Mandeni’s songbird mixes Maskandi-Soul

With her soft angelic voice, one cannot ignore the charming performer Zinhle Madela, an independent Afro-pop singer, songwriter, philanthropist, and entrepreneur.

The 26-year-old was born and raised in Sundumbili, Mandeni and she is known as e-Kasi Queen, because of her African style music and image.

She calls her unique music style ‘Maskandi-Soul’.

The songbird recently released her first music project called Iduku Ep after being featured by various artists, doing covers and travelling around the country performing.

“My music tells the story of where I am from. It is my duty to represent the culture that groomed me and part of that is sharing music from home to the world. Iduku Ep is inspired by the actual headwrap or doek, as it has many functions, tells many different stories and represent strength and power. I enjoy wearing iduku and it is part of my image.”

Iduku Ep is a experimental music project of nine soundtracks, inspired by her musical background of Maskandi, Umbhaqanga, Umshado, Amahubo and Indlamu, and mixed with the new sounds of Afro-Soul, RnB and Pop.

“Before mom and dad separated, my father used to play the keyboard for me and my sister and he would have us sing. He was a disco dj and I sang at Sunday school and in the primary school choir,” she said.

Madela has also been inspired by music played by friends, in school and in taxis. She sees herself travelling around Africa performing with a band and one day forming her own arts centre.

The young performer has rubbed shoulders with several of South Africa’s music legends including Robbie Malinga, Dr Rebecca Malope and Naima Kay, performing with them as a musical studio backing artist.

“This boosted my confidence and it was encouraging that they saw potential in me. It educated me about the music industry. With the little knowledge I gained I was able to start up my own music business and now I am an independent artist.”

Madela holds a Bachelor of Social Science degree in community development and psychology from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. By day she works as an awareness campaign co-coordinator.

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