ab20ffc42c0d/766214702993.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Makhadzi Entertainment Makhadzi Entertainment is the label founded in 2023 by Limpopo-born singer Makhadzi (Ndivhudzannyi Ralivhona) after she left Open Mic Productions, and it doubles as the artist credit under which she now releases and charts. Chart entries such as 'Kikirika' (with PLG Chanty, featuring M.J & Gusba Banana) are credited to Makhadzi Entertainment. Makhadzi was born in 1996 in Ha-Mashamba, Limpopo province. https://viranova.co.za/artist/litshepe-lr https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/a7/b5/c1/a7b5c190-337c-8464-ed6d-c1b40bc9fb63/820233628754.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Litshepe Lr Litshepe Lr is a South African artist whose Sesotho-titled single 'Lerato laka' ('My Love') appears on the album 'Motheo', released February 27, 2026 under the CRYSTL Group label. A 2026 remix of the song features South African vocalists Lwah Ndlunkulu and MaWhoo. The five-track EP 'Maja - Samo', also issued through Crystl Group, followed on August 7, 2026. Over the past week the artist logged 16 appearances across verified South African platform chart collections, reaching number 12 at best. Sources conflict on further biographical detail, so little else can be stated reliably. https://viranova.co.za/artist/rory-diamondz https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/01/bb/af/01bbafdc-9183-152b-68ea-0f680adb4332/820233142342.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Rory Diamondz Rory Diamondz is a South African artist credited as a featured act on a steady run of 2026 amapiano releases. Credits include Tycoon's 'Emazweni' (with Nia Pearl and Mashudu, June 2026), from the album 'Art of Love III', 'Maseko' with ShaunMusiQ & Thatohatsi, and 'Xola' alongside Khalil Harrison, Ceeka RSA and Londie London. Rory Diamondz also shares billing with DJ Veek on 'Ndlela', a single carried by Mustbedubz's album 'KWANDA', released August 7, 2026. Over the past week the vocalist logged 13 appearances across verified South African platform chart collections, peaking at number 2. https://viranova.co.za/artist/assiye-bongzin https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/a2/8b/e0/a28be012-f0ad-7f72-958c-acd9bb9c3899/766214699545.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Assiye Bongzin Assiye Bongzin is a South African artist credited on 'Isulumane' with We Dem Boyz and Naitor, released May 29, 2026 via Best in Africa. The partnership with Naitor runs deeper: 'Double Trouble' (May 2026) is a joint six-track gqom EP whose guests include GoldMax, Blacks Jnr, Moh&DaLee, TrevorMusiq, Dankie Boi, Futha Mfethu and Vanger Boyz, with 'Echoes' among its tracks. Other credits include 'Stimela Sase Durban' with Moh&DaLee, Naitor and TrevorMusiq. Over the past week the artist logged 10 appearances across verified South African platform chart collections. No solid biographical detail is published, so identity beyond these credits is unverified. https://viranova.co.za/artist/cliff-kayden https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/4d/27/fc/4d27fc00-325c-e185-ce80-fc0b8f0d0096/6009553470975_Cover.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Cliff Kayden Cliff Kayden is a South African producer associated with Limpopo's lekompo sound. He is credited alongside Kaycherlow NLL and Hitboss SA on the 2026 single 'My Ninja', and rejoined Kaycherlow NLL on 'Chocolate Gaga', released April 30, 2026, which went on to chart. Earlier collaboration credits connect him to 'Areyeng' and 'Kasi Kompo Sound'. Over the past week he logged 8 appearances across verified South African platform chart collections, reaching number 13 at best. https://viranova.co.za/artist/nova-sa-style https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/36/5a/9e/365a9e18-bb78-0a6c-126c-bd6b4f957081/196874337547.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Nova sa style Nova sa style is a South African act credited on 'Skhethe' with Ba Bethe Gashoazen, WestBoy, Caeser and DJ Janisto (May 2026), and on '11 Gram' and '10 Gram' with Real K Mfanakota and Westboy (2025). The act also appears on 'Lerato Le Fedile' alongside BL Zero, Shebeshxt and Naqua SA. No verified biographical details beyond these collaboration credits are published. https://viranova.co.za/artist/031choppa https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/6b/90/ee/6b90ee03-f8ee-7de8-eac3-4dc87f1825f2/766214702757.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg 031choppa 031choppa is a Durban rapper (031 is Durban's dialling code) who works across hip-hop and amapiano. His 2023 EP 'NKABICARDI PACK' featured Anatii, he teamed with Big Zulu on the amapiano single 'Ushun Wekandla' in 2024, and he appeared alongside Okmalumkoolkat on Qwellers' 'What's The QOH' the same year. In 2026 he released 'Detour', landed the charting single 'Fast Fast' with Roscosteazy, Optimist Music ZA and JussGigi, and guested on 'Abo Gogo' from Royal MusiQ's 16-track album 'SZEID', released August 3, 2026. https://viranova.co.za/artist/yumbs https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/10/d9/a8/10d9a8af-6c4d-11ab-8986-75b3be065e87/196874429624.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Yumbs Yumbs (Ayanda Oratile Yumba), born in Kagiso township in 2002, broke through in 2020 by co-producing Musa Keys' 'Vula Mlomo' and has since worked with Kelvin Momo, Major League DJz, DJ Maphorisa and Blxckie. His charting single 'Izimangaliso' (with Zwayetoven, feat. Kailey Botman and Khanyisa), from their joint album Soul Buddies, passed 1.5 million global streams in 2025 and became a viral gospel-tinged amapiano anthem. https://viranova.co.za/artist/tycoon https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/81/12/97/81129744-8667-fd4b-5b7e-76a86149cee2/766214700661.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Tycoon Tycoon is a South African amapiano artist described by SA outlets as an 'Amapiano powerhouse' known for emotionally rich, dance-ready productions. His charting single 'Emazweni' (feat. Nia Pearl, Rory Diamondz & Mashudu), released 26 June 2026, is taken from his album 'Art of Love III', an 11-track set on themes of love and relationships whose collaborators also include Kabza De Small, Kelvin Momo, MDU aka TRP, Focalistic, Babalwa M and Nvcho. Over the past week he logged 13 appearances across verified South African platform chart collections, peaking at number 2. https://viranova.co.za/artist/gaba-cannal https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/a4/e9/19/a4e91961-4e3b-2225-d40d-f68dedc08a9c/6009553470685_Cover.