BET is working on a story about the late Mduduzi Edmund Tshabalala, Mandoza. Mandoza was a kwaito hitmaker from the early 1990s. His career is one made from the stars. Mandoza was born on the 17th January 1978 in Zola Soweto. He lived there with his Mother, Grandparents and his two sisters.
Mandoza was sixteen years old when he was arrested for stealing a car. He served one year and six months in Diepkloof prison.
When he was released, he went to form a group called Chiskop, which consisted of him and his three friends, Sbu, Sphiwe, aka General and Sizwe. The group released its first album Akusheshi 8 years later to critical acclaim. They followed with another one called Relax which was also a success.
Mandoza decided to launch his solo career in 1999. He released an album called 9II5 Zola South, with a smash hit single called Uzoyithola kanjan’ uhlel’ ekhoneni, which means” how are you going to get it sitting on a corner”. The song was such a success and launched a seriously successful career. The real success for Mandoza came with his second album Nkalakatha produced by Gabi Let Roux, in 2000.
The title track of the album Nkalakatha was the highlight of his music career and crossed over to be a hit and chart-topper on both black and white radio stations. The song has something special, with a different sound that everyone could relate to. To this day, when Nkalakatha plays, everyone erupts with jubilation. The song went to win multiple awards.
Mandoza continued to grow as an artist and even ventured into acting, and he was featured in the Rugby movie number 10. That movie was directed by Darrel James Roodt, an Oscar nominee.
Mandoza passed away on 18 September 2016. His family said he was being treated for pharyngeal cancer and had lost his eyesight. According to Phil Mphela, the project is still in the writing stages, and there has been no word yet whether this will be a documentary or a Biopic.
BET has been doing such a great job profiling these superstars in movies or documentaries. They already did Dream the Lebo Mathosa story in 2019, looking at the Late superstar’s life and award-winning career.
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