South African Traditional Music Achievement (Satmas) award-winning group Daniel Brothers, is taking Tsonga music to the next level! Th...
South African Traditional Music Achievement (Satmas) award-winning group Daniel Brothers, is taking Tsonga music to the next level!
The duo, consisting of Ntwanano “DJ Ntwaa” Mhlongo and Fikile “Flex” Ngobeni, originates from the soulful land of Tzaneen, Limpopo and won the Best Afro-Soul Album at the Satmas last year.
“We prides ourselves in our home-language Xitsonga, hence some of our music is sung in Xitsonga. Our objective is to make Xitsonga fashionable,” says DJ Ntwaa.
The two cousins named their group Daniel Brothers because both their fathers coincidentally bear the first name Daniel.
Their love for creating music was ignited in their teen years and further grew after their matric year, when they had no means to continue their education. It was during this time that they decided to turn their bedroom into a music studio and produce their very own music. Their music uses Xitsonga traditional beats and deals with issues affecting black people.
Flex paid homage to their music idols Sho Madjozi and Benny Mayengani.
“Our dream is work with Sho Madjozi and papa Mayengani—they played a huge role in Tsonga music and culture”, he said.
The group is expected to tour Limpopo, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, North West, Tanzania, and Malawi as part of a campaign to promote their album. The album is available in local music stores on CD, digital and streaming websites including iTunes, Google Music Play, Deezer, Spotify, and many other platforms.
BIOGRAPHY
The duo’s music career began in 2006 when they formed a group Ntwaa na Nice, which saw them release their first song titled, N’wana mhani wo ni jikela. Between 2006 and 2015, they released a number of unofficial songs, which gained them popularity within the villages of Tzaneen.
In 2015, they met record label owner and producer Sumthyn Black, who signed them under his record label Sumthyn Music.
Through the record label, they released their first single as Daniel Brothers titled U Sasekile, which received heavy rotation on radio stations such as Munghana Lonene FM, GCR, Mala FM, Phalaborwa FM, Bush Radio, GTFM, Alex FM, and others around the Limpopo area.
Their debut album was released in 2016 and was titled New Beginnings. The album won two major awards - Best Xitsonga New Comer and Best Xitsonga R&B Album, at 2016, Munghana Lonene FM Xitsonga Music Awards (MXA14). In the same year, they also received a nomination in the category Best R&B/Soul from the Limpopo Music Awards (LIMAS). The following year, they released their second studio album titled Journey to Love, which featured the hit single Rirhandzu ra Ntiyiso featuring Nkamodira hitmaker of Abby Molamu.
In 2018, the duo released two hit singles titled, I Do and Marry Me in preparation for their third studio album. The single Marry Me, featured Tanzanian artist Corbin. In March 2019, Daniel Brothers released their studio album titled, Elevated. The 15-track album features Afro-jazz musician Malik Zwane and Shumaya hitmakers Trademark and Malawian artist Hassaman amongst others. The first single from the album is titled Jolomba and is already making waves within Limpopo.
DISCOGRAPHY
ALBUMS
2016: “New Beginnings”
2017: “Journey to Love”
2019: “Elevated”
SINGLES
February 2018: “I Do”
September 2018: “Marry Me”
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