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Amapiano sensation Mawhoo and Afro-pop powerhouse Lwah Ndlunkulu are joining forces. Under the moniker Zulu Queens, the duo are set to drop a maskandi album, Isithembu, on August 25.
Sowetan caught up with the Zulu Queens at the launch of their new single, Distance, on Tuesday night.
Maskandi is a genre largely dominated by men. How are you shaking up the genre as women?
Lwah Ndlunkulu: We intentionally entered a male-dominated genre to prove that women can do anything and succeed at it. We also wanted to leave a legacy where women are empowered and know that, if we can do this, nothing will stop them from doing it.
With Mawhoo being an amapiano vocalist and Lwah an Afro-pop singer, how did you ensure that the two sounds complement each other?
Mawhoo: The nice thing about us is that we’ve both proven to be versatile by tapping into different genres, so getting into this maskandi sound was fairly easy since we enjoy singing.
What is the overall message or theme of your album Isithembu?
Lwah Ndlunkulu: The themes in the album touch on all aspects of life including love and spirituality. We explored a number of different musical concepts.
Women’s month is about sisterhood. How have you supported and uplifted each other?
Mawhoo: Working together was so seamless because we have a lot of love for each other. The most important thing is that we were very patient and respectful with one another. No-one undermined the other and we respected our talent and used that to create a safe space and unity.
Can we expect another collaborative project from you two?
Lwah Ndlunkulu: Definitely, if this album does well, which it definitely will, we’ll definitely drop another one. We worked on so many songs but only 15 could make it to this album so we have a lot more music to share with the world.
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