Thandiswa Mazwai’s NPR's “Tiny Desk Concert” series has finally been released.
The South African music icon’s stripped down performance has been released on YouTube and has already received more than 118K views.
Mazwai’s set starts with “Nizalwa Ngobani?”, translated to “Do you know where you come from?”
She dedicated the opening song to the “beautiful and ever-resilient people of South Africa”.
“I want to say to my people at home, thank you. I am known worldwide because of you. Thank you very much.
“To those who are present here, thank you. We thank you,” said Mazwai.
She also dedicated her song, “Children of the Soil”, to all those struggling for freedom.
“This is our time to use our voices. This is the time for us to fight for freedom, wherever it is in the world.”
“Children of the Soil” will also be featured on her upcoming album, “Sankofa”.
During her set, she also sang her popular hits like “Ingoma”, “Abenguni” and “Lahl’umlenze”.
Her performance was accompanied by Lungile Maduna (drums and vocals), Sunnyboy Mthimunye (guitar), Tendai Ali Shoko (bass), Thabang Tabane (percussion) and Xolani Thabethe (keys and vocals).
Soon after the recording, Mazwai added: “TinyDesk was one of those dreams come true for me and my fans. It was intimate and the team at NPR were extremely generous.
“Thank you to globalFEST for hooking us up. The show was shot on a snowy day in DC this January. They usually ask that performances are kept to about 15-18 minutes. So we did about five songs, some of them shortened.”
Watch below:
Mazwai, who is also celebrating the 20th anniversary of her debut album, “Zabalaza”, will be marking the milestone by launching a new album titled, “Sankofa”.
She’s set to drop the first single, “Kulungile”, featuring Nduduzo Makhathinion on April 12.
“Sankofa in the Ghanian language Twi, means to go back and fetch what’s been left behind, what is important, what honours you and what needs healing.
“‘Kulungile’ is about healing some of the traumas that we experience as children. Many of us have faced rejection and abandonment, sexual violence. This song is for that child within that seeks justice, comfort and healing,” she said.
The full album will be released on May 11 at Mazwai’s concert at Carnival City, Johannesburg.
Tickets are available at Computicket.