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Gaba Cannal Gaba Cannal (Khaka Yena) is a South African music producer and DJ from Daveyton, Gauteng, known for a soulful house take on amapiano. He founded his independent label Gaba Cannal Music Pty-Ltd in 2014 and has released albums including 'Amapiano Legacy' (2020), 'Agape' (2022), 'Baw'Yena' (2024) and 'EL ROI: The God Who Sees Me' (2025), with 'Opening Prayer' among his charting tracks. The 2026 single 'Nyuka Nayo', released April 24, 2026 through his own imprint, pairs him with DeBryan and Kabza De Small, and in the past week he logged 13 appearances across verified South African platform chart collections. https://viranova.co.za/artist/isitha-sama-ex https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/06/2d/fd/062dfdad-b91c-9d33-6c82-a99cbc6aa95e/artwork.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Isitha sama ex Isitha sama ex is a South African maskandi singer-songwriter, active since 2021, who releases under SAMA EX RECORDS. His sound folds gqom influence into maskandi and is characteristically built around featured vocalists, a format running through known tracks such as 'Songena Ngodlame' and 'Ugodo Lami'. The 2026 EP Imfene Yakho continues that approach, its title track pairing him with KaMaphanga, and the single has charted on South African platforms. https://viranova.co.za/artist/tribby-wadi-bhozza https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/cf/41/94/cf4194bd-647e-d92d-6566-9d4472ba8cc2/766214703273.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Tribby Wadi Bhozza Tribby Wadi Bhozza, born Tshepang Mphahlele in Lebowakgomo Zone A, Limpopo, began his music career in 2019 and works in the province's lekompo and Bolobedu dance scene. He has collaborated with King Monada, Shebeshxt, Makhadzi and Kharishma. His 2026 releases include the EP Kasi Flavour and the single 'Pelo Yaka', a collaboration with Poobington, Wendy Moon and Hitboss SA that has charted on South African streaming platforms. https://viranova.co.za/artist/stixx https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/e6/1c/bd/e61cbddd-eb01-fee9-0eda-29aa894e374f/ticket.wadxucwr.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Stixx Stixx, born Samuel Seloane in 2003, is an amapiano producer and DJ from KwaThema on Gauteng's East Rand, credited as one of the pioneers of 'Kwapi', a blend of amapiano and kwaito. His debut album Test of Time arrived in 2023, and he works closely with vocalists such as Nvcho and Babalwa M. His 2026 run includes Transkei, the singles 'Waka' and 'Market Place 2.0' with The Bless, and the charting 'Bo Thata', which credits him alongside Nvcho. https://viranova.co.za/artist/optimist-music-za https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/3d/71/15/3d7115d0-bc34-bdda-0047-95f20f7d6287/885288186055.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Optimist Music ZA Optimist Music ZA is an amapiano artist from Pretoria, Gauteng, born 1 November 1996 according to his Apple Music profile. He is credited on Uncle Waffles and Shakes & Les' track 'Khula' from the 2023 EP 'Solace', and on singles including 'Mali (Kumnandi)' with Chley and Musa Keys (2022). His earlier releases include the albums 'Let Me Speak My Mind' (2019) and 'Inhlanganhlangano' (2020), and he currently charts on 'Fast Fast' by AI Xapo and Benzoo featuring Roscosteazy and JussGigi (2026). https://viranova.co.za/artist/simmy https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/e2/8c/cc/e28ccc5b-51d9-d2af-ef08-18cb71349540/6009553474232_Cover.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Simmy Simmy (Simphiwe Majobe Nhlangulela) is an Afro-house and neo-soul vocalist born in Tugela, KwaZulu-Natal, who signed to EL World Music in 2017. Her debut album Tugela Fairy (2018) was certified platinum by RiSA, and she followed it with Tugela Fairy (Made of Stars) in 2020 and the Ithuba EP in 2024. Her charting single 'Phumelela', a 2025 collaboration with Skillz and Zeh McGeba, has kept her on South African platform charts, and 2026 singles include 'Dela' and 'Ngiyabonga' with Earl Breezy and Teddy Moloi. https://viranova.co.za/artist/sino-msolo https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/41/3a/57/413a57e3-9dbb-7806-ed10-cc9875992710/6009553470197_Cover.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Sino Msolo Sino Msolo is a South African vocalist from Flagstaff, Eastern Cape, born 15 September 1997 according to his Apple Music profile. His albums include 'Mamela' (2019), 'Fezisa' (2022), 'KWAM' (2024) and 'Ndaba' (2026), several released through his own Sino Msolo Records. He is a frequent featured vocalist on amapiano and Afro-house records, appearing with Kelvin Momo, De Mthuda, Nkosazana Daughter, Kwesta, and on Simmy's 'Ngihamba Nawe'. https://viranova.co.za/artist/maqhikiza https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/98/71/cd/9871cd76-0617-bb25-36e2-6f679a9af1b9/artwork.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg MAQHIKIZA MAQHIKIZA is a Zulu-language South African act that self-releases through MAQHIKIZA MUSIC PRODUCTION. The 2026 album 'Unyoko uyedwa kuyihlo' contains the charting single 'Abondli' and follows the 2024 EP 'SYOBULALA UKUFA' and 2025 singles 'Ikhaya lakithi' and 'Ithole'. Collaborators include maskandi vocalists Shenge waseHlalankosi, Sne Ntuli and Sne Ndodakazi, and the catalogue includes the track 'Uhlukaniswa umaskandi'; no real name or hometown is published on the sources found. https://viranova.co.za/artist/credo-v-daniels https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/49/7b/55/497b55e7-afd1-f870-0970-2aa93b70e56c/cover.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Credo V Daniels Credo V Daniels is a Johannesburg-based artist; his Apple Music profile lists Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa as home and a birth date of 4 October 1989. His 2026 album 'Still Where We Were' (Indian Hill / MPANDEZEMITHI Holdings Pty Ltd) contains the charting single 'Sedilaka', and a stripped companion album 'Where We Still Were' followed in July 2026. His 2026 singles include 'Kortes', 'N A D I A' and the Sepedi-titled 'Tsele Ke Tsaka'. https://viranova.co.za/artist/ungena https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/74/52/67/7452674d-42b3-96bc-5cbb-fe9c862ffcb2/artwork.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg uNgena uNgena is a South African maskandi act; its 2024 album 'Uqinile Umthetho' is listed under the Maskandi genre on Apple Music and carries the copyright line of Sbongiseni Thwala (a 2024 single credits Mdumiseni Sbongiseni Thwala). Follow-up albums are 'I-Apartheid' (2025) and 'Seniyazenzela' (2026), the latter containing the charting Zulu-language track 'Emabaleni'. No hometown or member details are published on the sources found. https://viranova.co.za/artist/jussgigi https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/45/81/e0/4581e08e-7d6d-786a-a1b7-69e60b4458a6/196874573914.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg JussGigi JussGigi is credited on South African amapiano and dance releases, including the charting single 'Fast Fast' (2026) by AI Xapo and Benzoo with Roscosteazy and Optimist Music ZA, and 'Samba 8' (2025) with Shakes & Les, released under exclusive licence to Gallo Record Company. The 2026 album 'Low Down Dirty South' was released via Kreative Kornerr Communications (Pty) Ltd and distributed by Sony Music Entertainment Africa. No real name or hometown is published on the sources found. https://viranova.co.za/artist/skillz https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/ff/f6/38/fff6386b-fa7e-e95e-a07f-fdb7edc16640/766214695004.