Zakes Bantwini is a platinum selling artist and record producer. The former Executive Head of Sony’s A&R department has embraced 2017 by focussing on his music career full-time and it is proving to be a banger of a year! Zakes was born and raised in KwaMashu Durban, and is known to his friends as Zakhele Madida. From humble beginnings, this talented artist has graced our shores with multiple albums and has attained several accolades on his various musical achievements.

Mayonie Productions was established by Zakes in his final year of studying towards his diploma. During this time, this venture saw Zakes embarking on seeking out musical talent and helping them on their musical journey. This led to the discovery of Kwaito Sensation, L’vovo Derrango.

Zakes is known as one of the pioneers of Durban Kwaito Music (DKM), a genre which finds a perfect balance between house beats and kwaito lyrics, providing a cross-over appeal, but staying true to the kwaito feel. The introduction of DKM has paved the way for new up-and-coming musicians to make their mark.

One of Zakes most successful albums to-date, is Love, Light and Music. He teamed up with world-renowned DJ Black Coffee on this project, and the hit single JUJU was born out of this successful collaboration. Zakes career sky-rocketed locally and internationally with this masterpiece of an album and led to him performing on stages in larger Africa, Europe and Asia.

The passion that Zakes has for his craft is clearly evident in the electrifying performances that he renders while on stage. This artist is not “just about the music” though. He is an active UNICEF SA Celebrity Advocate, thrusting his energies into something near and dear to his heart to bring about positive change as an ambassador in this role.

Zakes Bantwini released his 4th Album title Love, Light & Music2 on 23 June 2017. This new musical journey saw Zakes incorporating talented producers from SA in helping to create this album. The tracks will wow audiences and have them yearning for more with each beat and lyric.