Known as the enigmatic spirit of African Soul, South Africa’s Bongeziwe Mabandla is a multiple award-winning artist who has recorded four acclaimed albums, performed on an array of national and international stages, become a sought-after creative collaborator and expanded his talents into film and visual art.
Mabandla first came to the attention of music fans with his 2012 debut, Umlilo. Working with composer, instrumentalist and producer Tiago Correia-Paulo, he has since released a trio of albums – Mangaliso (2017), iimini (2020) and his latest, amaXesha (2023).
Umlilo saw Mabandla being called a “modern miracle” by Radio France Internationale (RFI). “His haunting, ethereal voice carries messages of heartache and healing from the Eastern Cape and yet captures the contemporary urban-African landscape,” said RFI, referencing his childhood in the rural town of Tsolo where the singer, songwriter and musician grew up singing in church, at school and at home before heading to Johannesburg to study drama at AFDA.
In 2018, he won his first award when Mangaliso took home the South African Music Award (SAMA) for Best Alternative Music Album, with iimini winning the same category at the 2021 SAMAs. In 2024, Mabandla was awarded the Metro FM Award for Best African Pop, further cementing his status as a genre-defying artist. His other accolades include Best Music Video at the 2018 Capital City Black Film Awards and at the Jozi Film Fest for “Bawo Wam”, a collaboration with Spoek Mathambo. Both Mangaliso and iimini significantly expanded Mabandla’s global audience and sound, taking the latter into a realm of experimentation and creativity that simultaneously roots itself in the deep and fertile soil of his folk instincts and expansive electronica.
Released in the opening months of the pandemic, iimini made American Songwriter’s Top Albums of the Year in 2020. In its write-up, the publication said: “With each song acting as a chapter in the book of their story together, Bongeziwe brought out all the passion and pain that comes from opening one’s heart to another. His voice, the balm to calm and soothe even the saddest of hearts that, during a time of quarantine, had nowhere else to go but in.”
In the same year, Mabandla was included in Billboard’s Live-At-Home performance with the music publication saying “Viewers can look at him, whether they understand Xhosa, and channel his despair and desire for someone right through the screen that connects them from thousands of miles apart.” NPR’s All Songs Considered featured “masiziyekelele” off iimini on its Heat Check show, describing it as “a gorgeous saving grace in trying times.” “The South African soul singer transports you to the streets of Johannesburg to tag along with him and his new love, creating a rushing montage of flirtation, harmonies and butterflies. It’s definitely a world worth getting lost in.” Mabandla also featured in ColorsxStudios’ HOME/BRED series during the global lockdown – a performance that later featured in the platform’s Best Of edition.
iimini charted on both iTunes and Spotify and inspired a series of remixes including “Ndanele (Dwson Dub Remix)” (nominated for a 2021 SAMA in the category Remix of the Year), Muzi’s version of “Mini Esadibana Ngayo”, DJ Lag’s remix of “ndiyakuthanda (12.4.19)” and a remix of “zange” by Guatemalan artist Mose.
With his fourth album, Mabandla elevated his profile even further. In its April 28th issue, The Guardian named amaXesha Global Album of the Month, stating that “No longer just an interpretation of Xhosa folk music, amaXesha places Mabandla’s music firmly in its own lane, capable of transmuting the shades of tradition into something else entirely.”
Mabandla’s acclaimed live performances have seen him regularly sell out tours in South Africa, with his November 2021 outing becoming one of the fastest selling of a solo contemporary homegrown artist. In spite of the pandemic constraints of 2020 and 2021, Mabandla has continued to build his domestic and international live career over the past several years, with the sold out sign put up at shows in the UK, France, the Netherlands and Switzerland in 2021 and 2022. He has performed at global festivals including the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, Reeperbahn Festival (Germany), Lake of Stars (Malawi), Afrovibes Festival (Netherlands), WOMEX (Finland), Oslo World Festival (Norway), and six editions of Safiko Music Festival in Réunion.
In 2024, Mabandla embarked on a landmark amaXesha tour that spanned South Africa, Europe, the United States and Latin America. The tour featured multiple sold-out shows across key cities and drew over 5,000 attendees to his South African performances alone. It also marked a bold evolution in his sonic landscape—integrating afrotech and afrohouse into his signature sound to powerful effect, deepening his connection with global audiences while continuing to honour his roots.
In early 2025, Mabandla released amaXesha Remixes, a reimagining of fan favourites from his critically acclaimed fourth album. The project featured a dynamic mix of local and international producers who infused the originals with fresh energy across a range of electronic and alternative styles.
Now, in 2025, Bongeziwe Mabandla continues to evolve as one of the most resonant and boundary-pushing voices in contemporary African music. From film and fashion to sound and stage, his work stands at the intersection of deep feeling and bold experimentation. Whether reimagining his older catalog with electronic flair or debuting new work that taps into ancestral frequencies, Mabandla’s path remains uncompromising in its creative vision. “Everything I do is measured against how artistic and interesting it is – both for me and my audience,” he says, and each meticulously calibrated step in his journey is evidence of how seriously he takes that.
