Happy 10th birthday Sowetan SMag!
This issue coincides with the 50th anniversary of the June 16 Soweto Uprising. In commemoration, we are throwing it forward by handpicking four of the hottest young stars we’ve billed the “Class of 2026”.
Leading the pack is the class prefect, Tyla, who is set to drop her long-awaited sophomore album, A*Pop, in a month’s time. Before Tyla became a global pop superstar, SMag was the first to put her on a magazine cover, in June 2023.
She now returns as a global megastar in an SMag exclusive, joined by fresh-faced local talent Rapper K.Keed, who is shaping hip hop’s next 10 years, while Scandal! actor Litlhonolofatso Litlhakanyane is already a South African Film and Television Award (Safta) winner at 16. His former Scandal! co-star, Zekhethelo Zondi, is lighting up the big screen as a lead in local film Laundry. Together, they are the bright next-gen stars to watch.
Here is what to expect inside the issue:
Tyla on cooking pap on Vogue: I was just being honest. That’s something I would make in my kitchen, so I wanted to make it in that kitchen. Vogue and pap don’t go in the same sentence. It doesn’t make sense, and that’s why I wanted to do it even more. I would have loved as a child to see someone make pap on Vogue.
Tyla on becoming a global megastar: I could never have imagined this. It feels like it’s being written as I’m living it. It’s insane, it’s exciting, I’m 24, young, and I’m living this life that feels like it only happens on TV. When you are the person behind it, it doesn’t always feel the way it does for people who experience it from the outside. People on the outside see it as bigger than the person experiencing it … I don’t sit over here and go, “Hey, I’m a megasta!”
Litlhakanyane on bagging a Safta in March: I blacked out when they announced the winner, he says about his win. My sister had to wake me up. All I heard was her saying: “Let’s go.” I remember asking: “What’s going on?” I then looked at the big screen, and my name was listed there as “Winner”. What helped calm the nerves on stage was that the lights were very bright, and I couldn’t see the audience. It felt like there was a fourth wall.
Zondi on how it’s like to be young in 2026: There’s a lot of pressure. There is worry about whether you’re going to find a good job, because of the unemployment rate. There’s also this thing of choosing a stable job as opposed to choosing something you are passionate about, so you can earn a steady income. The cost of living keeps rising. It means having to sacrifice many of the things you love. It means having to educate yourself on current affairs, so that when things happen, you know why. A lot of us are liberating ourselves by embracing our blackness, our youth, and the fact that we have freedom of speech. If we don’t like something, trust that Gen Z will say something about it.
K.Keed on what gives her hope about young people: We’re bringing back passion. I love passionate people because I’m a passionate person too. I believe that with anything you do, even if it’s waking up or cutting grass, just be passionate about it. Passion gives me hope and keeps me alive. The kids of today are bringing passion back, and not just in music. I see it, you know, in various artistic forms and creations, which is cool and empowering. It’s pure and intentional, and when you do that, people will feel and receive it.
- The 10th Anniversary of SMag is out next Friday, June 26. Found exclusively inside when you purchase the Sowetan, on that day, in limited stores in Pretoria and Johannesburg.
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