Inkabi Zezwe’s highly anticipated album Ukhamba has finally been released. The duo swept South Africans off their feet with their fresh top-charting love anthem, ‘Umbayimbayi’ which has since gone double-platinum with its official music video garnering over 1.3 million views in ten days.
From the onset ‘Umbayimbayi’ dominated streaming platforms peaking at #1 on Spotify’s Made in South Africa and Bhinca Nation playlists. On Apple Music, ‘Umbayimbayi’ held the #1 position on the Top 25 Johannesburg, Durban, and Top 100 South AfricaCharts, while claiming the #1 spot on iTunes. On TikTok, the official ‘Umbayimbayi’ sound has been a fan-favorite and now sits at over 236K creations on the app. Additionally, the hit song claimed the #1 spot on South African radio for three consecutive weeks.
With Ukhamba, Inkabi Zezwe hopes to bring listeners much deeper into their world. The album was recorded in Bergville over a period of two weeks and Bergville became a source of inspiration to the kinds of sounds the musicians would gravitate towards. Produced by Xowla Shabalala, also known as Stallion and Mfanafuthi ‘Ruff’ Nkosi, the project is filled with elements of Afropop, R&B, Hip-Hop, and Maskandi, celebrating both Sjava and Big Zulu’s sonic inclinations. Thematically they tackle their innermost concerns such as love and identity, with their own Zuluness at the forefront of the conversation. Still, the messaging is universal as Ukhamba is, at its core, preoccupied with how people can hold community, affection, and sensitivity for themselves and those around them. Over twelve captivating tracks, Inkabi Zezwe takes listeners on a riveting journey that feels personal but reflects a nation back to itself and will become a significant contemporary South African anthology.
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