South African Afropop singer/songwriter Mthunzi’s Zulu vocals serve as a vehicle for his musings on love and life. Growing up in Hammarsdale in the Kwazulu-Natal province in the ’90s and 2000s, Njabulo Mthunzi Ndimande was encouraged to sing by his mother, who spotted his talent when he was as young as three. Mthunzi is a repository of the music he grew up with; on top of incorporating maskandi’s shivery falsetto into his modern R&B-influenced vocal style, Mthunzi’s interpolations include choral-pop group Woza Africa’s 1994 classic “Istokvel” (on his breakout single “Ngibambe La”) and Afrosoul legend Jabu Khanyile’s band Bayete’s 2005 single “Sponky Ponky” on “Selimathunzi,” the title track of his 2020 debut. Selimathunzi was released by renowned South African house producer Sun-El Musician’s imprint El World Music and showcased Mthunzi’s eclectic taste, with cameos from Sino Msolo, Simmy, and Ami Faku—members of South Africa’s Afrosoul vanguard.