Uncle Waffles | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Lungelihle Zwane [1] |
Born | [2] Eswatini | 30 March 2000
Genres | |
Occupation(s) |
|
Years active | 2020–present |
Labels | Kreativekornerr |
Lungelihle Zwane [1] (born 30 March 2000), [2] known professionally as Uncle Waffles, is a Swazi-born DJ and record producer based in South Africa. [3] She is noted for her work in the amapiano genre and her dance abilities, [4] [5] with Billboard describing her as the "princess of amapiano". [6] Her debut single,"Tanzania", reached number one in South Africa, [7] where it is certified 7x platinum. [8]
Zwane was born and raised in Eswatini (formerly Swaziland). [3] She didn't know her parents and had been brought up by her grandma through her childhood years, until she reconciled with her mother as a teenager with whom she had a strained relationship thereafter. [9] Zwane grew up listening to South African house and kwaito music from artists such as Black Coffee, Lebo Mathosa and DJ Kent. [6] Before her success as a DJ, Zwane used to be a television presenter on Studio1 on Eswatini TV, but was replaced in January 2022 after parting from the show. [1] [10] It was here that she first was introduced to DJ'ing by friend who also worked at the studio, as there was a fifteen-year old set of DJ decks there. [6] She then emigrated to South Africa to attend university. [3]
Uncle Waffles learned how to DJ in 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdowns, [11] [12] and claims to have practiced for eight hours each day. [6] She signed with South African creative agency KreativeKornerr, who managed to book gigs for her in the country's "heavily saturated" music industry. [6] After filling in for a withdrawn DJ at the Zone 6 nightclub in Soweto in October 2021, she gained prominence after a video of her dancing to the song "Adiwele" by Young Stunna during her set went viral. [6] [13] [1] [14] and would begin openly endorsing her on the platform. [15] Uncle Waffles soon ventured into music production, [16] and released her debut single "Tanzania" in March 2022 in anticipation of her debut extended play (EP), Red Dragon, which was released later that month. [17] The single, which had reportedly taken her three months to perfect, [6] was ranked by Rolling Stone as the eighth best afropop song of 2022, with critics describing her as "a global ambassador for amapiano". [5] In April 2022, Uncle Waffles embarked on her first-ever tour of the United Kingdom and Ireland. [18] [19] The tour was closely interlinked with a series of shows organized by Piano People, which she headlined alongside DJ Maphorisa and Focalistic, and is deemed the first all-star amapiano tour in the region. [1]
Uncle Waffles released her debut music video for the track "Tanzania" in September 2022. [20] In that same month, Uncle Waffles announced that she would be hosting a residency on BBC Radio 1. [21] [22] She was the only DJ that performed at the 2022 Global Citizen Festival in Accra. [11] [23] She partnered with KFC South Africa to launch an exclusive "Uncle Waffles burger" which was made available for purchase in local branches in December 2022, [24] and later again in September 2023. [25] She then embarked on a concert tour of the United States, [26] and then Australia. [4] British publication Mixmag hailed Uncle Waffles as one of the top breakthrough DJs of the year 2022 worldwide. [27] Streaming platform Audiomack also hailed her as an "#UpNow" artist in March 2023. [28] Uncle Waffles' second EP, Asylum, was released in March 2023 and featured the track "Yahyuppiyah", [29] which had been released as the first single from the project. [30] The EP was certified gold by the Recording Industry of South Africa (RISA) within one week of its release. [31] In April 2023, she became the first amapiano musician to ever perform at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. [6] [32] Her song "Tanzania" was sampled by American singer Beyoncé in a dance break on the Renaissance World Tour setlist, to which Uncle Waffles reacted with the statement "I'm crying, wow," on Instagram. [33] She was nominated for Best International Act at the 2023 BET Awards. [34] Uncle Waffles released the EP Solace (2023) as the follow-up to Asylum in what she called a double-sided project titled, "An Asylum of Solace". [35] [36] [37] It was supported by the single "Echoes", featuring Tony Duardo, which was released on 4 August 2023. [38]