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Skillz DJ Skillz (Zwakele Mdletshe) is a South African DJ and producer whose December 2025 six-track EP 'Phumelela' leads with the title track featuring Afro-soul vocalist Simmy and amapiano vocalist Zeh McGeba, and includes 'Isgubhu', a tribute to the late Mampintsha of Big Nuz. His production credits include work with Zee Nxumalo, DJ Zinhle, Zakes Bantwini, Babes Wodumo and Nkosazana Daughter. https://viranova.co.za/artist/khuthuza https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/a7/b5/c1/a7b5c190-337c-8464-ed6d-c1b40bc9fb63/820233628754.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Khuthuza Khuthuza, born Khethokuhle Ngobese and popularly known as 'Handsome Khuthuza', is a South African maskandi singer. His 2026 single 'Ubuhle Bendalo', featuring the Qwabe Twins, has charted on South African platforms; earlier release 'Ngijola Nebhinca' paired him with Mafikizolo, and the EP Maja - Samo followed in 2026. His profile has grown offstage too: a publicised feud with Samkelo Shezi, which escalated to an assault charge, ended with the charge dropped and both men confirming they had reconciled. https://viranova.co.za/artist/naitor https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/a2/8b/e0/a28be012-f0ad-7f72-958c-acd9bb9c3899/766214699545.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Naitor Naitor is a gqom artist active in Durban's Afrotainment-linked scene, an act known through collaboration credits rather than a public biography. He appears on tracks from SunOrnza's 2025 debut EP, including 'Ama Dollar' and 'Makoti Ekhishini', alongside DJ Tira, Captain and Campmasters. His 2026 releases include the Double Trouble EP and 'Isulumane', a single credited with We Dem Boyz and Assiye Bongzin that has charted on South African platforms. Little verified biographical detail circulates beyond these credits. https://viranova.co.za/artist/appel https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/b2/a4/74/b2a4742b-16f7-d559-fdf1-b5d1e75dbb50/1200214718015.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Appel Appel is the stage name of Christoph Kotzé, an Afrikaans singer-songwriter from Brits, North West, who released two albums under his own name before the 2017 debut Lei my na die water launched the Appel project. Albums have followed steadily — Boer loop deur my are (2018), Patriot (2019), which reached number one on the iTunes chart, Hardwerkende Man (2021) and Wille Ding (2023) — alongside the 2025 EP Genesis. His August 2026 single 'Yippee-Ki-Yay', with Riaan Benadé, Ricus Nel and Bok van Blerk, has charted on South African platforms. https://viranova.co.za/artist/malemon https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/74/c5/94/74c594d6-b342-2b43-728e-440d56778c04/199316554861_cover.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Malemon Malemon is a South African amapiano act who released the eight-track collaborative EP 'Two Man Job' with Mr Nation Thingz in 2026, blending sgidongo and kwaito-inspired textures with features from King P, Tee Tee SA, ATK MusiQ and Cuba Beats. Malemon also features on W4DE's 'Hamba Nam' and Sam Deep's 'Bade Lam', and was billed alongside Kammu Dee to perform at the Orlando Pirates vs Mamelodi Sundowns match at FNB Stadium in February 2026. https://viranova.co.za/artist/quality-biyela https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/34/44/cb/3444cbbd-f07a-d0a1-6186-599f96cb32c1/artwork.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Quality Biyela Quality Biyela is a maskandi singer active in KwaZulu-Natal's scene, where he claims the honorific 'iLembe', saying he was inspired by King Shaka's intelligence. His recorded output includes the 2026 EP Nizolala nidakiwe and the single 'Ithemba lami', which has charted on South African platforms. He is also known for a widely publicised altercation with fellow maskandi star Khuzani Mpungose at a Ladysmith festival, which ended with Biyela dropping assault charges after a reconciliation brokered by Big Zulu. https://viranova.co.za/artist/barto https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/05/78/de/0578de32-8f1f-a4de-6287-cf3cdc036a24/196874516553.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Barto Barto is a South African Afrikaans singer who made his name with the songs 'Impulsief', 'H2Oë' and 'Vlam in die Wind', and packed out a Pietersburg Laerskool show in Polokwane in November 2025. He appears on the live recording of the 2023 Krone by Loftus finale alongside Kurt Darren, Snotkop and Bernice West. He reunited with West for 'Dank Die Here Vir Jou', a June 2026 duet released through Select Musiek, a division of Sony Music Entertainment Africa, which charted on South African platforms and features on his five-track EP Nuwe Spore, the follow-up to 2023's OASE. https://viranova.co.za/artist/major-league-djz https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/e3/8d/1f/e38d1fea-af6c-a242-9504-ee09d40805af/196872921083.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Major League DJz Major League DJz are twin brothers Bandile and Banele Mbere, Johannesburg-raised DJs and producers who have become amapiano's most visible global ambassadors. Born in Boston in 1991 to exiled South African parents, the pair cut their teeth promoting parties in Johannesburg before pivoting from hip-hop to amapiano. Their lockdown-era Balcony Mix series carried the genre from Johannesburg rooftops to the world, and in 2022 they became the first amapiano act to play Coachella. Recent work, including the 2025 Jorja Smith collaboration "Come With Me", pushes their log-drum sound into wider electronic territory. https://viranova.co.za/artist/sha-sha https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/7a/d8/2c/7ad82c1e-7727-c3d6-322b-826ab21a908f/96694.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Sha Sha Sha Sha, born Charmaine Shamiso Mapimbiro in Mutare, Zimbabwe, is the vocalist fans have crowned the queen of amapiano. She broke through on DJ Maphorisa and Kabza De Small productions before her 2019 debut EP Blossom, carrying the hit "Tender Love", and in 2020 she became the first Zimbabwean artist to win a BET Award, taking Best New International Act. After her debut album I'm Alive (2022) and a two-year hiatus, she returned in 2024 with the Kelvin Momo collaboration "Ndawana" and the single "Eglasini", and has teased a new album for September 2026. https://viranova.co.za/artist/pabi-cooper https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/f9/c2/28/f9c22850-87d0-62d6-e266-92ab6914dfdb/766214690979.