LK BABA: FATHERING THE STYLE OF ESWATINI'S URBAN MUSIC
By Timbuktu Library

With over a decade since breaking into the Eswatini Music Scene, LK BABA is a brand name that is heavily entrenched within Skom as a place of birth and Mbabane as his home city. The influence of his sound has birth many artists like Young Zesh, K Darrow and many more. Tasked with giving a top 5 list of artists that come from his hood 'Skom', LK BABA names himself as the first, 'Lyrical Busta' is second on his list, 'Rawva' is third, fourth name on the list is 'Movement' and the fifth name is 'Koblaz'.

Skom is (the hood/Kasi) area a little outside the city of Mbabane, its has given birth to countless number of legendary local artists, sports figures, LK BABA makes a note that 'Skom' is like a community and most of the talent groomed there grow up together and share alot of the spaces they need inorder to express their artistic talents.

'Skom' has given birth to so many talents that have gone on to play for continental stages and some global. Being a son of the soil, LK BABA feels himself to be established in the game especially as a solo artist, having started his music career with Mvilas and together forming the duo group Chakalaka.

A decade has passed since then, its 2025 and the Southern Hemisphere just entered its new years spring, the winter energy is cleaning out and in the midst of it all LK BABA has a new song and its titled 'Phoyizeni'. 'Phoyizeni' by LK BABA expands on his signature sound, coined over the years and refined in pursuit of mastery. Koblaz is the producer of the beat for 'Phoyizeni', LK BABA has a name for the new approach towards his music, he doesn't reveal yet citing he only wants to give it a name once the sound fully lives in form through his upcoming project.

The streets are talking about the change in sound, as far as LK BABA and many other artists, the common problem is marketing as the Eswatini Entertainment industry still lacks in backroom players, the drivers and connectors of culture with audiences and potential investors. " I would not necessarily categorise it as a change in sound but a show of range and versatility. I didn't want to be boxed in as a one dimensional artist, my core fanbase is aware of my range but my new followers may not know so i thought it would be the perfect time for them to get acquainted with this version of me who experiments with sound. " LK BABA

'LK' is an abbreviation of the artists full name, 'BABA' is derived from the African linguistic meaning father and this is in connection with his real life fatherhood journey, also his influence on younger artists that his had the honor to groom.

Every father seeks to provide for his own, immediate and extended family, LK BABA has made a conscious decision to put a price on his worth and made a decision to stop performing or giving vocal services for free, more artists can heed to this way of professionalism and fortunately this decision has yielded more positives in an environment that sometimes wants to exploit the artist instead of protecting them which always yields a positive for the Entertainment industry locally.

MUSIC REVIEW: THO8ISA PRESENTS THE MTK MIXTAPEZ EP
By Mr. Muzik

Painted Pictures With Words

Since cave paintings, stone carvings in heirogyphs (Mdu Ntr 'Divine writing/words') and beyond papyrus, the need to express one's inner world or self to further interpret their environment is second nature, and at times presents itself in layers. As our ancestors would have it music is spiritual, and it deserves reverance, to many it is a hobby, to some it is a means of serving one's inner existence.

Artisans are like platinum, rare and THO8iSA is one of a kind, skilled; as well as cultured at serving soul food on his soon to drop mixtape, 'THE MTK TAPES EXTENDED PLAY'. A soulful exploration of human consciousness taking up a Southern African perspective, enriched by western influences especially sonically.

'THE MTK TAPES EXTENDED PLAY' begins its sequence with the intro song 'The BIZness'  featuring Teshiselo who vocally blends with the medley, as THO8iSA declares his country code and nationality as if to avoid any confusion, the production by CJ Vegas provides a blanket synth that envelopes the wordsmith in THO8iSA.

Music as such is a gift given by the gods to humans which keeps the practicioners of it connected to them all whilst gathering the human family under one dance. The irony is we call it the 'universe', one song and dance, and on 'Real Fine Speak Your Mind' one is reminded of the magical experience one got the first time they discovered music is translucent.

A beatmaker himself thus a true artisan at heart. Hathor, the goddess of art, is said to be the mother of all muses that whisper songs in the ears of art practicioners, beatmakers are true listeners of the whispers and tend to create magic from 'nothing'. Five of the nine songs on this project 'THE MTK TAPES EXTENDED PLAY' are produced by THO8iSA himself.

