Sizwe Sibiya
It seems Big Zulu will get that “big mansion” he promised his girlfriend in his single “Umuzi eSandton”, after bagging seven awards at the annual South African Hip Hop Awards ceremony on Friday.
Big Zulu – whose real name is Siyabonga Nene and is from Bergville in KwaZulu-Natal – proved he is the goat on the SA hip hop scene. He beat the country’s most prominent rappers to the prizes, including Nasty C, Cassper Nyovest, A-Reece and Blxckie.
Big Zulu won big at the 10th annual hip hop awards, including for:
- Song of the year – “Imali Eningi”
- Best collabo – “Imali Eningi”
- Best video – “Imali Eningi” (shot by Ofentse Mwase Films)
- Best album – Ichwane Lenyoka
- Best male award
- Ubuntu activism award
- Best digital sales award
“7 Awards, angaz nokuthi ngithini Ngiyabonga kakhulu (I don’t know what to say Thank you very much),” Big Zulu tweeted, thanking his fans who are collectively called “Nkabi Nation”.
The 34-year-old stole the attention of many music lovers when he released the hit single “Imali Eningi”. It features Ricky Rick and Intaba YaseDubai, who nailed the chorus that even got Duduzane Zuma marching to the beat of the song in 2020.
Big Zulu, who is also a professional car drifter in Johannesburg, has played a huge role in diversifying SA hip hop as he only raps in Zulu. He also brings his own unique rhythm influenced by traditional music.
This style has seen him included in the Ukhozi FM song of the year roster twice. He was the only hip hop artist on the list in 2020 with the song “Imali Eningi” and on the recent 2021 list with the song “Umuzi eSandton,” featuring Lwah Ndlunkulu.
Meanwhile, “Umuzi eSandton” – from his debut studio album Ichwane Lenyoka – has been viewed more than 3.6 million times on YouTube in four months.
Video source: YouTube