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Pabi Cooper Pabi Cooper, born Paballo Mothapo in Soshanguve, north of Pretoria, is one of amapiano's most recognisable young stars. She started out as a dancer before her debut single "Isphithiphithi" (2021) was certified platinum within six months of release, and she was named Best Newcomer at the Amapiano Awards in December 2021. Her debut EP Cooperville followed in 2022 on her own label, Cooper Entertainment. She has kept up a steady release run since, with singles including "Pabi Jo" (2024) and the DJ Maphorisa-assisted "Pelo Tse Thata" (2025). https://viranova.co.za/artist/vigro-deep https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/6c/5f/2b/6c5f2b0d-886e-b401-be53-81ad9636d70a/25UM1IM48401.rgb.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Vigro Deep Vigro Deep, born Kamogelo Phetla in Atteridgeville, Pretoria, is one of amapiano's pioneering producers and DJs. Active since 2017, the son of Godfathers of Deep House co-founder DJ Spring broke through as a teenager with his Baby Boy mixtape series and the single "Black Power", signing to the storied Kalawa Jazmee label. His darker, bass-heavy take on the genre has earned gold certifications for "Blue Monday" and "Africa Rise" and a South African number one with "Wishi Wishi". Now touring across Africa, Europe, the UK and the United States, he returned in 2025 with his fifth studio album, Baby Boy V. https://viranova.co.za/artist/murumba-pitch https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music116/v4/7a/87/79/7a877985-f760-92dc-9054-5499a43608eb/6009553437282_Cover.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Murumba Pitch Murumba Pitch is a South African amapiano act formed in Johannesburg in 2020 by Emmanuel "Omit ST" Mathye and Thabang Innocent "Maeywon" Mongolo. Known for a soulful, vocal-led take on the genre, the pair released the albums Obrigado and Horumar in 2022 before the 17-track Isidalo arrived in February 2024, carrying features from Kelvin Momo, Boohle, Daliwonga and Nkosazana Daughter. Streaming hits such as "Hamba Juba", "Wena Dali" and "Esangweni" drew more than 700,000 monthly Spotify listeners. The duo announced a mutual split in March 2025, and Mongolo now carries the Murumba Pitch name forward, releasing the album Me To Me later that year. https://viranova.co.za/artist/caiiro https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/66/0c/50/660c5095-cf3b-3be7-e502-d00de28abec0/859789700577.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg Caiiro Caiiro, born Patrick Dumisani Mahlangu in the KwaNdebele region of Mpumalanga, is one of South Africa's leading Afro house and Afro tech producers. He broke through with his 2016 debut album First Impressions and has since built an international touring career, with dates spanning New York, Amsterdam, Luxembourg and Greece. His collaboration with AWEN, "Your Voice", became a global hit after Adam Port's remix passed 53 million Spotify plays, and his catalogue spans six studio albums, including Pyramids (2022) and the self-titled Caiiro (2024). He now draws more than 870,000 monthly Spotify listeners. https://viranova.co.za/artist/da-capo https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/77/ac/4f/77ac4f33-aa66-dd78-1473-5c1c3b818966/5059449219981.png/1200x1200bb.jpg Da Capo Da Capo, born Nicodimas Sekheta Mogashoa in Seshego, Polokwane, is one of South Africa's defining Afro house producers. A self-taught DJ who signed his first record deal at twenty, he broke through with Indigo Child (2017), certified double platinum by the Recording Industry of South Africa, and founded his own label Genesys Entity in 2020. His sets have travelled from Hï Ibiza to OUTPUT in New York and Djoon in Paris. In June 2025 he returned with Indigo Child II: Love & Frequency, a deeply personal sequel featuring MaWhoo, Soul Star, Elaine and FKA Mash. https://viranova.co.za/artist/txc https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music211/v4/57/ae/ce/57aece01-ca70-5691-2f2f-04cec810e535/198588056394.jpg/1200x1200bb.jpg TxC TxC are the Gqeberha-born DJ and production duo of Tarryn Reid and Clairise Hefke, childhood friends who played their first gig in Johannesburg in October 2019 and have grown into one of amapiano's most visible international acts. They performed at the 2022 FIFA World Cup festivities in Qatar, released debut EP A Fierce Piano in 2022, and broke through globally with 2024's Turn Off The Lights EP on US label LVRN. In June 2025 they won the BET Award for Best New International Act, and they now draw more than two million monthly listeners on Spotify. https://viranova.co.za/event/ladysmith-black-mambazo-at-de-la-warr-pavilion-2026-08-06 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/ladysmith-black-mambazo-at-de-la-warr-pavilion-2026-08-06-cd55a0477e.jpg Ladysmith Black Mambazo at De La Warr Pavilion Part of Ladysmith Black Mambazo's August 2026 UK run, listed on the group's own shows page and on sale through the venue. Seated evening concert. https://viranova.co.za/event/black-coffee-saturdays-at-hi-ibiza-2026-08-08 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/black-coffee-saturdays-at-hi-ibiza-2026-08-08-e567befc5d.jpg Black Coffee — Saturdays at Hï Ibiza Black Coffee's eighth consecutive year of Saturday-night residency at Hï Ibiza, running every Saturday from 2 May to 3 October 2026. On this date he heads the Theatre with Mita Gami and Salomé Le Chat, while Skepta, OMRI., Brunello and Ossie take the Club Room. Doors 23:30 until close, 18+. https://viranova.co.za/event/ladysmith-black-mambazo-at-band-on-the-wall-2026-08-08 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/ladysmith-black-mambazo-at-band-on-the-wall-2026-08-08-196b459144.jpg Ladysmith Black Mambazo at Band on the Wall Doors 19:00, artists on stage 20:00. The venue currently marks this show as sold out. Confirmed on the group's official shows page and the venue listing. https://viranova.co.za/event/zee-nation-fest-2026-2026-08-09 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/zee-nation-fest-2026-2026-08-09-b57821a802.png Zee Nation Fest 2026 DJ Zinhle hosts and headlines her own day-to-night Women's Month festival at the Johannesburg Expo Centre, with a 30-plus artist bill. Doors 12:30, music from 14:30 until late; tickets are on sale. https://viranova.co.za/event/shekhinah-at-rosefest-2026-2026-08-09 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/shekhinah-at-rosefest-2026-2026-08-09-af3c780bfb.jpg Shekhinah at Rosefest 2026 Shekhinah performs at the festival she founded, which doubles in size for 2026 and moves to Casalinga in Muldersdrift for a Women's Day all-female bill. Gates 10:00; tickets R200–R450 via Webtickets. https://viranova.co.za/event/elaine-at-rosefest-2026-2026-08-09 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/elaine-at-rosefest-2026-2026-08-09-af3c780bfb.jpg Elaine at Rosefest 2026 Elaine is billed on the expanded all-female Rosefest 2026 lineup at Casalinga, Muldersdrift, on Women's Day. Gates 10:00; tickets R200–R450 via Webtickets. Gauteng Tourism's