MASKANDI is set to make history and be heard on UK's radio station for the first time.
It will be heard for 15 minutes on Revolution Radio on the night show called The Afro Takeover with DJ Mkhukhwini.
The show will be hosted by Ndumiso "DJ Mkhukhwini" Dlamini (46) from Inanda Durban, KZN who has lived in the UK for 22 years and is a radio presenter, music promoter and event organiser.
The show will collaborate with kwaito and Afro-soul musician Thokozani "Shakes" Ngema, who will give them the maskandi top ten from South Africa.
The first show to feature maskandi will air on Thursday, 25 January in a show that will air at 10pm in the UK, which is 00:00 in South Africa.
On Saturday, 20 January, the show's producer, David Smith, wrote a letter asking Shakes to help them break new ground in UK radio with the maskandi music.
David said that they chose Shakes because they know he will not be bias.
In the letter, seen by Daily Sun, David said the programme will introduce the ground-breaking segment in the last 15 minutes where it will feature maskandi music and interviews with maskandi musicians in Zulu or English.
DJ Mkhukhiwini, who has worked for various British radio stations including BBC Radio, told Daily Sun that his aim is to take maskandi to a new level internationally.
"It will be the first time maskandi music will be played on a UK radio station. I usually play amapiano and house music on my show, but I keep getting requests for maskandi because there are a lot of people who love maskandi music. I've negotiated with the management, and they have agreed for me to play maskandi music and I know this segment will open doors for maskandi musicians to come and perform in the UK," he said.
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He said music lovers don't care what language is used in a song but if the tune is good, it always makes people dance.
Shakes told Daily Sun that he feels humbled to be part of the history of maskandi music.
“I've been working with this radio station since 2013 when we visited England. Every time I release my music, I send it to them as well. They play it and they also give me interviews.
“I finalised my first maskandi top ten and called the artists and they agreed. It was difficult to pick the first one, but I went by what was trending on social media,” he said.
