He has a song that’s being blasted on every speaker this December.
When there’s no ‘plan’, the festivities haven’t ended. If anything, iPlan has been topping charts across several radio stations, making it the first on the list of songs bidding to be this year’s song of the year.
On social media, the hit has overtaken Tyler ICU’s Mnike.
Dlala Thukzin admits to Drum how big the song has unexpectedly become.
“I have had the privilege of working with one of the best song writers in the form of Sykes and one of the best vocalists in Zaba. I had a couple of beats in studio, hosted a session with Sykes and Zaba like I would always normally do, asked Sykes to play some cords on the song, he then had an idea of a recording, him and I started co-writing the idea to turn it into a song. As a producer, I felt like Zaba’s voice would work wonders as a lead on the song and the rest is history.”
“It would be amazing if people were to vote for it as song of the year, I’m just also ready for people to accept it for the rest of their lives because of the message it carries.”
If the song were to officially be song of the year, it would mean a lot to him and the rising artists he featured on the song.
“It would mean that now I understand better what people expect from us as musicians and the good thing is that it means great exposure for the artists I worked with on the song.”
Given the reception it has gotten, his vision clearly came to life perfectly.
Read More | Could Tyler ICU's Mnike replace Sister Bethina as a national groove anthem?
When he first performed the song to a crowd, it was an unbelievable experience.
“It was unbelievable after it was released, however, I had already started playing it on my sets prior to its release, the people in Durban had already said that the song was going to do great and even pressured me to release a song I actually made last year and at some point had forgotten about it.”
While many got to be familiar with his work recently, Thuthuka Zindlovu has been in the game for a fairly long time.
His ultimate breakthrough though was with Phuze remix which he was featured on alongside Zaba, the late Mpura, Sir Trill and Rascoe Kaos in 2021.
In the earlier stages of his career, he worked closely with Babes Wodumo and Mampintsha.
The 26-year-old started taking an interest in 2011 when he actively started making beats and producing his own music.
“It must have all started with fooling around in the classroom, banging beats on my school desk. In short, my uncle had a sound system and I used to assist him over the weekends, that’s where the interest sort of placed itself in me,” he laughs.
For him, the decision to venture into music was inevitable.
“I can’t really say when [exactly I made the decision] but I’ve always been involved in the scene, from high school level, at a point where you need to now start making decisions about your future, I was already in the scenery, so I guess music and I chose each other.”
Read More |Heard the hit song Ok'salayo? Meet the ambitious musicians behind it
“Firstly, I want to put it out there that when I ventured into music, it was never that I wanted to be famous, it’s the industry and our work that makes us popular. I wanted to make lasting music that resonates and addresses all the social issues we face every single day; I want to make music that will keep us hopeful help us keep believing that every single day provides a better opportunity.”
Throughout his career, his audience has grown strong, making it the highlight of his career.
“More than anything, I think I’ve always had a very strong audience that has been growing with me, the amount of appreciation I get from places that I travel and the reception I get from people, that makes me realise that this is what I need to keep doing and I owe it to the people to keep offering what I can. All my music is inspired by the people.”
When making music, he takes all the time he needs to release the best of his work.
“I work extremely hard; I sometimes take a whole year to complete a song because I don’t want to release music for the sake of doing so but I want to release something good! It’s just that people don’t know, my journey has been moving on an upward slope and nothing has been surprising me, I just have to keep doing what I do with any expectation, my hard work will place me where I belong.”
The producer from Lamontville in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal was raised by his grandmother with his two sisters and cousins and is deeply rooted in his roots.
“I believe in taking each day as it come because in Zulu, there’s a saying; “Ubude abuphangwa” and I live by those words every day.”