official Women's Month guide also lists her among the performers. https://viranova.co.za/event/ladysmith-black-mambazo-at-the-queen-s-hall-2026-08-09 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/ladysmith-black-mambazo-at-the-queen-s-hall-2026-08-09-b87a4e519f.jpg Ladysmith Black Mambazo at The Queen's Hall Closing night of the group's August 2026 UK run. Doors 19:30, performance 20:30. Age 14+, under-16s must be accompanied. https://viranova.co.za/event/mzukulu-album-tour-cape-town-2026-08-14 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/mzukulu-album-tour-cape-town-2026-08-14-53229d596a.jpg Mzukulu Album Tour - Cape Town The Cape Town leg of Mzukulu's album tour for Ng'funa Intozami, performed live with a full band in the Baxter Concert Hall. Two performances, 14 and 15 August, both at 18:00. https://viranova.co.za/event/black-coffee-saturdays-at-hi-ibiza-2026-08-15 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/black-coffee-saturdays-at-hi-ibiza-with-kasango-2026-09-12-e567befc5d.jpg Black Coffee — Saturdays at Hï Ibiza One of the mid-August dates in Black Coffee's Saturday residency at Hï Ibiza. He helms the main Theatre floor; Damian Lazarus returns to the Club Room for a fourth year. Doors 23:30 until close, 18+. https://viranova.co.za/event/cassper-nyovest-hosts-the-32nd-south-african-music-awards-sama32-2026-08-15 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/cassper-nyovest-hosts-the-32nd-south-african-music-awards-sa-e5521391aa.png Cassper Nyovest hosts the 32nd South African Music Awards (SAMA32) Cassper Nyovest co-hosts the 32nd Annual South African Music Awards, themed the 'Homecoming Edition', with 5FM's Zanele Potelwa. Doors open 17:00 for a 20:00 start; minimum age 12, smart casual dress. https://viranova.co.za/event/mzukulu-album-tour-cape-town-second-night-2026-08-15 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/mzukulu-album-tour-cape-town-second-night-2026-08-15-0800fec4a0.jpg Mzukulu Album Tour - Cape Town (second night) Second of two Cape Town nights on the Mzukulu Album Tour at the Baxter Theatre Centre, listed on the Baxter's own What's On calendar for 14-15 August 2026. https://viranova.co.za/event/black-coffee-saturdays-at-hi-ibiza-2026-08-22 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/black-coffee-saturdays-at-hi-ibiza-2026-08-08-e567befc5d.jpg Black Coffee — Saturdays at Hï Ibiza Black Coffee's Saturday residency continues at Hï Ibiza. The 2026 season runs weekly until the closing party on 3 October. Doors 23:30 until close, 18+. https://viranova.co.za/event/uncle-waffles-on-asake-in-god-we-trust-world-tour-brooklyn-2026-08-26 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/uncle-waffles-on-asake-in-god-we-trust-world-tour-brooklyn-2-baa68314d5.jpg Uncle Waffles on Asake: In God We Trust World Tour, Brooklyn Uncle Waffles supports Asake on the In God We Trust World Tour at Barclays Center. All ages; VIP upgrade add-ons are offered. https://viranova.co.za/event/piano-people-in-the-park-2026-2026-08-28 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/piano-people-in-the-park-2026-2026-08-28-bbf9793543.jpg Piano People in the Park 2026 Kelvin Momo performs with his Jazz Cruise band on the Park Stage at the third edition of London's biggest amapiano festival, a two-arena event at Southwark Park running roughly 14:00 to 22:30. https://viranova.co.za/event/morda-at-piano-people-in-the-park-2026-08-28 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/piano-people-in-the-park-2026-2026-08-28-bbf9793543.jpg Mörda at Piano People In The Park Mörda is billed on the Park Stage at the third edition of London's Piano People In The Park, an all-day open-air amapiano festival running 14:00–22:30 at Southwark Park. Kelvin Momo & The Jazz Cruise headline; tickets went on general sale on 30 April 2026. https://viranova.co.za/event/mellow-sleazy-at-e1-london-2026-08-28 https://viranova.co.za/event-poster/mellow-sleazy-at-e1-london-2026-08-28.svg Mellow & Sleazy at E1 London Mellow & Sleazy headline the 1,600-capacity E1 in Wapping with CowBoii supporting, doors 22:00. Tickets are on sale via DICE from £11.33. https://viranova.co.za/event/we-r-afro-themostwanted-friends-africa-live-tour-2026-08-29 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/we-r-afro-themostwanted-friends-africa-live-tour-2026-08-29-20dda6042b.jpg We'R Afro — TheMostWanted & Friends Africa Live Tour Jazzwrld is billed alongside Thukuthela for the first full live-band edition of the We'R Afro tour in Africa, from 18:00 at Uhuru Gardens. Further guests were still to be announced at the time of listing. https://viranova.co.za/event/impucuzeko-maskandi-festival-2026-2026-08-29 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/impucuzeko-maskandi-festival-2026-2026-08-29-1c9a66b63d.jpg Impucuzeko Maskandi Festival 2026 Khuzani is billed on the lineup of the Impucuzeko Maskandi Festival at Moses Mabhida Stadium. The Computicket BoxOffice listing runs the festival from 10:00 on Saturday 29 August through to 01:00 on Sunday 30 August 2026, with tickets on sale from R150. https://viranova.co.za/event/lekompo-fest-second-annual-in-tembisa-2026-08-29 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/lekompo-fest-second-annual-in-tembisa-2026-08-29-bd86c15636.jpg Lekompo Fest (Second Annual) in Tembisa Shandesh is billed on the second annual Lekompo Fest at Hospital View Sports Grounds in Tembisa. Strictly no under-18s. https://viranova.co.za/event/txc-with-mellow-sleazy-at-forum-digbeth-2026-08-29 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/txc-with-mellow-sleazy-at-forum-digbeth-2026-08-29-f497af85e5.jpg TXC with Mellow & Sleazy at Forum, Digbeth Mellow & Sleazy support TXC at Forum in Digbeth, doors 16:00, with CowBoii also on the bill. The show has been on sale three months and is now listed as sold out (tickets were from £18.36 on DICE). https://viranova.co.za/event/tribute-to-women-2026-2026-08-29 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/tribute-to-women-2026-2026-08-29-13612cc6fb.jpg Tribute to Women 2026 Webtickets lists Msaki on the bill for the annual Tribute to Women day festival at Marks Park in Emmarentia. Gates open 11am and the event ends at 7pm; children under 5 enter free. https://viranova.co.za/event/amanda-black-at-vaal-kota-festival-2026-2026-08-29 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/amanda-black-at-vaal-kota-festival-2026-2026-08-29-0a3a0bc452.jpg Amanda Black at Vaal Kota Festival 2026 Amanda Black leads the official final line-up for the Vaal leg of the Kota Festival, a 10:00-22:00 day festival at Emerald Resort & Casino in Vanderbijlpark. Tickets are on sale via Webtickets and Computicket BoxOffice; the ticket pages confirm the date, venue and pricing, while the line-up was published on the festival's own Facebook, Instagram and TikTok channels. https://viranova.co.za/event/blxckie-at-vaal-kota-festival-2026-2026-08-29 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/amanda-black-at-vaal-kota-festival-2026-2026-08-29-0a3a0bc452.jpg