ZAKES BANTWINI – BIO
Zakes Bantwini is a platinum selling artist and producer and the Executive Head of A&R at Sony Music Africa.
Born and raised in Durban and known by his friends as Zakhele Madida, Zakes has multiple albums under his belt. He released the first live House DVD in South Africa and scooped the Best Male Award at the 10th METRO Music Awards in 2011 and also the Most Gifted Video of the Year Artist at the Channel O Awards of the same year.
For the past six years, fans have revelled in Zakes Bantwini’s performances on stages across South Africa, the African continent and further abroad. So it was with great anticipation that he returned to studio to produce his brand new studio multiple award nominated album: The Real Book & Fake Book: My Music Bible, an album that finds its footing and inspiration in live performances. Released in November 2013, the album has received numerous nominations, including Best Male Artist & Best Dance Album at the 13th Metro FM Music Awards and Best Dance Album at SAMA20.
As a former ballet and stage performer, Zakes fell in love with music from a young age and started his career playing the piano while studying towards his Diploma in Jazz and Popular Music at the Natal Technikon (now Durban University of Technology). He later also completed his Degree in Jazz and Popular Music at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal during 2012. Zakes identified the value of being an all-round musician, able to manipulate his skills into different genres, and Jazz provided the ideal foundation.
Zakes formed independent record label Mayonie Productions during his final year of studying towards his Diploma – seen as a brave move in the industry at the time. Adamant to avoid being another musician whose fate lay in the hands of a record company, he decided to form his own business focused on signing new talent and negotiating on their behalf. This business venture led to the discovery of Kwaito Sensation, L’vovo Derrango.
Zakes is known as one of the pioneers of Durban Kwaito Music (DKM), a genre which finds a perfect balance between house beats and kwaito lyrics, providing a cross-over appeal but staying true to the kwaito feel. The introduction of DKM has opened the industry up for new up-and-coming musicians to make their mark. Teaming up with top producer DJ Black Coffee, one of Zakes’ most successful albums to date is Love, Light and Music, a collaborative effort that followed the success of his hit single JUJU. The album exploded Zakes’ career both locally and internationally, presenting opportunities for performances in Africa, Europe and Asia.
While pursuing an active recording schedule, Zakes loves nothing more than to be on stage, clearly evident in the energy and passion he brings to every performance. This stage persona was brought to life during 2012, when Zakes transformed the newly-built Soweto Theatre into an intimate concert experience for Upfront with Zakes Bantwini, as he filmed his debut live DVD on June 16th – shot with over 14 cameras, a 13-piece band, string section, styled VJ’ing and legendary guest artists. Released at the end of 2012, the DVD is more than just a live performance; it includes personal narration from Zakes, exclusive behind-the-scenes footage leading up to the concert and the first live performance of his hit single, Karolina. Following the sell-out success of this one-night-only show, Upfront with Zakes Bantwini has been hosted for three consecutive years on Youth Day, June 16th. Last year’s production was sponsored by Mxit, the South African mobile social network and also the Durban Playhouse.
With the 2013 release of his single Ghetto, his recent social entrepreneurship studies at The Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) and his desire to make a positive difference in the lives of South Africans, Zakes launched the Ghetto: My Story campaign. In partnership with The Star Newspaper on a national level, the project entailed Zakes sharing his success story – from the “Ghetto to Music Mogule” – to encourage others to share their own experiences of success. In Bantwini’s words “people in the ghetto don’t know how we’ve made it. Shared experiences can propel further success if we take the time to learn, listen and apply them to our own lives. The aim is to reach out to those that started out in the ghetto in an effort to motivate and inspire all who could benefit from reading their success stories – those who once began their journey, at the very place where others may find themselves today.”
Zakes‘ role at Sony Music Africa sees him working creatively to develop and release new content from Sony Music Africa’s domestic artist roster under the banner of a newly developed label imprint.
While his role there has meant he’s been working behind the scenes for the last couple of years, he was back in the studio earlier in the year recording his first ever duet with Nandi Mngoma. Launched on Freedom Day, 27 April, the track is set to get Africans to unite in song and dance. Entitled “Dance” the duo hopes to bring a strong message of unity and Ubuntu during this time of turmoil.
Zakes is passionate about being a change agent in South Africa and uses his celebrity status for a number of meaningful initiatives in this county. One of these is his appointment as Unicef SA Celebrity Advocate. A few months ago Unicef and Zakes joined forces with SA’s youth to combat violence against children in our communities. Together with Unicef SA, in partnership with UKAid, the Children’s Radio Foundation, Vuselela, the iSchool Press Team, the Youth Citizen Action Programme and the Department of Basic Education, 40 young people from various parts of the Western Cape were invited to discuss and unpack the prevalent issue of violence against children in South Africa. Zakes together with former Miss SA Jo-Ann Strauss and award-winning songstress Tshedi Mholo delivered inspirational talks and facilitated panel discussions on the different forms of violence that South African children have to overcome on a daily basis.
Zakes Bantwini release his 4th Album title Love, Light & Music2 on the 23rd June 2017, which he worked with different talented producers from SA
Check out Zakes Bantwini at Facebook.com/ZakesBantwiniOfficial; follow him on Twitter at @ZakesBantwiniSA; Instagram @ :Zakesbantwini
