Lemogang Tsipa finally made his anticipated debut on Shaka iLembe last night. Picture: @LemogangTsipa/Twitter
Sama-award winning musician Bongezizwe Mabandla’s song Ngiyamkhangela was in the credits of last night’s episode of Shaka iLembe, as Lemogang Tsipa made his first appearance as an adult Shaka.
“It has been an honour to write a song for a series so beautifully made that celebrates the story of one of the most important historic figures of the world. A force of nature,” shared Bongezizwe on his social media about Ngiyamkhangela.
The song was perfect for the episode which saw a grown-up Shaka returning home, with the desire to connect with his father King Senzangakhona kaJama. The king had in the previous episode chased away Shaka and his mother Queen Nandi.
The title of the song can be translated as “searching”, which is what Shaka does.
“My song is about wanting to fill a void. I wrote from my own pain of not knowing my father and what that can do to a young man’s mind. How it shapes beliefs around belonging and self-realisation. A lot of us share that with Shaka,” said Bongezizwe.
The song isn’t included in Bongezizwe’s latest album, the 14 track amaXesha which was released in May.
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The tv show has been on screens for the last eight weeks, but Tsipa only this week made his debut on the show.
His appearance has been the most anticipated, with a number of audiences curious to see if he’ll be able to execute the role as well as Henry Cele, who played the role in the 1986 Shaka Zulu tv show.
Those fears were seemingly laid to rest by Tsipa’s performance in his first showing.
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The Citizen asked the 32-year-old actor about the pressure when the show launched.
“I’m unaffected. All the people that are usually commenters or people that have the most to say have never spent a day on set. They don’t know the intricacies of the film industry and what it takes to really get a great product out,” Tsipa told The Citizen on the red carpet of the premier of Shaka iLembe at Johannesburg’s Montecasino.
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