Blxckie at Vaal Kota Festival 2026 Blxckie appears on the official final line-up for the Vaal Kota Festival at Emerald Resort & Casino, a 10:00-22:00 day festival. Tickets are on sale via Webtickets and Computicket BoxOffice. https://viranova.co.za/event/k-o-at-vaal-kota-festival-2026-2026-08-29 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/amanda-black-at-vaal-kota-festival-2026-2026-08-29-0a3a0bc452.jpg K.O at Vaal Kota Festival 2026 K.O is named on the official final line-up for the Vaal Kota Festival at Emerald Resort & Casino in Vanderbijlpark, a 10:00-22:00 day festival. Tickets are on sale via Webtickets and Computicket BoxOffice. https://viranova.co.za/event/mpumi-mtsweni-sisters-live-2026-08-29 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/mpumi-mtsweni-sisters-live-2026-08-29-c53ef52444.jpg Mpumi Mtsweni & Sisters Live Nontokozo Mkhize is billed alongside headliner Mpumi Mtsweni for a worship and revival night at Carnival City's Big Top Arena. Doors 18:00. Tickets listed as on sale via Webtickets from R300; the listing page did not publish a direct booking link. https://viranova.co.za/event/uncle-waffles-on-asake-in-god-we-trust-world-tour-atlanta-2026-08-30 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/uncle-waffles-on-asake-in-god-we-trust-world-tour-brooklyn-2-baa68314d5.jpg Uncle Waffles on Asake: In God We Trust World Tour, Atlanta Uncle Waffles plays State Farm Arena as part of Asake's In God We Trust World Tour. VIP upgrade add-ons are available separately. https://viranova.co.za/event/shimza-x-poney-club-2026-season-closing-2026-08-30 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/shimza-x-poney-club-2026-season-closing-2026-08-30-1b751e833f.png SHIMZA x PONEY CLUB 2026 (season closing) Shimza makes his first appearance at Poney Club for the closing of the venue's 2026 season, on a bill with Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano. Lilya Mandre opens the evening, with a Cabza b2b John Spano warm-up. https://viranova.co.za/event/worship-court-sa-victor-thompson-with-dr-tumi-2026-08-30 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/worship-court-sa-victor-thompson-with-dr-tumi-2026-08-30-d7bfc62a8c.jpg Worship Court SA — Victor Thompson with Dr Tumi Dr Tumi is billed to join Nigerian gospel artist Victor Thompson at the Johannesburg edition of the Worship Court concert series, staged at the Lyric Theatre at Gold Reef City on Sunday 30 August 2026 at 16:00. Tickets are on sale through Webtickets, where the official listing names Victor Thompson as the headline act; Dr Tumi's appearance is reported by gospel press rather than printed on the ticketing page. https://viranova.co.za/event/bafunny-bafunny-south-african-festival-of-comedy-live-at-sunbet-arena-2026-09-04 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/bafunny-bafunny-south-african-festival-of-comedy-live-at-sun-f3c47d9372.png Bafunny Bafunny: South African Festival of Comedy — Live at SunBet Arena The Pretoria leg of the Savanna-backed Bafunny Bafunny comedy festival, captained by Trevor Noah, runs across 4 and 5 September. Doors open 18:00 and the show starts 19:00. No under-18s. https://viranova.co.za/event/galaxy-947-joburg-day-2026-2026-09-05 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/galaxy-947-joburg-day-2026-2026-09-05-b87f87200a.jpg Galaxy 947 Joburg Day 2026 Kabza De Small headlines the 2026 edition of Galaxy 947 Joburg Day, gates from 09:00. The first 2 000 tickets sold include preferential parking. The Chill Zone is an 18+ area. https://viranova.co.za/event/dbn-gogo-at-afro-plus-fest-2026-2026-09-05 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/musa-keys-at-afro-plus-fest-2026-2026-09-05-c18e478677.jpg DBN Gogo at Afro Plus Fest 2026 DBN Gogo appears on the South African / Piano District section of the Afro Plus Fest line-up. The festival runs 4-6 September 2026 at Northwest Stadium; her set is listed for the Saturday. https://viranova.co.za/event/musa-keys-at-afro-plus-fest-2026-2026-09-05 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/musa-keys-at-afro-plus-fest-2026-2026-09-05-c18e478677.jpg Musa Keys at Afro Plus Fest 2026 Musa Keys is billed on the Piano District stage at Afro Plus Fest, the three-day festival at Northwest Stadium over US Labor Day weekend (4-6 September 2026). https://viranova.co.za/event/947-joburg-day-2026-2026-09-05 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/947-joburg-day-2026-2026-09-05-774ffb9714.jpg 947 Joburg Day 2026 Sun-El Musician is on the announced line-up for 947 Joburg Day at Crocodile Creek Polo Club in Lanseria. Gates 09:00; the first 2 000 tickets include preferential parking. https://viranova.co.za/event/exclusive-white-spring-picnic-2026-09-05 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/exclusive-white-spring-picnic-2026-09-05-9ba7e740f9.png Exclusive White Spring Picnic Computicket lists Daliwonga among the performers for the Denim and White themed Exclusive White Spring Picnic at Willowmoore Cricket Stadium in Benoni. Tickets range from R195 to R750. https://viranova.co.za/event/nasty-c-at-grxxvy-escape-ft-oscar-mbo-johannesburg-2026-09-12 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/nasty-c-at-grxxvy-escape-ft-oscar-mbo-johannesburg-2026-09-1-e6d3e9a742.png Nasty C at Grxxvy Escape ft. Oscar Mbo: Johannesburg Nasty C is billed on the Phase 1 line-up of Oscar Mbo's Grxxvy Escape day festival at The River Cabin in Fourways, alongside Dlala Thukzin. Gates 14:00, no under-18s; earlier ticket phases have sold out. https://viranova.co.za/event/sunset-music-series-presents-sjava-2026-09-12 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/sunset-music-series-presents-sjava-2026-09-12-6bfbe9e06a.jpg Sunset Music Series presents SJAVA Sjava headlines the Sunset Music Series at the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden, with gates at 13:00 and the concert ending at 17:00. Picnic blankets and own food are allowed; the show goes ahead rain or shine with no refunds. https://viranova.co.za/event/dlala-thukzin-at-grxxvy-escape-ft-oscar-mbo-johannesburg-2026-09-12 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/dlala-thukzin-at-grxxvy-escape-ft-oscar-mbo-johannesburg-202-6f089d4ca5.png Dlala Thukzin at Grxxvy Escape ft. Oscar Mbo: Johannesburg Dlala Thukzin is named on the Phase 1 line-up of Oscar Mbo's Grxxvy Escape at The River Cabin, Fourways, with Nasty C. Gates 14:00, no under-18s. https://viranova.co.za/event/grxxvy-escape-ft-oscar-mbo-johannesburg-2026-09-12 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/dlala-thukzin-at-grxxvy-escape-ft-oscar-mbo-johannesburg-202-6f089d4ca5.png Grxxvy Escape ft. Oscar Mbo: Johannesburg Oscar Mbo headlines his own Grxxvy Escape day festival at The River Cabin in Fourways, with Nasty C and Dlala Thukzin on the announced Phase 1 line-up and further phases still to be revealed. Runs 14:00 to 00:01, no under-18s; VIP tables from