Mandoza’s ‘Nkalakatha’ resurgence on Spotify

Mandoza’s ‘Nkalakatha‘ resurgence on Spotify: Few Kwaito artists entered the 2000s music scene in the spectacular manner Mandoza did. While not his debut release, as he was previously part of the group Chiskop.

A year before release of the album, 9II5 Zola South – Nkalakatha’s release was epic. The trend of uniquely South African genres like Gqom and Amapiano breaking through the barriers. We see today that this started with Kwaito songs like Nkalakatha pre-streaming. While this trend is led by Gen Zs in the current streaming world, millennials and Gen Xs rode with Mandoza from stadium to stadium, and from one television show to another.

Mandoza passed away in September 2016, a few years after releasing his last album, Sgantsontso. Sgantsontso was also  a nominee for the Best Kwaito Album category at the South African Music Awards. Two years later, Spotify launched in South Africa, completely transforming music listening.

Mandoza’s biopic titled Nkalakatha: The Life of Mandoza, chronicling his ascent to the upper echelons of the music industry was announced on 16th July. It began airing in August on BET. It feels like a full circle moment. Upon its release, Nkalakatha quickly travelled to Rugby and soccer matches nationwide. Also, dominating the airwaves and prominent lifestyle television shows like Jam Alley.

A look at Spotify data shows a streaming spike between that date to 28th August. Nkalakatha leading as the most streamed song. Nkalakatha stands as Mandoza’s top streamed song of all time since Spotify launched in South Africa. It is followed by Respect Life, taken from the Mandoza album. Released a few years following the Nkalakatha cultural phenomenon. Indoda, Sgelekeqe – Mindlo Mix, and Tsotsi Yase Zola tally in the top five most streamed songs.

This is not the first time the industry has paid homage to Mandoza. After his passing, Back For More was released to celebrate his life and re-introduce his music to the public. It was available on Spotify from 2017. His older millennials and Gen Z fan base were able to stream his music on Spotify from 2018.

“Technology advances within the audio space enabled pre-streamed music released to be discovered. This in turn aids the growth of the creator economy at large. Our intent is to further make the discovery on the platform more meaningful,’ says Spotify’s Sub-Saharan Lead, Music Strategy and Operations, Warren Bokwe.

Nkalakatha, the album, is the top most streamed album. Rounding up the top five albums are Mandoza, Tornado, Phunyuka Bamphethe, and Champion. All of which, their positions remained pretty unchanged before and after the biopic.

Whose Streaming?

35 to 44 year olds lead the pack followed by 30 to 34 year olds when it comes to Mandoza’s listeners. Little wonder as they grew up around the time when he was making his mark on the South African music industry. Gen Zs who weren’t born in the era of the top five songs and albums released, are also trailing behind.

Populous provinces like Gauteng which is home to different African ethnicities are often the main hubs of music culture. Dating back to the 1990s when Kwaito’s dominance began. Kwaito was born out of Gauteng province. With cities like Johannesburg and its surrounding townships mentioned constantly with the genre.

Spotify recognize Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Cape Town, as places that have streamed Mandoza’s music the most.  Gaborone in Botswana and Auckland in Australia led the cities outside South Africa. Interestingly, Auckland and Perth in Australia were among the top cities streaming Mandoza’s music 5 years ago, when Spotify launched.

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