Zolani Mahola is one of South Africa’s most prominent singers. She is best known for her time as the lead singer for the band Freshlyground and for her role in the TV series Tsha-Tsha. Now, she has ventured into a solo music career, allowing her love for nature, her experience as a mother, and the memories from her childhood to shape the music that she creates.
When approached by Ncedisa Nkonyeni to perform in the Bertha House music series, it was the idea of access that convinced singer, Zolani Mahola to participate in it. “I like that anyone could come to this gig,” explains Mahola. PHOTO: Chelsea Burnell
UDoobe, derived from the song “Doo Be Doo”, and UWaka, taken from the official 2010 FIFA World Cup song, are just two of the many names that South African singer, Zolani Mahola has been called.
For many years she was known as Lo Uculayo meaning “the one who sings” because people could not remember her actual name, recalls Mahola.
“It used to irritate me,” she says.
But now, the name reminds her that she is part of something bigger and that people will be made happy in her presence, explains Mahola.
“The one who sings brings me back,” she states.
In her recent 2’s and 4’s music series performance, Zolani Mahola performed several of her latest songs from her album Thetha Mama. “As a singer, she just keeps getting better! She is a master songwriter, and I believe she is writing her best music yet,” states Kelly Bates, best friend to Mahola. PHOTO: Chelsea Burnell
The beginning of influences
Born in Gqeberha, Port Elizabeth in 1981, Zolani Mahola only realised she had a good voice in high school while singing in her school plays.
“I didn’t think I could sing especially well”, states Mahola. “And I never thought to have a music career per se. It just kind of fell into my lap from university.”
It was the church, traditional community ceremonies, and the radio which initially informed her musical foundation, says Mahola.
The thing that she has learnt from Zolani Mahola is grace, according to Kelly Bates, best friend to Mahola. Nqaba Ndlovu, assistant to Mahola has learnt from her the importance of valuing yourself, your contribution, and your time, they say. PHOTO: Chelsea Burnell
But it was soon after stepping out as a solo artist in 2019, that Mahola found another source that would influence her music spiritually.
“My first kind of inkling that nature was a powerful resource for me, came when I went for my first [water] emersion with Craig Foster in January 2020,” states Mahola.
Before she went under, Foster told her about the idea of catching songs in the water, and encouraged her to listen out for the music that would be there, she says.
Since stepping out as a solo artist, Zolani Mahola has balanced the family and work life well, according to Nqaba Ndlovu, assistant to Mahola. “Since leaving Freshlyground a main priority of hers is not to get so busy that she sacrifices meaningful time with her family,” they say. PHOTO: Chelsea Burnell
“He prepared me for a very deep spiritual experience,” says Mahola.
After being in the cold water for over thirty-five minutes, Mahola explains that although she was experiencing “cold-drunkenness” she had indeed caught the songs and melody.
“I sang it to Craig afterward and he has a recording of it,” states Mahola.
Now, she is a regular diver and has a good relationship with the sea, says Mahola.
“My connection in and with the sea is an ancestral connection and so I feel that the music that is coming from me is informed from quite a deep source,” explains Mahola. “There is an element [about it] that is medicinal.”
Singer, Zolani Mahola describes how she was “catapulted into fame” during her twenties. “It can also just be too much. Especially for me in the beginning, it was a lot of photos and hype,” says Mahola. “It can be nice for a time, but it can also get too much.” PHOTO: Chelsea Burnell
The magic of motherhood
Mohala is a mother of two children, for which it has been her most natural role, according to Kelly Bates, best friend to Mahola.
“She has always exuded love and care for those around her, and her children are fortunate to receive this from her all the time,” states Bates.
The activist café at Bertha House has a variety of spaces that are open to the public, according to Ncedisa Nkonyeni, director of Bertha House. Here, they offer Wifi, cheap coffee, a kitchen space, and connect and office spaces, states Nkonyeni. PHOTO: Chelsea Burnell
A fond memory with Mahola was accompanying her to a gynaecologist appointment for Mahola’s second child, says Bates.
For Mahola, the journey of parenthood has allowed her to go into her own childhood.
“As these children are growing, I remember parts of myself growing up and have come to realise that so many of our stories about who we are as we grow are connected to the experiences that we have as children,” states Mahola.