R20,000. https://viranova.co.za/event/black-coffee-saturdays-at-hi-ibiza-with-kasango-2026-09-12 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/black-coffee-saturdays-at-hi-ibiza-with-kasango-2026-09-12-e567befc5d.jpg Black Coffee Saturdays at Hï Ibiza — with Kasango Kasango joins Black Coffee and Mahmut Orhan in the Theatre for the 12 September date of Black Coffee's Saturday residency at Hï Ibiza. Skepta, SG Lewis, Arielle Free and Meeshy take the Club Room. Doors 23:30. https://viranova.co.za/event/morda-at-grxxvy-escape-ft-oscar-mbo-johannesburg-2026-09-12 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/morda-at-grxxvy-escape-ft-oscar-mbo-johannesburg-2026-09-12-86ab232ba1.jpg Mörda at Grxxvy Escape ft. Oscar Mbo: Johannesburg Mörda appears on the billed lineup for the Johannesburg edition of Grxxvy Escape, a 14:00-to-midnight day party at The River Cabin in Fourways. Tickets are on sale via Quicket (Super Early Bird R320 and Early Bird R390 sold out; General P1 R450, General P2 R550, Late Bird R650). Note: the official Quicket page still lists Phase 2 and 3 artists as to be announced, so Mörda's set is billed on listings rather than the promoter's own lineup graphic. https://viranova.co.za/event/dj-lag-at-making-time-2026-2026-09-18 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/dj-lag-at-making-time-2026-2026-09-18-72a06f906b.png DJ Lag at Making Time ∞ 2026 DJ Lag is named on the official Making Time ∞ 2026 lineup. The festival runs 18–20 September 2026 at the historic Fort Mifflin in Philadelphia, with Bicep, Kim Gordon, Daphni and Theo Parrish among 120-plus acts. Passes are sold through Resident Advisor. https://viranova.co.za/event/bafunny-bafunny-south-african-festival-of-comedy-live-at-suncoast-casino-2026-09-19 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/bafunny-bafunny-south-african-festival-of-comedy-live-at-sun-1b3b356f06.png Bafunny Bafunny: South African Festival of Comedy — Live at Suncoast Casino The Durban date of Trevor Noah's Bafunny Bafunny comedy festival tour. Doors 18:00, show 19:00, ending around 23:00. No under-18s. https://viranova.co.za/event/francis-mercier-presents-soley-with-shimza-2026-09-19 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/francis-mercier-presents-soley-with-shimza-2026-09-19-04f696c7f3.jpg Francis Mercier presents Solèy — with Shimza Shimza plays Francis Mercier's Solèy label showcase at Reframe Studios Outdoors in Los Angeles. Doors 8pm, running to 1am; the event is 21+. https://viranova.co.za/event/old-mutual-music-at-the-lake-series-sjava-full-band-simmy-q-twins-dj-sbu-2026-09-24 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/old-mutual-music-at-the-lake-series-sjava-full-band-simmy-q--f4f1a9b951.png Old Mutual Music at the Lake Series - Sjava (Full Band), Simmy, Q Twins & DJ Sbu Sjava performs with a full band for the Heritage Day edition of the Old Mutual Music at the Lake series at the lake inside the Durban Botanic Gardens, 13:00 to 17:00. Proceeds go to the Garden Window Project. https://viranova.co.za/event/bafunny-bafunny-south-african-festival-of-comedy-live-at-grandwest-2026-09-25 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/bafunny-bafunny-south-african-festival-of-comedy-live-at-sun-f3c47d9372.png Bafunny Bafunny: South African Festival of Comedy — Live at GrandWest The Cape Town leg of Bafunny Bafunny runs over two nights, 25 and 26 September, at the Grand Arena. Doors 18:00 and show 19:00. No under-18s. https://viranova.co.za/event/thandiswa-mazwai-at-standard-bank-joy-of-jazz-2026-2026-09-25 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/thandiswa-mazwai-at-standard-bank-joy-of-jazz-2026-2026-09-2-949713da82.jpg Thandiswa Mazwai at Standard Bank Joy of Jazz 2026 Thandiswa Mazwai leads a tribute to Hugh Masekela at the 27th Standard Bank Joy of Jazz, which runs across four stages at the Sandton Convention Centre on 25 and 26 September 2026. The organisers have not yet published which of the two nights she performs; gates for both nights are listed at 18:30 on Ticketmaster. https://viranova.co.za/event/maskandi-fest-east-london-2026-09-26 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/maskandi-fest-east-london-2026-09-26-71f9174ac0.jpg Maskandi Fest East London Umafikizolo is listed on the lineup for the East London leg of Doek on Fleek's Maskandi Fest, running 10:00 to 20:00 at Buffalo City Municipality Stadium. Tickets on sale from R50. https://viranova.co.za/event/ngwathe-spring-experience-music-festival-2026-2026-09-26 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/ngwathe-spring-experience-music-festival-2026-2026-09-26-e108729632.jpg Ngwathe Spring Experience Music Festival 2026 Scotts Maphuma is a confirmed name on the Ngwathe Spring Experience line-up at Fezile Dabi Stadium in Tumahole, Parys. Gates 10:00; the festival runs over 26-27 September. https://viranova.co.za/event/25k-presents-loyal-to-the-plug-2026-2026-09-26 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/25k-presents-loyal-to-the-plug-2026-2026-09-26-6536f1677b.jpg 25K presents Loyal To The Plug 2026 Loyal To The Plug is 25K's flagship annual event in Pretoria, returning on Saturday 26 September 2026 from 15:00 at 012 Central in Helen Joseph Street. Tickets are on sale through Webtickets at R100 to R200; the supporting line-up had not been revealed at the time of the announcement. https://viranova.co.za/event/the-luxurious-marble-circus-2026-day-2-2026-09-27 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/the-luxurious-marble-circus-2026-day-2-2026-09-27-b83c6cd325.png The Luxurious Marble Circus 2026 — Day 2 Kabza De Small leads the line-up for the third edition of the food, fashion and music festival, themed 'Evophoria', running 26–27 September. He is billed for the Sunday as one half of the Scorpion Kings with DJ Maphorisa, on a day skewed toward house and amapiano. Gates 12:00 to 23:00, 18+. https://viranova.co.za/event/kasango-harriet-s-rooftop-session-2026-09-27 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/kasango-harriet-s-rooftop-session-2026-09-27-6ec386a46f.jpg Kasango: Harriet's Rooftop Session A limited-capacity Afro house rooftop session with Kasango at Harriet's Rooftop, running 3pm to 10pm (doors 2:50pm), 19+. Support from CELESTAI, differentHUMAN, Vodka, Precet and Cetstronaut. https://viranova.co.za/event/major-league-djz-at-chinois-ibiza-2026-10-02 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/major-league-djz-at-chinois-ibiza-2026-10-02-52c467141e.jpg Major League DJz at Chinois Ibiza Oscar Mbo plays the Major League DJz night at Chinois Ibiza alongside 2shoes and Lews, running 23:30 to 06:00. https://viranova.co.za/event/shandesh-one-woman-show-2nd-annual-2026-10-03 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/shandesh-one-woman-show-2nd-annual-2026-10-03-3a3e1ba8e6.jpg Shandesh One Woman Show (2nd Annual) 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. https://viranova.co.za/event/amanda-black-at-jozi-kota-festival-2026-2026-10-03 