Mandoza and Brown Dash’s sons collaborate on new song to keep kwaito alive

Late Kwaito legends Mandoza and Brown Dash’s sons, Harry and Zwano, are ready to assume the thrones left to them by their fathers. 

The two budding young stars, both born in Soweto, have joined forces to revive a genre that their fathers were popularly known for in the '90s with a new song uMdali (the Creator), which dropped on Thursday. 

Zwano, real name Kutlwano Mabitsela, and Harry, born Tumelo Tshabalala, are on a mission to not only walk in the same footsteps as the late icons but they want to preserve a musical legacy widely known in South African history. 

“The song is about including uMdali in your plans. It’s for us to always remember that they’re always watching over us and we should always include them in our plans and to trust the process.

"It’s also a song to show our dads’ fans that they left something tangle and important hence we saw it fit to nurture our brotherhood because some things never really die,” Zwano exclusively tells Sowetan S Mag.

“Our dads didn’t get the chance to collaborate because they were two major stars in their prime. I’m not saying they weren’t friends, I’m just saying they were just different in their own ways. 

“Imagine if we had a Mandoza and Brown Dash collaboration what that would’ve done for the kwaito culture. So, Harry and I are going to show that but in our own way and with a new edge.”

Zwano, 23, and Harry, 20, were both quite young when their fathers’ music was dominating the airwaves and although they may not comprehend the crux of kwaito’s origins, they hope to speak to youth of Soweto with their modern take on a genre that sharped the musical landscape of SA back in the '90s. 

“We want to take the thrones that our fathers left in our own way, strengths and abilities. People need to understand that we can never be Brown Dash or Mandoza… We are Zwano and Harry, and the world will know us as that,” Harry said. 

Zwano said they represent the "new-age Soweto that went to school and knows English".

"We are kind of perceived as ‘cheese boys’ but we won’t neglect the essence of what the genre is all about,” said Zwano. 

He said he is mainly inspired by amapiano and kwaito. He has already released a project titled Dashline EP with his partner in music DJ Lindash. 

The EP has over 20k streams across all platforms and features artists such as Robot Boii, Mandz Not Hot, ilovelethu and veteran kasi rapper Siya Shezi. 

Last year, Harry introduced himself into the industry as a rapper under the moniker Harry. He released his debut album titled Soweto’s Weapon late last year. 

He is a music producer who is currently studying sound engineering. 

“I tend to believe that my music is not too different from my dad’s. Yes, the production behind it might be different but the lyrical content, my delivery when I speak through the microphone, is the same,” Harry said.

Zwano added: “Our music is more like a software update. It’s the type of music and content our fathers used to deliver... just that their kwaito was quite hardcore and aggressive, however ours will have a bit of that hood swag with a sprinkle of that private school flair.” 

While the pair plan to walk in the same footsteps as their fathers’, the two budding stars are hellbent on carving their own path within the music industry. 

They are currently working on an EP which will not only contain kwaito songs but will infuse sounds of amapiano and kasi hip hop.