Times of Eswatini

Uncle Waffles takes on Europe

- BY NOMBUSO DLAMINI

To fall in love with yourSELF IS THE fiRST SECRET TO happiness.

MBABANE – ‘Waffles we want to party’!

Internatio­nally renowned Amapiano DJ Uncle Waffles from Eswatini has landed on European soil for her tour, that began on Saturday.

The tour comes after the rising star released her first Extended Playlist (EP), Red Dragon under a new stable, Spatial Audio. It was release on March 30, of this year. The EP will also be the focal point of the tour, which has been topping Apple Music album charts in South Africa ever since its release.

The tour began on Saturday in Portugal; it will see the star perform at 11 other places, ending on September 10 in the United Kingdom and other shows are yet to be announced.

Performanc­es

Social media was abuzz this past weekend as the star was heating up the social streets with her fire performanc­es from her first stop, Afro Nation in Portugal. Afro Nation is an annual three day musical festival produced by Live Nation, Event Horizon and Memories Of Tomorrow just to name a few. The festival was founded and launched back in 2013 and it’s amazing to see Eswatini’s very own on such a big stage. The event has hosted the likes of Burna Boy, Afro B, Davido, Wizkid and Distructio­n Boyz just to name a few.

This years’ line-up has kept the bar high with the amazing internatio­nal acts. This year’s line-up had big names namely; Megan Thee Stallion, Rema and Beenie Man.

Born Lungelihle Zwane, Waffles like many young teens in the kingdom, came from humble beginnings. Before she was the talk of the town and an internet sensation across internatio­nal borders, Zwane had aspiration­s of becoming an aeronautic­al engineer but reverted to the entertainm­ent, after she couldn’t further her studies. Show business was the perfect match for her because she exerted an energy that later inspired her Red Dragon EP, the dragon persona. Gunning for the big screens Uncle Waffles, hosted music and entertainm­ent shows

was unmatched. She was also celebratin­g her 26th birthday and her success at the DSTV viewer’s Choice Awards. She performed her hits and captivated emaSwati with her dance skills. From time to time she was seen climbing the pillars of the stage.

This was in an attempt to reach out to her fans; everyone went into frenzy when the singer performed her popular song ‘Ghanama’.

This song proved how much of a big deal she is in the industry. The singer hardly belted out lyrics to the song because her staunch followers recited every word.

Performanc­e

In between the hour-long performanc­e, Makhadzi attested to Eswatini being her second home, she mentioned that she was happy to be in the country for the second time, this received cheers and screams from the crowd.

The inference drawn from the singer’s stage presence was that, whether you are a fan or not, her performanc­e on stage would leave you mesmerised.

Regardless of the fact that most of her fans in the country had no clue what she was saying, her music has always been blasted from most taverns, bars, cars, and taxis. Both the performanc­es she has held in the country, she has always received immense support with all her shows packed to the brim.

The Venda songbird thanked her fans for bracing the cold and waiting all night to see her live performanc­e.

Another highlight of the event was Makhadzi’s dancer who clearly had had to be identified by another country whereas her own country wasn’t of any assistance,” said Dlamini.

He went on to share that they support the DJ. “We are also saying that the sky is the limit for our local artists, and the entertainm­ent industry in the kingdom. It has a lot of challenges because a lot of decision makers in the country find ways not to support talent,’’ said Dlamini. He further said this should also be a positive warning to the arts and culture department and the ministry, to invest time and money to scout for talent and to stop neglecting it because they end up being recognised in neighborin­g countries. everyone’s attention. The dancer who wore a white jumpsuit scored a number of fans because of her provocativ­e dance moves.

She would from time to time, inbetween performanc­es, take centre stage and break into fully choreograp­hed dances.

The dancer who was a marvel to watch was accompanie­d by three other dancers who were just as good.

Patrons

A number of patrons when speaking about Makhadzi’s performanc­e said it was exceptiona­l. They mentioned that she was an interestin­g performer.

“Nobody knows what her songs mean but they sound good and are nice to dance to. I love her,” said one patron.

Another fan who was in the front row when the Venda singer was performing, said the singer was destined for success. “She just won awards; she also chose to celebrate her birthday weekend in the country. She is such a lovely artist and you can tell by her stage presence,” said Gcebile Zwane.

Orth noting was that the previous day(Friday) the singer’s boyfriend, the famous Jerusalem composer Master KG had hyped up Makhadzi’s upcoming performanc­e. This was during his performanc­e on the day.

“I cannot wait for you guys to see my girlfriend perform, she will be here and she will rock,” He was heard saying while on stage.

This comes shortly after ‘Mama’ hit maker Makhadzi shut-down rumours of her break-up with the award-winning musician, Master KG.

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