This year has proven to be Masandi's biggest year yet – from playing Linda Sebezo's onscreen sugar baby in risqué show The Black Door to scoring big at the Crown Gospel Music Awards.

Real name Sandile Mfusi, in recent years he has rose to fame with acting roles in Isibaya, Uzalo and The River.

The actor-musician is nominated for Best Newcomer and Best Gospel Video for his hit song Ithemba. Winners will be announced on November 27 at the Durban ICC. His latest EP Kaleidoscope has amassed over 750,000 streams across digital platforms.

“Of all the roles I’ve portrayed, I enjoyed the most playing Fanyane, a toy-boy for Mam Rebecca Mabuza... the role made me push the envelope on my acting and saw me commit fully to the storyline. Little did I know people will gravitate towards Fana as much as they did. Fana is such a hustler and also the things he did with his sugar mama were quite interesting," he said.

"The role that was the most challenging was portraying Kwanda on Uzalo simply because I had to be two completely opposite characters. When I was introduced to the viewers, I was this sweet gentleman who ended up being the devil himself. Kwanda sold drugs and was so corrupt, viewers actually hated him because he turned out to be what they never expected." 

In the last decade, Masandi has had a flourishing music career. The 33-year-old first founded his own record label in 2016 and released his chart-topping single Ngane Yabantu. He went on to work with Big Nuz, Gemini Major, Aewon Wolf, August Rush (US), Nana Atta, SpiritBanger, Skatta and Captain Blu (Nigeria).

In 2020, he got signed to Warner Music South Africa, which saw him garner hits such as After Party, Amagate and Ithemba –  an ode to keeping faith during the pandemic.

“I knew I could sing at the age of seven but I started taking my singing career seriously after high school when I’d sing at family weddings and funerals – I would make a bit of money, which was quite cool," Masandi said.

"Professionally, my singing career picked up in 2014 when I marked the beginning of my solo music career. This is where I released my first single Bring it Back through the guidance of my friend Kevin. He was affiliated with a lot of people and some were K.O, the co-founder of Cashtime Life.

“Being in those circles helped me form connections and I ended up securing a song with K.O called One Time. I then became a member of Cashtime and learnt quite a lot from the members and how the industry works.”

Striking a balance between music and acting has always been his main focus, which has been driven by the desire to become a success in the entertainment industry. 

“If you love something and want it to happen badly, you make time for it... that’s what I’ve been doing with my career as a singer and an actor. I am a person of the arts and this is my artistry which I enjoy every single day of my life,” he said.

“In the next couple of years, I plan to continue acting and pursue my music career. I hope to collaborate with a lot of African stars in my future projects.”