But I think what made us strong and to continue working as Mafikizolo, has always been a dream of making Mafikizolo one of the biggest bands. If you know townships, each township has its own vibe. He brought in a different element altogether we are both from Kagiso and he was from Soweto. Nhlanhla Nciza: (deep sigh) It was honestly a hard decision to go back into the studio and work, but it was also about вЂwhat are we going to do as the Mafikizolo groupвЂ™? It was like losing a family member, which made it difficult for us to say вЂare we going to replace him?вЂ™ вЂWhat are we going to do since we are known as a trioвЂ™? We felt it wasВ going to be different, since someone is missing -В he brought in a different vibe, because Theo and I are singers whereas Tebogo was more of a rapper. How have you been coping as a band since he died? You spoke about relationships and sorry to take you back down a sad memory lane, and this reminds me of the late Mafikizolo member Tebogo Madingoane. It's nice that a song takes different shapes because it will penetrate various places. To him it means вЂwe are going to fight in a battleвЂ™. Fans raised questions such as вЂis it a spiritual song? Or is it a celebratationВ song? It reminds me of a message that I got from a Nigerian guy who said вЂI love this spiritual song.вЂ™ He obviously doesnвЂ™t know what вЂNgeke BalungeвЂ™ is all about. So I think the song was inspired by whatever he was going through and can be taken in different scenarios, which reminds me of the day we did вЂKonaвЂ™.В People didnвЂ™t know what вЂKonaвЂ™ was all about - they interpreted it differently and we had to explain what the song is about. But we think he had a sense of unity and saying вЂwe are strong in this relationship that we are inвЂ™. So in this case, we worked with a producer from KwaZulu-Natal Province called Mondli Ncobo and you never know what goes into a producerвЂ™s head. Theo Kgosinkwe: I would say when we work on song production, we have different teams comprising producers and songwriters, who are all involved in the production of the song and we also allow producers to come in and present their music to us. Was there an incident that inspired the making of вЂNgeke BalungeвЂ™? Honestly speaking, we never anticipated that kind of feedback and reaction, we just thought people would love the melody and dance to the song, but вЂNgeke BalungeвЂ™ is doing something else to other people.ДЄrtists are inspired by different scenarios during song composition. Even people that donвЂ™t understand the language are impressed and they ask us вЂwhat is this song about'? We are getting this feedback from people in Nigeria and Zambia. Some people are saying they get emotional while listening to the song because of its melody. For us it was like a vibe song, and the feedback we are getting is massive. Nhlanhla Nciza: That was us in the studio, but once the song goes out and reaches the people, everyone will have their own understanding and they can interpret it in their own way. It can be an African Romeo and Juliet scenario, where both families are trying to stop a relationship from happening because, for example, they donвЂ™t like the Tswanas or вЂwhy are you marrying a Tswana or a Zulu?вЂ™ So, in that scenario and despite all the negatives, the couple will stay together hence the outside forces wonвЂ™t succeed. You can interpret it in a scenario where people try to destroy your friendship but cannot succeed for the same reason.

You can say ngeke balunge, meaning those enemies who have been trying to destroy your relationship will never succeed because your love is solid. ItвЂ™s a love song, which can mean many things. Theo Kgosinkwe: Our new single is called вЂNgeke BalungeвЂ™, meaning 'they will never succeed'.

MUSIC IN AFRICA: What are you trying to achieve withВ вЂNgeke BalungeвЂ™? Last year, we spoke to Mafikizolo members Theo Kgosinkwe and Nhlanhla Nciza about their latest 'Ngeke Balunge' single, late band member Tebogo Madingoane, amapiano, the streaming business and their upcoming studio album, which is set for release this year. To date, Mafikizolo boasts eight albums, namely Mafikizolo, Music Revolution, Gate Crashers, Sibongile, Kwela, Van Toeka Af, Six Mabone, Reunited and 20. This has earned them various collaborations with artists such as WizkidВ (Nigeria), Davido (Nigeria), Jah Prayzah (Zimbabwe), Diamond Platnumz (Tanzania), DJ Maphorisa (South Afruica), Tresor (South Africa), May D (Nigeria), Kly (South Africa) and Gemini Major (Malawi). The group has won several awards and performed at big events in the country and around the continent.

With a music career spanning more than two decades, Mafikizolo has amassed a huge following in the country and abroad.

Mafikizolo albums