With the recent new year of the spring equinox in the Southern Hemisphere, and a spike in higher consciousness in the arenas of RAP and an audience that demands authentic energy, 'THE MTK TAPES EXTENDED PLAY' offers that and more.

SKHULILE NXUMALO, FROM NURTURE TO NATURE, TAKING A FRESH LEAF FORWARD
By Timbuktu Library

Inclination towards nature and natural products by humans since after the 2012 awakening has caused many businesses and entrepreneurs to change their business models and align their endeavors with the natural order of the day. Our grandmothers and father's knew the insights and secrets of life are found in nature, the saying is the best teacher is nature.

Skhulile Nxumalo is one such student of nature, a nerd with social skills as he describes himself. A young man with a propensity to think outside the box, Skhulile Nxumalo found 'Freshleaf' with his wife who had become a statistic to the current unemployment rate in the country of Eswatini. In the midst of searching for a means to an end Skhulile suggested his wife use her family's farm to get 'Freshleaf' off the ground.

Freshleaf offers fresh organically grown herbs, botanical in some of their produce, Freshleaf has strategically aligned their brand with Explorers and were part of the recent Luju Festival experience where Skhulile exhibited his mixology skills.

An actuarial science background forms part of Skhuliles' education, "when it started getting bigger, i took the time to build some pricing and projection models to see the overall profitability, my forecast was 10 to 15 years into the future and the results were very promising" Skhulile Nxumalo.

More investment followed into 'Freshleaf' added with a fresh focus informed by the forecast conducted by Mr. Nxumalo. That fresh focus culminated into a youth woman farmer of the year award in 2024, as Mr. Nxumalos' wife Nokwanda Nxumalo won the award as part of the top ten finalists in said competition.

Life is not without its challenges and business takes similar shape, funding being one of those challenges, infrastructure to automate certain operational processes like irrigation, adding to it; unpredictable weather that presents instability, which would be mitigated by building greenhouses.

Rewarded for his risk taking Mr. Nxumalo had fortitude to see through his vision, Skhulile  Nxumalo mentions telling a family member, that he would be taking a break from writing his Actuarial Board Exams, to focus on scaling up Freshleaf. Skhulile Nxumalo finds it is key to have proper systems in place for all business records, "it is crucial to record all expenses and sales to always have a view of where you stand" Skhulile Nxumalo.

Freshleaf recently announced a partnership with Spar, Mbabane, Checkers and Ezulwini, Corner Plaza under Freshmark, supplying herbs such as Sage, Rosemary, Basil etc.

Looking for the best restaurants in Putney? Discover Cilantro London – the Indian restaurant locals love for authentic flavours, fresh ingredients, and a cozy atmosphere. Whether you’re planning a family dinner, a date night, or a casual lunch, Cilantro London offers a menu full of traditional curries, sizzling tandoori grills, and vegetarian options.

Visit us in SW15 or read the full story here: https://cilantrolondonindianrestaurant.blogspot.com/2025/08/why-cilantro-london-is-one-of-best.html

MUSIC OR DENTISTRY, DR. WANDI WANTS TO SEE YOU SMILING
By Timbuktu Library

The Culture of Hip Hop as known today has become more music, fashion and entertainment, than a way of life. The culture lives within Dr Wandi Nxumalo, a dentist whose love for poetry and Hip Hop music has not dwindled becuase of profession; An entrepreneur and a practitioner, Dr Wandi Nxumalo runs his own dentist practice at Listemba Park, Sdwashini in Mbabane called Real Relaxed Dentistry.

Seven years and counting; Dr Wandi Nxumalo grew up wanting to be in the medical space, despite the pull towards music and countless flirtations with the art form, his gift comes in the form of healing and the past seven years has seen him establish himself amongst peers and patients. Dr Wandi prides himself in his work stating "when a patient is genuinely grateful for the work we've done, that brings me satisfaction and is the main reason i love my job".

Growing up in a household with two older brothers and both parents fostered a pathway to a more stable life. Dr Wandi recalls how the family environment helped in grooming positive traits like respect, kindness and not taking anything for granted. " Education has always been pushed as a key factor to success in this lifetime, so tertiary education was non-negotiable" Dr Wandi.

