Thandiswa Mazwai – Biography, Real Name, Age and Career

Thandiswa Nyameka Mazwai (born 31 March 1976) is a South African musician, widely known as the lead vocalist and songwriter of Bongo Maffin. She is also popularly referred to as King Tha.

Her solo career took off with the release of her debut album, Zabalaza (2004), which achieved double platinum status. The album was also nominated for the Planet Awards on BBC Radio 3. That same year, she won the Best Female Artist award at the Metro FM Music Awards.

In 2009, she released her second album, Ibokwe, which was certified gold within weeks of its release. Before her rise with Bongo Maffin, Thandiswa was part of Jack-Knife, a group with Kimon Webster and Themba Smuts. The trio was considered pioneers of the kwaito movement, producing club hits like Fester and Chommie.

Early Life

Thandiswa Mazwai was born in the Eastern Cape in 1976, the same year as the Soweto Uprising, and was raised in Soweto, Johannesburg, during the turbulent apartheid era of the 1980s. Growing up in an environment shaped by political struggle, she was deeply influenced by her parents, Belede and Thami Mazwai, both journalists and anti-apartheid activists. Their home was filled with books, political discussions, and writings that shaped her worldview as an artist.

She later attended Wits University, where she studied English Literature and International Relations. Her artistic journey has been deeply inspired by her mother, who passed away when Thandiswa was 15, as well as the works of influential thinkers such as Steve Biko, Frantz Fanon, Chinua Achebe, and Kwame Nkrumah.

Personal Life

Thandiswa Mazwai is currently 49 years old (2025). She is the sister of Nomsa Mazwai, with whom she shares a healthy sibling rivalry. She also honors her late mother by using the name Thandiswa Mazwai Belede. Her mother, Belede, passed away in 1992 at the age of 34. Thandiswa is also the sister of Ntsiki Mazwai, a poet, author, social activist, producer, and blogger.

Early Career Beginnings

Thandiswa Mazwai first attempted to gain recognition through the Shell Road to Fame talent show but did not make it to the semi-finals. However, she caught the attention of musician and producer Don Laka, who brought her into a project he was working on. In 1998, she began her career with Bongo Maffin, one of the pioneering bands of Kwaito. Her voice became a defining element of the group’s sound, blending danceable beats with socially conscious lyrics.

Bongo Maffin gained international recognition, performing worldwide and sharing the stage with legends like Stevie Wonder, the Marley family, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Chaka Khan, Sean Paul, Steel Pulse, and Skunk Anansie. Their impact on South African music earned them multiple awards, including South African Music Awards (SAMAs), Kora All Africa Music Awards, and Metro FM Music Awards.

Career Achievements

After releasing five albums with Bongo Maffin, Thandiswa Mazwai embarked on a solo career. Her debut album, Zabalaza (2004), was a major success, achieving double platinum status and winning multiple awards, including a Kora Award for Best African Female and four South African Music Awards (SAMAs), including Best Album. The album was also nominated for the BBC Radio 3 Planet Awards. Her follow-up album, Ibokwe (2009), reached gold status within weeks of its release, and her live DVD, Dance of the Forgotten Free (2010), won Best Female Artist and Best Live DVD at the SAMAs in 2011. The Guardian has called her “South Africa’s finest female contemporary singer.”

Mazwai’s music is deeply political and blends traditional Xhosa rhythms with mbaqanga, reggae, kwaito, funk, and jazz influences. She has performed worldwide at prestigious events, including the 2010 FIFA World Cup Opening Ceremony, The Apollo in New York, WOMEX, the Cannes Film Festival, Midem, the Hackney Empire, Africa Brazil Festival, FESPACO Film Festival, the BBC World Music Awards, and multiple Mandela 46664 concerts.

She has collaborated with several notable artists. Internationally, she sang in Xhosa on US musician Meshell Ndegeocello’s albums The World Has Made Me the Man of My Dreams (2007, Grammy-nominated) and The Omnichord Real Book (2023). In South Africa, she has worked with icons like Hugh Masekela, Stimela, and the late Busi Mhlongo. In 2017, she performed as King Tha vs. BLK JKS at the Afropunk Festival in Johannesburg. She also duetted with Paul Simon in London’s Hyde Park in 2012 for the 25th-anniversary concert of Graceland, singing “Under African Skies,” originally performed by Linda Ronstadt.

Mazwai is an ambassador for Nelson Mandela’s 46664 campaign and the Eastern Cape Province. In May 2022, she was featured in Spotify’s documentary Freedom Sounds: From Kwaito to Amapiano.

Discography

Bongo Maffin

From Bongo With Love (2019): Universal Music Group

New Construction (2005): Gallo Records – Gold Sales

Bongolution (2001): Sony BMG – Double Platinum Sales

The Concerto (1998): Sony BMG – Multi Platinum Sales

Final Entry (1997): EMI

Leaders of D’Gong (1996): EMI

Albums

Zabalaza (2004): Gallo Records

Ibokwe (2009): Gallo Records

Dance of the Forgotten Free (2010) – Live CD: Gallo Records

Belede (2016) – Universal Music Group

Sankofa (2024) – Universal Music Group