Alexandra artist Viktor Matoto releases Heritage Day single
Alexandra artist Viktor Matoto turns a lesson from his late mother into his first traditional Xitsonga song, urging people to live in harmony as he prepares for the Xigaza a Gomora Festival.
Alexandra artist Viktor Matoto has released his new single, Hanya Na Vanu, as a call for unity ahead of Heritage Day.
The song carries a deeply personal message based on one of the final lessons his mother shared before her death in 2023. She told him to teach himself how to live with people if he wanted to live a happy life. He said he has been living by those words every day, and wanted to share the knowledge because he feels the world is losing human love. He believes the message is urgently needed, adding that fights, killings and hatred seem to grow daily, and people need to be reminded that they exist because of others.
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Hanya Na Vanu is Matoto’s first traditional song. He recorded it with DJ Slash Wa Marimba in Klipfontein, where Boti Msabeni joined the session. Matoto explained that although he initially wanted to do the song alone, he realised it was bigger than him.
Known for his Tsonga raps, he wanted to blend them with traditional Xitsonga music. The balance, he says, is deliberate. He aims to stay true to his roots while exporting his music to a wider audience, noting that writing in Xitsonga preserves his heritage and allows him to teach the language to others.
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The track will be launched at the Xigaza a Gomora Festival on Heritage Day. Matoto said having the festival on Heritage Day as a cultural explosion experience is about bringing different cultures together to celebrate their identity through an unreleased, unofficial heritage anthem.
His roots in Alexandra shape everything he does. He credits the streets of Alexandra for making him a people’s person, adding that meeting different people daily has taught him humility and kindness. As a storyteller, he notes that his songs reflect both personal experiences and community stories.
Next up is the music video, followed by the Xigaza 2 Misava EP, which he says will cement his name in the Xigaza music ecosystem as he aims to take it to the world.
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