Thandiswa Mazwai on Bringing Audiences Together Across the Diaspora                              

Having cultivated a 30-year career in the South African music scene, Thandiswa Mazwai is only getting started. Her early stints as a member of Kwaito group Jack-Knife and then Bongo Maffin paved the way for a stellar solo career, in which she is about to release her 4th album. Sankofa – her first full release in eight years, was recorded in Johannesburg, but also in Dakar and in New York City. The New York sessions were produced by American bass player Meshell Ndegeocello, and some of the Joburg and the Dakar sessions were produced by Nduduzo Makhathini, a dear friend and pianist from South Africa. Mazwai says there was an intentionality around this album and creating a connection between ourselves, the rest of Africa and the diaspora, but more importantly, the diaspora in America.

OKAYAFRICA