Sandisiwe Mbhele

By Sandisiwe Mbhele

UX Content Writer


Blaq Diamond opens up about success and their next steps

Blaq Diamond massive hit 'Ibhanyoi' in 2019 recently won them their first-ever South African Music Award this year for 'Record of the Year'.


Blaq Diamond music has conquered our music playlists and radios for just about two years now and the ambitious young duo has recently launched their own music label.

Made up by Ndumiso Mdletshe and Sphelele Dunywa well known as Ndu and Danya have made hits such Ibhanyoi, Woza My Love and Love Letter.

Their massive hit Ibhanyoi in 2019 recently won them their first-ever South African Music Award (Sama) this year for ‘Record of the Year’.

Speaking to The Citizen, Ndu says they were told of their big win by family and fans.

“We felt great when we won the award especially in that category which is such a top award. We weren’t actually watching the Samas when it aired, we received messages telling us we won. But we felt amazing when we found out.”

Blaq Diamond celebrate their first-ever Sama’s win. Photo: Supplied

The duo met back in 2010 in KwaZulu-Natal during a school trip in high school. Doing a rap battle on the school bus, they realised each other’s talents and skills, from there deciding to link up and create a group.

Combining their love of hip hop, Afro beats and soulful house has led to great success. In a matter of months, they made the big decision to start their own record label Umuthi Records in June.

Signed artists to Ambitiouz Entertainment, for Blaq Diamond it made sense for their record label to partner up.

“We wanted to create a platform for young artists like ourselves, where original and young artists have an open platform to create music for the youth and bring people together,” Ndu explained.

Their first signing, Sbahle, has already created huge waves, and her first single Emlanjeni is already on many’s loved playlists. The music video had already reached nearly 400,000 views in a month.

It is clear this partnership has a lot more to offer in the coming years for South African music.

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