Bubblegum Club

Tag: digital maskandi

  • The God of Art: Mashayabhuqe

    From his early days in Emandeni, to his later years in Eshowe and now finally Johannesburg, Mashayabhuqe considers himself a child of the new South Africa rather than rooted in a specific location. “Hence my Instagram handle @MrSouthAfrica because I have no one place I can claim as my home. Every place that I’ve been or I’ve stayed or grew up in has influenced me in a certain way,” Mashayabhuqe notes. During the early years it was his father who would introduce him to new sounds, from the ballads of Johnny Gill & Gerald Levert to local sounds such as TKZee, Thandiswa Mazwai and Sipho Gumede. “My dad was always that person that collected music and he never stopped.” Later on artists such as James Blake, Kanye West, Justin Vernon, Bon Iver & Polica plus local acts such as Dirty Paraffin and Spoek Mathambo played a huge influence on him and his decision to express himself musically.

    Given the name Mashayabhuqe by his father, which translates to ‘god of art’, and KaMamba, a reference to his paternal great-grandmother, his first foray into music was as part of the Durban kwaito group AMABHUNGU. Soon he felt the call for something greater. “When I was in the band I knew for sure that I was never comfortable in that situation. It was never enough. I wanted to break through and learn more. Not only about just music or art, but about humans and what’s happening around us and who we are exactly, why are we here and where do we come from?” Mashayabhuqe remembers.

    Photograph by Ben Moyo

    With his 2014 debut release ‘The Black Excellence Show’ he introduced the world to his Digital Maskandi sound, a combination of traditional Zulu music and the electronic, 808-heavy & auto-tuned sound of now. Heavily influenced by Busi Mhlongo his motivation to make the record was not commercial. “For me it has never been about making songs for radio or making songs to please anybody. For me each and every song has its own story and it’s a thing of making the song define who you are and what you stand for and why you’re here on earth.”

    For his latest release ‘Nguniversal’ Mashayabhuqe’s aim was to introduce himself and his sound to the world while breaking the language barrier that singing mostly in vernac brings. “Those vibes where it’s not about the language anymore but it’s about the mood and the direction and the vision of the music itself. All these places that you go to while you’re listening to the music.” Featuring the artists QonVocals and UncleStann, Mashayabhuqe will be releasing a deluxe version with extra songs. “The beautiful features on the deluxe edition will blow your mind.” Launching on the 25th of August at the Tennis Club with support from the Kalashnikov gallery, he aims to create a memorable performance. “I just wanna ensure that everyone enjoys the music live. I’m trying to perform for a special hour.”

    Looking to the future Mashayabhuqe is aiming to take over the globe. “With ‘Nguniversal’ it’s like I’m ready to do world tours. I’m ready for Coachella. I’m putting it out there for the universe; mother nature never disappoints,” he says emphatically. He also has an album in the works, featuring many of musical friends. When it comes to what Mashayabhuqe wants people to take from his music his message is clear: “Just to remember one thing. I was here not to change you but to give you hope that you’ll be bigger than me and you’ll do bigger things than me. That’s why I’m here.“

    Cover art by Ellene Dmar

  • Mashayabhuqe, the Modern Maskandi intersects tradition and the avant-garde to capture the millennial mood

    Mashaya shows up to Father Coffee just a few minutes late for our interview and he quickly allows me into the landscape of his life these days. He is fresh from AfroPunk in Paris and we fall into step chatting about his experiences in Paris.

    He is refreshed and ready to work on more music, now on the other side of Amancamnce mixtape, released last year with a host of cosigns from the upper echeleons of the creative industries along with a feature from his friend uMalume KoolKati and a sampling of the original Urban Zulu Busi Mhlongo.

    The Black Excellence Show first released in 2013  introduced Mashayabhuqe KaMamba as someone to watch, and be enthralled by, it presented him and his unique blend of the traditional and Zulu with the digital and urban. He has even been successful enough to have a few copycats, but he’s already onto the next concept, and scheming on greener pastures.

    Mashaya occupies a niche space in South Africa’s music scene, his influences and style collide the past and the future, and his perspective is about walking in creative purpose and pushing the boundaries of what performance and urban music mean within this space. An individual steeped in his tradition and culture, with a mind opened to the global possibilities of his craft.

    MASHAYABHUQE KAMAMBA BUBBLEGUM CLUB 2

    ‘Why are you here? Am I here to make things that are acceptable to the community or am I here to challenge people’s minds?’

    With that said this alchemist of modernity and Maskandi is doing it like it hasn’t been done in a minute, and he has worked with some of South Africa’s legends. I mean real legends; KingTha For The Babies, was a groundbreaking challenge for emerging artists to win a free feature from Le Grande Artiste herself, Thandiswa Mazwai. Mashayabuqhe won it. Now, they have a song, ‘Izayoni’ together. We both geek hard for a second. Then he says, ‘She’s amazing. I listen to the song and pinch myself all the time, her music moulded uMashaya, noBusi Mhlongo, no James Blake and Bon Iver…’

    For a moment I consider Mashaya’s forebears and then him as the next bearer of the legacy both Busi Mhlongo and Thandiswa have built upon. That pioneering perspective that broke new ground and resonated with the culture of coming to Johannesburg to follow a dream and grappling with urbanity and modernity, dealing with the anonymity and isolation of the city while using it to propel yourself to new heights.  It is not a new story, but it presents us with a new face, a new hero every so often; some of them shed their skin and make a whole new persona, eschewing their roots for a brighter future. Mashaya revels in his culture and eschews expectations and definitions, consistently curating his own style, always looking to do what the industry is too afraid to; break musical ground, bring the truth of South Africa to the fore using its culture and its current permutation as an outpost of western culture, to tell the story that we can relate to and be inspired by.

    His energy, wonder and sincerity are on a hundred this crisp Jozi morning; he lets me in on how he grew up in a village eNkandla and how most of his English was studied from the television and music he was exposed to at his family’s home. Then he wound up working in television in Jozi with his most faithful friend uMatsoso who has supported Mashaya’s career from its infancy and continues to call him to this day to inform him of the latest copycat to appropriate Mashaya’s sound. These simple things, these pieces of his history give context to the person I see before me now, that understands and reconstructs the relations between art, technology and tradition and refuses to be pigeonholed or defined by anybody but himself. And he’s already onto the next one.

    ‘I just dropped Sun City flow, and there’s a lot of attachments to it, it could be the jail, or the casino, or any city in Africa because there’s always sun. This song is about sharing my experiences with the kids; letting them know that if you’re a raw talent, they will try to chain you.’

    Mashayabhuque chooses substance and creativity when it comes to his art, thus staying true to the source to leave awe and imitators in his wake while the world waits and watches to see just how far he takes it.

    MASHAYABHUQE KAMAMBA BUBBLEGUM CLUB 1

    Editorial image credits

    Photography: Hanro Havenga

    Styling: Jamal Nxedlana

    Image 1:

    Mashayabhuqe wears a suit by Diego Ranieri, beret by Crystal Birch and a neckpiece by Pichulik. (Accessories stylist own)

    Image 2:

    Mashayabhuqe wears trousers by Diego Ranieri, beret by Crystal Birch.  (Accessories stylist own)

    Image 3:

    Mashayabhuqe wears a shirt by Studio W, trousers by Diego Ranieri, beret by Crystal Birch.  (Accessories stylist own)