As part of her evolution as a woman and an artist, Zolani Mahola has also grown into even more of a deeply spiritual being, according to Kelly Bates, best friend to Mahola. Here, Mahola identifies how her sense of spirituality has been with her since she was a child. AUDIO: Chelsea Burnell
Since becoming a parent, there is a focus on children in Mahola’s work, according to Nqaba Ndlovu, assistant to Zolani Mahola since 2019, in written correspondence with MatieMedia.
“Now her activism work revolves around children – their education and the sanctity of the time of childhood in South Africa,” they state.
“I speak to a lot of schools, and I have an interest in being a part of a shift in how we think about the time of childhood in this country,” says Mahola. “With the knowledge in mind that what we put into kids, as they are growing, is what we are going to really get out as they get older.”
The recent music series at Bertha House, provided activists and audience members alike the chance to celebrate, according to Ncedisa Nkonyeni, director of Bertha House. “At Bertha House we invite like-minded people into this space to celebrate with us and if they feel any resonance around what the Bertha House project is about and if they self-identify here, then we invite them back,” says Nkonyeni. PHOTO: Chelsea Burnell
Music is a connecting agency
Mahola recently performed in a music series at Bertha House, otherwise known as ‘The Activist Hub’, based in Cape Town.
The drawing factor to do this performance was the idea of it being accessible to such a variety of people, states Mahola.
The 2’s and 4’s music series aimed at celebrating the positive role that music has played in South African history, according to Ncedisa Nkonyeni, director of Bertha House.
“Here at Bertha House, we recognise the power of music,” states Nkonyeni. “It has the ability to remove all social constructs as divides and it connects us to what is true.”
To use the space for a project, Bertha House will only charge if it is within the budget of the client, if not then they do not, according to Ncedisa Nkonyeni, director of Bertha House. PHOTO: Chelsea Burnell
The series also aimed at celebrating the musicians who during Apartheid, had used their craft to contribute positively towards what was happening in South Africa, says Nkonyeni.
They played massive roles in aiding the global allies to pressurise the apartheid government to bow out, she explains.
Zolani Mahola was one of the musicians invited to the music series because she too, exemplified this shared understanding of the role of music and the power of music in post-democratic South Africa, states Nkonyeni.
“Zolani was putting our voices and our stories forward in a context where a black woman’s voice was not heard,” says Nkonyeni. “Intentionally or not, she has been a voice for many people who didn’t have one and she gave us the opportunity to see ourselves in the music.”
The lyrics Mahola has sung, have always had a “leftist socio-political power to the people stance”, according to Ndlovu.
“As lead singer of Freshlyground Zolani lent her voice to the work of the Treatment Action Campaign during the HIV pandemic and the crisis of politicians not providing adequate health care in the form of ARV’s,” they state. “Her band protested against President Zuma and President Mugabe.”
If something authentically touches you as an artist, then you have the right to be an activist and speak out, states Mahola.
‘I love using art to reflect society,” she says. “Sometimes it’s not pretty but we all reflect the society that we are in, or we should.”
Since becoming a parent, Zolani Mahola has started doing children’s work with an organisation called Santa’s shoe box where they work with Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) centres in the Eastern Cape and one in Natal. Parenthood should change a person, no matter what field one is in, according to Mahola. AUDIO: Chelsea Burnell
Staying authentic
There is a feel-good quality to what she has become famous for, according to Mahola.
“Boniswa was a very strong female role model [in Tsha Tsha] and then with Freshlyground there is like a halo around it,” says Mahola.
There were, however, times during the peak of her career, when she had not been as in touch with herself, states Mahola.
Now she has become more approachable, she says.
The mission of the activist café at Bertha House is to provide a space for activists to connect and provide support for their work, according to Ncedisa Nkonyeni, director of Bertha House. PHOTO: Chelsea Burnell
“I’m not the same on and off stage but I feel like now onstage, I hope to amplify the essence of who I am,” explains Mahola.
People still think of her as someone who doesn’t mind speaking “truth to power”, according to Ndlovu.
“I think there is an authenticity with her that people resonate with and also an accessibility that makes people feel like they can relate to her,” they say.
Since stepping out on her own Mahola has continued to evolve, according to Bates.
“I think the reality is that Zolani, like many, has privately been through a significant amount in her life, and as she has worked through these emotions in her more recent years,” says Bates. “She has opened up to sharing these experiences, and her healing, and it reflects in the deeply moving music and lyrics she is putting out.”
As for Mahola, she feels like one of the “grand dames” of South Africa.
“People sometimes know that they know me, but they don’t know exactly from where,” says Mahola. “It’s like becoming part of the backdrop of South Africa and it’s really nice.”