Talented South African music producer and singer Zakes Bantwini has announced that he is taking a break from the music industry “to focus on other aspects of my life.”
Bantwini, whose real name is Zakhele Madida, took the music world by storm over the past year with his smash hit Osama, which he followed up with the successful iMali.
Zakes Bantwini’s break from music
Bantwini announced his decision at a press conference in Cape Town on Friday (19 August), denying earlier reports that he is retiring.
“This is not the end, but I feel I have to take a step back to focus on other aspects of my life and when you have fans that love what you do as much as you do, it’s important to share your journey with them,” he said in an interview with IOL.
He will drop his next studio album Abantu in November. “This album follows his largely successful multiplatinum-selling album Ghetto King that features hits such as Osama, iMali and Girl in The Mirror,” his publicists Independent Media Group Africa said in a statement.
The popular artiste will also hold a music concert to “commemorate” the album on 19 November 2022 at the DHL Cape Town Stadium.
“Zakes Bantwini will be joined by his industry colleagues as well as a star-studded line-up of top South African recording artistes, alongside international guest appearances,” the statement added
‘Ghetto King’
Bantwini reflected on his music career in a recent social media post. “Growing up, the easiest thing to do was to pull a trigger and get what you want. I always knew I never wanted that for myself and my family, so instead I chose a longer route,” he wrote.
“I decided to pull myself out of that environment through going to school and studying towards my dreams. I took my only shot with music and the rest is history. Today they call me the Ghetto King.”