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/amanda-black-at-jozi-kota-festival-2026-2026-10-03-19c295109d.jpg Amanda Black at Jozi Kota Festival 2026 Amanda Black is billed among the headliners for the Jozi edition of the Kota Festival, themed EZASE MZANSI: iDiski, running 10:00 until midnight at the Johannesburg Expo Centre in Nasrec. Tickets went on sale on 3 August 2026 through Computicket BoxOffice; headliners are still being rolled out on the festival's official channels. https://viranova.co.za/event/emtee-at-jozi-kota-festival-2026-2026-10-03 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/amanda-black-at-jozi-kota-festival-2026-2026-10-03-19c295109d.jpg Emtee at Jozi Kota Festival 2026 Emtee is named among the headliners announced for the Jozi Kota Festival, themed EZASE MZANSI: iDiski, running 10:00 until midnight at the Johannesburg Expo Centre in Nasrec. Tickets went on sale 3 August 2026 via Computicket BoxOffice. https://viranova.co.za/event/a-reece-at-jozi-kota-festival-2026-2026-10-03 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/amanda-black-at-jozi-kota-festival-2026-2026-10-03-19c295109d.jpg A-Reece at Jozi Kota Festival 2026 A-Reece is billed among the headliners announced for the Jozi Kota Festival, themed EZASE MZANSI: iDiski, at the Johannesburg Expo Centre in Nasrec from 10:00 until midnight. Tickets went on sale 3 August 2026 through Computicket BoxOffice. https://viranova.co.za/event/cufa-2026-gospel-sunday-2026-10-04 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/cufa-2026-gospel-sunday-2026-10-04-5cc9366f7e.jpg CUFA 2026 Gospel Sunday Benjamin Dube headlines a twelve-artist gospel bill at CUFA 2026 Gospel Sunday, held at the Old Grey Sports Club in Bloemfontein on Sunday 4 October 2026 from 13:00. Tickets are on sale via Computicket BoxOffice from R300. https://viranova.co.za/event/labyrinth-presents-jazzwrld-thukuthela-live-show-2026-10-10 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/labyrinth-presents-jazzwrld-thukuthela-live-show-2026-10-10-d24caaa07a.jpg Labyrinth presents: JAZZWRLD & Thukuthela Live Show Jazzwrld and Thukuthela return to London for a larger headline show after selling out Village Underground in May 2026. Doors 22:00 to 04:00, last entry 02:00, 18+. https://viranova.co.za/event/tyla-a-pop-world-tour-london-2026-10-15 https://viranova.co.za/event-poster/tyla-a-pop-world-tour-london-2026-10-15.svg Tyla A*POP World Tour — London The first of two consecutive Brixton nights on the European leg of the A*POP World Tour (she also plays the same venue on 16 October). The European run opens in Paris on 12 October. https://viranova.co.za/event/the-united-tour-johannesburg-2026-10-16 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/the-united-tour-johannesburg-2026-10-16-5441835897.png The United Tour — Johannesburg Ntokozo Mbambo shares the bill with Nqubeko Mbatha, Mmangaliso and Tshepang on the Koko Records-produced United Tour, at Rhema Bible Church North in Randburg on Friday 16 October 2026 from 18:00. Tickets run from R350 general admission to R1 200 for the VVIP hospitality package, with further guest artists still to be announced. https://viranova.co.za/event/maskandi-fest-east-rand-2026-10-17 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/maskandi-fest-east-rand-2026-10-17-3d2c490ea2.jpg Maskandi Fest East Rand Umafikizolo is billed for the East Rand leg of the Maskandi Fest Heritage Tour at Dries Niemandt Park in Kempton Park, 10:00 to 20:00, tickets from R150. https://viranova.co.za/event/sjava-10-year-celebration-tour-carnival-city-jhb-2026-10-23 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/sjava-10-year-celebration-tour-carnival-city-jhb-2026-10-23-541386a1cc.png Sjava 10 Year Celebration Tour: Carnival City JHB Sjava marks a decade since his debut with a 10 Year Celebration Tour stop at the Big Top Arena, running through hits including Amafu, uMama, Confession, Umcebo and Balele. Webtickets lists the show as sold out online. https://viranova.co.za/event/sunset-music-series-presents-ami-faku-manana-2026-10-24 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/sunset-music-series-presents-ami-faku-manana-2026-10-24-52e2aa9061.png Sunset Music Series presents Ami Faku & Manana Ami Faku shares the Sunset Music Series bill with Manana at the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden. Gates open 1pm and the concert ends at 5pm; children under 5 enter free. https://viranova.co.za/event/maskandi-fest-harrismith-the-heritage-tour-2026-10-31 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/maskandi-fest-harrismith-the-heritage-tour-2026-10-31-5646f77dfb.jpg Maskandi Fest Harrismith — The Heritage Tour Umafikizolo is on the announced lineup for the Harrismith leg of Maskandi Fest: The Heritage Tour at Intabazwe Stadium, 10:00 to 20:00, tickets from R150. https://viranova.co.za/event/zamna-mexico-city-2026-2026-10-31 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/zamna-mexico-city-2026-2026-10-31-ac31479171.png Zamna Mexico City 2026 Shimza is the first artist listed on Zamna's Día de Muertos weekend return to Mexico City at the Velódromo Olímpico. Gates 5pm; the full line-up had not yet been published at the time of checking. https://viranova.co.za/event/sunset-music-series-presents-msaki-thando-zide-2026-11-07 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/sunset-music-series-presents-msaki-thando-zide-2026-11-07-7dd34e9107.jpg Sunset Music Series presents Msaki & Thando Zide Msaki headlines the Sunset Music Series with Thando Zide at the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden in Roodepoort. Gates open 1pm and the concert ends at 5pm. https://viranova.co.za/event/a-joyous-nye-31-2026-12-31 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/a-joyous-nye-31-2026-12-31-43d5cecaf6.jpg A Joyous NYE 31 Joyous Celebration headline A Joyous NYE 31, a New Year's Eve gospel production at the Big Top Arena, Carnival City on Thursday 31 December 2026. Doors open 18:00 for a 19:00 start running to 01:00, with tickets from R450 to R1 000 on Webtickets. The date is also listed on Sun International's own Carnival City events calendar. https://viranova.co.za/event/tyla-a-pop-world-tour-cape-town-2027-01-04 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/tyla-a-pop-world-tour-cape-town-2027-01-04-7d23fe8877.jpg Tyla A*POP World Tour — Cape Town The opening night of the South African leg of Tyla's first global headline tour, running 18:00–23:00. General admission is 6 years and older with no unaccompanied minors; the Golden Circle standing area is restricted to ticket holders aged 12 and over who are at least 1.2m tall. https://viranova.co.za/event/tyla-a-pop-world-tour-johannesburg-2027-01-09 https://viranova.co.za/media/viranova/event-posters/tyla-a-pop-world-tour-johannesburg-2027-01-09-65bd20fdfe.jpg Tyla A*POP World Tour — Johannesburg The closing show of Tyla's A*POP World Tour, listed 18:00–23:00 at the Nasrec Expo Centre. Presented by Anything Goes & Showtime, with the same age rules as the Cape Town date.