Authenticity and genuineness are key words Dr Wandi keeps reffering to when speaking on his work and transition; from a musician to a medical practitioner. Dr Wandi represents the common climate of our Eswatini Entertainment industry, where one has to balance between two worlds inorder to ease tensions struggling artists usually have around them; Dr Wandi takes a practical approach towards balancing the two worlds, his love for music is passion driven without any pressure for "success" or fame, his medical career is his profession.

What sets Dr. Wandi apart is the great respect he shows the arts and his perspective on both the worlds he exists in, stating "I have always connected to music especially when i was going through dark times". Dr Wandi's source of fascination with music is in how one can capture a state of consciousness or feeling as a file format, save it, replay or redistribute it at any point in the future, and it still translates the feeling to the effect of changing the mood of an audience; he calls it magical.

Dr Wandi does not see these two worlds as conflicting, he has learnt branding, and taking himself and his business serious through Dentistry, he's learnt how to take the mentle of seriousness and not allowing a lack of seriousness around his business, coupled with a well groomed personality; Dr Wandi believes those lessons can be applied in the creative arts the only difference being he would replace the word 'patients' with 'listeners'.

Dr Wandi plans to keep the fire of passion going as he hints at a mixtape under works, with no date set yet, the mixtape will be titled 'Profession vs Passion'. Dr Wandi states "However it is more a peek into my little black book, than an attempt at superstadom or fame. I love music so i will always bring what i have to the table especially becuase it is a healthy release or form of expression".

PRIVACII
By Timbuktu Library

A generation driven by limitless energy, intrigued with possibilities, optimistic rather than pessimistic, genre bending Swati born artist producer Privacii, symbolizes the new gen artist; equipped in multiple genres or creative expressions but business savy, yet very present in his young family's life.

In the age of digital art the value of the art has been declining but the buying power for art has not dwindled according to Privacii, a multi faceted artist himself, Privacii who's full name is 'Lungelo Vilakati' admits to the lack of economics in the digital era for the artist, yet points out the benefits the consumer has gained from having all the music or art in the palm of their hands.


A producer himself, Privacii has diversified his portfolio through his media production and distribution company Vinyl Avenue group, this broadens his perimeters of influence in the music space, allowing him to be off service to fellow artists and businesses. Vinyl Avenue was founded in 2020 but has already amassed strategic partnership deals with 'Symphonic' an American distribution company from Florida, Kaphonic Records in France and Proton LLC in Germany .

When speaking to Privacii you are reminded that knowledge is power, that research is the ultimate driving force behind his success, we have a long conversation about the seismic shift currently taking place in music globally, in the midst of him moving houses in Johannesburg, South Africa, he makes time and details how sync deals aside from his bookings as a Dj, have been his main source of income. "Despite my high streaming numbers on Spotify, YouTube and the likes, I've got less revenue from streams in comparison to music licensing/sync deals".

A Bachelor of arts in media communications and culture degree holder from Nelson Mandela University with 14 distinctions, Privacii mentions how he used to be entrenched in culture around campus, leading to vice presidency of Golden key and a member of the black management forum.  Laying groundwork for his genre bending production "African electronic dance music", when he explains the music genre; Privacii coins it as music built around African drums and precussions, but further uses the example of Black Panther as the aspiration the music is meant to inspire, adding how Sci-fi movies like star wars and star trek hardly starred black representation.

Part II

In the midst of our conversation Privacii mentions his love for hip hop too, revealing his connection to Hip Hop as the catalyst behind his altar ego 'LeVae', a vocal recording Hip Hop artist who's music centres around ambition, introspection and a vulnerability. The signs of a well thought out blueprint are visible, he giggles at the fact; despite his lack of popularity in the South African Hip Hop community commercially, it is still one of his most viable revenue streams of income, becuase of sync deals and the likes.

Privacii details how Hip Hop became a big part of his life, citing 'Stillmatic' by Nas as the album that drew him into the genre and 'One Mic' by Nas as his favourite song, although he was always a Kwaito and House lover, citing 'Brothers of Peace' as early influencers off his during early primary school years (grade one or grade two) . Making sense of the differentiation in split personalities, 'LeVae' jokingly recalls how he used to love books that had poetry in them, during his primary school book presentation days.

With a sense of humor that lights up a room and is contagious, Privacii details how the name LeVae came to be, owing it to his personality and name abbreviation, he's quick to remind one about his come up, as he details the projects he's released under his altar ego 'LeVae'. Recalling all the successes each of the three full length projects yielded (Read Between The Lines, Better Safe Than Sorry & Medicated) , nonchalant about it; he mentions his nominations at the 041 awards for Best Producer and Best Artist.