Her single "Wadibusa" featuring OHP Sage, Pcee & Djy Bizana was released on 17 April 2024. It peaked at No. 4 on the Local Top 100 and No. 11 International Top 200 respectively. [39]
Waffles will embark on her upcoming Less Talk, More Piano Tour, to commence from June 2, 2024, We Love Green, Paris until November 29, Asia. [40]
Title | Album details | Certifications |
---|---|---|
Red Dragon [41] |
|
|
Asylum [29] |
|
|
Solace [42] |
|
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SA [7] | |||||||
"Tanzania" (featuring Tony Duardo, Sino Msolo and BoiBizza) [17] |
2022 | 1 | Red Dragon | ||||
"Yahyuppiyah" (Uncle Waffles, Tony Duardo and Justin 99 featuring Pcee, Eeque and Chley) [30] |
2023 | 5 |
|
Asylum | |||
"
Echoes" (featuring Tony Duardo, Manana and Lusanda) [38] |
— | Solace | |||||
"Peacock (Revisit)" (featuring Ice Beats Slide and Sbuda Maleather) [43] |
3 | ||||||
"Wadibusa" (with Royal MusiQ featuring OHP Sage, Pcee, & Djy Biza) [44] |
2024 | 7 | TBA | ||||
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
---|---|---|---|
SA [45] | |||
"Hayi" (Felo Le Tee featuring Uncle Waffles) [46] |
2022 | 23 | Contagious |
As a headliner
Year | Organization | Award | Recipient or nominee | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2022 | All Africa Music Awards | Best African DJ | Herself | Nominated | [47] |
Best Female Artist in Southern Africa | Nominated | ||||
2022 | African Muzik Magazine Awards | Best DJ Africa | Won | [48] | |
2023 | Song of the Year | "Tanzania" | Pending | [49] | |
2023 | Soundcity MVP Awards Festival | African DJ of the Year | Herself | Nominated | [50] |
2023 | BET Awards | Best International Act | Nominated | [34] | |
2023 | Headies Awards | Best Southern African Artist of the Year | Nominated | [51] | |
2023 | GQ Men of the Year Awards (SA) | Woman of the Year | Won | [52] | |
2023 | MOBO Awards | Best African Music Act | Pending | [53] |
{{
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{{
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
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Uncle Waffles | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Lungelihle Zwane [1] |
Born | [2] Eswatini | 30 March 2000
Genres | |
Occupation(s) |
|
Years active | 2020–present |
Labels | Kreativekornerr |
Lungelihle Zwane [1] (born 30 March 2000), [2] known professionally as Uncle Waffles, is a Swazi-born DJ and record producer based in South Africa. [3] She is noted for her work in the amapiano genre and her dance abilities, [4] [5] with Billboard describing her as the "princess of amapiano". [6] Her debut single,"Tanzania", reached number one in South Africa, [7] where it is certified 7x platinum. [8]
Zwane was born and raised in Eswatini (formerly Swaziland). [3] She didn't know her parents and had been brought up by her grandma through her childhood years, until she reconciled with her mother as a teenager with whom she had a strained relationship thereafter. [9] Zwane grew up listening to South African house and kwaito music from artists such as Black Coffee, Lebo Mathosa and DJ Kent. [6] Before her success as a DJ, Zwane used to be a television presenter on Studio1 on Eswatini TV, but was replaced in January 2022 after parting from the show. [1] [10] It was here that she first was introduced to DJ'ing by friend who also worked at the studio, as there was a fifteen-year old set of DJ decks there. [6] She then emigrated to South Africa to attend university. [3]
Uncle Waffles learned how to DJ in 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdowns, [11] [12] and claims to have practiced for eight hours each day. [6] She signed with South African creative agency KreativeKornerr, who managed to book gigs for her in the country's "heavily saturated" music industry. [6] After filling in for a withdrawn DJ at the Zone 6 nightclub in Soweto in October 2021, she gained prominence after a video of her dancing to the song "Adiwele" by Young Stunna during her set went viral. [6] [13] [1] [14] and would begin openly endorsing her on the platform. [15] Uncle Waffles soon ventured into music production, [16] and released her debut single "Tanzania" in March 2022 in anticipation of her debut extended play (EP), Red Dragon, which was released later that month. [17] The single, which had reportedly taken her three months to perfect, [6] was ranked by Rolling Stone as the eighth best afropop song of 2022, with critics describing her as "a global ambassador for amapiano". [5] In April 2022, Uncle Waffles embarked on her first-ever tour of the United Kingdom and Ireland. [18] [19] The tour was closely interlinked with a series of shows organized by Piano People, which she headlined alongside DJ Maphorisa and Focalistic, and is deemed the first all-star amapiano tour in the region. [1]
