Tshepo Bareetseng

Durban-based dance duo Distruction Boyz nearly shut down the internet on Friday with the release of their highly-anticipated debut album Gqom is The Future‚ something that was all part of their master plan. “We were blown away with response to the album but it was really what we expected. It all went according to plan‚” the group’s Thobane ‘Que’ Mgobozi said. Que and his bandmate Zipho ‘Goldmax’ Mthembu set the ambitious goal to become the first act to reach gold certification for a gqom album. Gqom is a genre of dance music popular in Durban‚ only made mainstream recently. “We have only just released the physical copies of the album so it’s a little too early to tell how far we are from reaching gold but we have no doubt that we are going to go gold and even platinum. People love our music and our digital sales have been amazing. We are number one across the country‚” Que said. The group were instrumental in taking the genre out of the Durban townships to become the most exciting

Tiwa Savage is the one-of-one afrobeat heroine paving a lane for artists in her genre to take flight along. She spent years in the background on stage catching glimmers of legends’ spotlights, before singing her way towards stardom. Always cultivating her sound, the Nigerian songstress became a contender across the pond on The X Factor, before pushing her pen as a songwriter for Sony/ATV, and inking her record deal with Roc Nation. Queening isn’t easy, but Tiwa Savage continues championing the male-dominated music category with her acclaimed EP, Sugarcane. Billboard caught up with the singer to discuss the afrobeat scene going mainstream, her global experiences, an important lesson from Mary J. Blige, and why spreading love in these sensitive times is essential. You initially began as a backup singer. What was your transition like into the spotlight? I began as a backup singer, then I went into songwriting. It was like a gradual transition from doing backup vocals, to kind of being

After news that The Wound (Inxeba) was picked as Mzansi’s entry for the 2018 Oscars‚ the film was called “offensive” by the Eastern Cape House of Traditional Leaders‚ but producers hope a screening will help address any concerns. In a statement the producers said the screening on October 6 will be followed by a discussion between the National Film and Video Foundation‚ representatives of the film and traditional leaders. “I attended multiple screenings in Khayelitsha and Langa in Cape Town and it was encouraging to witness the conversations initiated by the film firsthand. After watching ‘Inxeba’ we were able to have a meaningful dialogue about it and the themes the film presents‚” producer Cait Pansegrouw said. The controversial film‚ which sparked debate across the country‚ was selected by the NFVF for submission at the 2018 Academy Awards (Oscars) for Best Foreign Language Film. Although the film mainly tells a homosexual love story‚ it is set at a Xhosa initiation school‚ which