Privacii is set to retire 'LeVae' this year and is working on his last Hip Hop project, a sixteen track full length project which is meant to showcase all of LeVae's colleagues, and his collaborative friends in Hip Hop. Still without a title, the album won't signal a total end to the altar ego LeVae, "I will still give priority to feature verses and maybe focus on making music for movies because i have always wanted to score movies".

There is a sense that there's more to his decision to retire 'LeVae' than what some may deem quitting, "I also do copyright through Vinyl Avenue as part of my advertising protfolio, I've also been thinking of going back to radio or start looking into voice overs for animations". The motion is certainly high with LeVae, even though Privacii has taken the wheel and has become the breadwinner.

My sister #family vibes

MTN BUSHFIRE 2025 TICKETS ON SALE 7 NOV!
MTN BUSHFIRE TICKETS GO ON SALE 7 NOV!

GET YOUR MTN BUSHFIRE 2025 TICKETS FROM 7 NOV!

The road to MTN Bushfire 2025 has officially begun! Online tickets for the 18th edition of
the proudly Eswatini, authentically African and globally infused festival of music and the arts
go on sale from 7 Nov 2024 at 10am SAST.
MTN Bushfire 2025 will be held from 30 May - 01 June 2025, at the iconic House On Fire in
the scenic Malkerns Valley of Eswatini.
Tickets have sold out for 12 years in a row, so get yours while stocks last!
Online ticket sales will commence with a limited number of discounted Early Bird tickets
through the MTN Bushfire website, www.bush-fire.com.
The festival along with its title sponsor, MTN Eswatini, are once again offering discounted
festival tickets for EmaSwati, exclusively on MoMo Marketplace.
Full Festival Golden Lounge, Main Arena and Children’s tickets are available on both
platforms and tickets can also be pre-loaded with Top Up funds for the festival.
Payment options for online tickets include credit card, EFT and, in Eswatini, MTN Mobile
Money (MoMo).
Discounted Festival Tickets for EmaSwati on MTN MoMo
MTN Eswatini and Bushfire are upholding their shared goals of maintaining access to the
festival for EmaSwati with a special, discounted rate for local festivalgoers. These tickets will
be sold through MoMo Marketplace to residents of Eswatini who have a valid Mobile
Money account.
To purchase these discounted MTN Bushfire tickets, simply WhatsApp “Hi” to 7808 4000
(“MoMoMarketplace”), select Option 1 for MTN Bushfire and follow the prompts. It’s quick,
easy and convenient!
Electronic tickets will be downloaded directly to mobile phones so festivalgoers can use the
e-ticket on their device to enter the festival. Tickets will also be emailed to buyers as a back-
up.
Accommodation and Travel
Camping tickets for the official MTN Bushfire campsite, managed by All Out Africa, can be
purchased through the festival website Tickets page.
For a Glamour-camping (Glamping) experience, please find contact details for Harambee
Hotel and Rush Adventures on the website.

Festivalgoers can also find Travel Packages and pre-order local SIM cards for the festival
here.
For other accommodation options, MTN Bushfire has a comprehensive list of nearby off-site
accommodation options, which can be found at www.bush-fire.com/plan/off-site-
accomodation.
Ticket Safety
Please note, festivalgoers are asked to keep their tickets safe and not show the barcode to
anyone as this makes them vulnerable to fraud. Please also note that tickets are not
refundable.
More information, as well as Terms & Conditions, can be found on the MTN Bushfire
website, www.bushfire.com.
Top African Festival
Named “Top African festival” by the BBC and hailed by CNN as one of the “7 African music
festivals you really have to see,” MTN Bushfire is a conscious, family friendly, eclectic
celebration of some of the finest music in Africa and beyond.
The 2025 edition will once again provide a wide and diverse range of musical, artistic and
performance-based experiences and artivist activations, across multiple stages and
activation zones.
Join us for an energizing and uplifting weekend that celebrates the music and arts of Africa
and beyond.
Get festival updates while they’re hot! Check out Recent News on the festival website,
follow @mtnbushfire on Ayoba, Facebook, Instagram and X, and stay tuned by signing up for
our newsletters!