Uncle Waffles released her debut music video for the track "Tanzania" in September 2022. [20] In that same month, Uncle Waffles announced that she would be hosting a residency on BBC Radio 1. [21] [22] She was the only DJ that performed at the 2022 Global Citizen Festival in Accra. [11] [23] She partnered with KFC South Africa to launch an exclusive "Uncle Waffles burger" which was made available for purchase in local branches in December 2022, [24] and later again in September 2023. [25] She then embarked on a concert tour of the United States, [26] and then Australia. [4] British publication Mixmag hailed Uncle Waffles as one of the top breakthrough DJs of the year 2022 worldwide. [27] Streaming platform Audiomack also hailed her as an "#UpNow" artist in March 2023. [28] Uncle Waffles' second EP, Asylum, was released in March 2023 and featured the track "Yahyuppiyah", [29] which had been released as the first single from the project. [30] The EP was certified gold by the Recording Industry of South Africa (RISA) within one week of its release. [31] In April 2023, she became the first amapiano musician to ever perform at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. [6] [32] Her song "Tanzania" was sampled by American singer Beyoncé in a dance break on the Renaissance World Tour setlist, to which Uncle Waffles reacted with the statement "I'm crying, wow," on Instagram. [33] She was nominated for Best International Act at the 2023 BET Awards. [34] Uncle Waffles released the EP Solace (2023) as the follow-up to Asylum in what she called a double-sided project titled, "An Asylum of Solace". [35] [36] [37] It was supported by the single "Echoes", featuring Tony Duardo, which was released on 4 August 2023. [38]
Her single "Wadibusa" featuring OHP Sage, Pcee & Djy Bizana was released on 17 April 2024. It peaked at No. 4 on the Local Top 100 and No. 11 International Top 200 respectively. [39]
Waffles will embark on her upcoming Less Talk, More Piano Tour, to commence from June 2, 2024, We Love Green, Paris until November 29, Asia. [40]
Title | Album details | Certifications |
---|---|---|
Red Dragon [41] |
|
|
Asylum [29] |
|
|
Solace [42] |
|
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SA [7] | |||||||
"Tanzania" (featuring Tony Duardo, Sino Msolo and BoiBizza) [17] |
2022 | 1 | Red Dragon | ||||
"Yahyuppiyah" (Uncle Waffles, Tony Duardo and Justin 99 featuring Pcee, Eeque and Chley) [30] |
2023 | 5 |
|
Asylum | |||
"
Echoes" (featuring Tony Duardo, Manana and Lusanda) [38] |
— | Solace | |||||
"Peacock (Revisit)" (featuring Ice Beats Slide and Sbuda Maleather) [43] |
3 | ||||||
"Wadibusa" (with Royal MusiQ featuring OHP Sage, Pcee, & Djy Biza) [44] |
2024 | 7 | TBA | ||||
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
---|---|---|---|
SA [45] | |||
"Hayi" (Felo Le Tee featuring Uncle Waffles) [46] |
2022 | 23 | Contagious |
As a headliner
Year | Organization | Award | Recipient or nominee | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2022 | All Africa Music Awards | Best African DJ | Herself | Nominated | [47] |
Best Female Artist in Southern Africa | Nominated | ||||
2022 | African Muzik Magazine Awards | Best DJ Africa | Won | [48] | |
2023 | Song of the Year | "Tanzania" | Pending | [49] | |
2023 | Soundcity MVP Awards Festival | African DJ of the Year | Herself | Nominated | [50] |
2023 | BET Awards | Best International Act | Nominated | [34] | |
2023 | Headies Awards | Best Southern African Artist of the Year | Nominated | [51] | |
2023 | GQ Men of the Year Awards (SA) | Woman of the Year | Won | [52] | |
2023 | MOBO Awards | Best African Music Act | Pending | [53] |
{{
cite magazine}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link)
{{
cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link)