With a music career spanning more than two decades flourishing from the early days of legendary kwaito group TKZee, Sibusiso ‘Sbu Malawyer’ Ntshangase has made a solo comeback.
Sbu recently dropped his comeback album aptly titled Celebrating 25 Years in the game. Although he spent 10 years away from creating music, he returns with an offering he dubs as the fusion of kwaito and amapiano.
The lead single Ngempela, featuring Woza Sabza, Mr Abie and Winzb X – and the album as a whole – is akin to what Sbu tells TRUELOVE is an ode to the late greats of South Africa's music scene.
“Ngempela is a tribute song to the heroes that passed in the music industry and the heroines. Now on the song, I never mentioned the names of the people but you’ll hear the song mentioning the clips of their chorus or their verse on their song. So, I took a verse somewhere ya kaMagesh, a verse somewhere [from] Big Nuz, a verse somewhere ya kaAKA, a verse ya kaLebo Mathosa, just to name a few and Riky Rick.”
Through battles with financial insecurity and the overall turbulent nature of the entertainment industry, Sbu was able to put out a project that has been a long time in the making.
“First and foremost, this was my dream from a long time ago nje when one was in the peak,” he shares. “I’ve realised there are people that are idolising uSbu as a brand and the people were very supportive to me.
“I think I can say I’m Sbu today because of the support that I got from my fans and then the influence of the album was more about to empower, taking it from the people that were looking at uSbu to help them. So, I think that time I didn’t have the capacity or my mind was not ready to do that, but then when I decided let me do the 25 years celebration, my mind was let me not focus on Sbu but it will focus on also helping the young upcoming artists out there who are looking for exposure.”
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With more than 22 young and upcoming artists featured in Celebrating 25 Years in the game, Sbu is all about giving new talent the platform to showcase their abilities and break into the evolving world of music.
He sees amapiano as the evolution of kwaito. He explains that the purpose of such collaborations on the album was not only a resurrection of sorts but also as a way to freshen his musicality and uplift the rising sound of the genre.
“Since the album was empowering the young kids, it would be very unfair to do the sound that is not relevant to them and also, it gave me a good challenge. It put me in a space where I was in a good challenge to adopt a new sound, to move with the times. So, the evolving of the sound, it was easy for me to accept it and to adopt to it, reason being because there’s also the elements of the way they deliver the lyrics, the lyrics of amapiano.
“They deliver them the same as we used to do during the kwaito days. The only difference is that the sound has changed, the sound has evolved … The only difference here is that they use the log drum and kwaito, we were not using the log drum. So, I think the change is there and even the tempo a little bit.”
What many hope to see is a reunion of the TKZee family, especially after the passing of founding member Tokollo ‘Magesh’ Tshabalala in 2022.
When asked if there are any plans for a reunion or project in tribute of their fallen member, Sbu says, “Yes, we had something like that with Zwai [Bala]. We were planning to do that, which is still in the pipeline but now we need to find a way to do it because they’re also busy with their own thing, I’m busy with my own thing and apparently uKabelo [Mabalane] is also busy in the studio. But I think when the right time comes, we will get together at some point.”
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One thing Magesh’s passing and the unforgiving nature of the entertainment industry taught Sbu is to uphold his values and continue being the inspiration he is to himself and others.
“In life, things can go in ups and downs but I think what kept me going was I had this thing ukuthi it’s very important to apply a good conduct in your life. And also, you must understand as a role model you mustn’t disappoint people that are looking up to you … I think that’s that element that always kept me going, the element that kept me motivated [that] I don’t want to disappoint my kids, I don’t want to disappoint the people who are idolising me and I don’t want to disappoint myself or the brand that I worked hard for.”
