Mjolisi keeps maskandi’s storytelling core intact on Kuphelele

Mjolisi returns with a new full-length project

South African maskandi artist Mjolisi has released Kuphelele, a new album that keeps the genre’s storytelling tradition at the centre while widening the emotional range around it.

Sony Music Entertainment Africa says the project follows Inganono, which has accumulated more than 15 million streams. The new album arrived on 21 August and includes themes of love, perseverance, gratitude, growth and achievement.

MaWhoo gives the title track a wider crossover edge

The title track features MaWhoo, bringing one of amapiano’s most recognisable vocalists into Mjolisi’s maskandi world. Another track, “Ngaze Ngak’thanda”, has also emerged as an early listener favourite.

The pairing is significant because maskandi’s current growth has increasingly come through collaborations that do not dilute the genre’s identity. Instead of sanding down the guitar lines, vocal phrasing and narrative approach to make the music more generic, artists are bringing outside voices into a clearly maskandi frame.

Maskandi’s streaming growth is becoming harder to ignore

The genre has always had a substantial domestic audience, especially in KwaZulu-Natal, but recent streaming numbers and collaborations are making its commercial reach more visible nationally.

For Mjolisi, the test now is whether Kuphelele can extend the momentum of Inganono rather than simply follow it. A strong title track and the MaWhoo collaboration give the album a clear entry point, but the longer-term measure will be whether listeners stay with the full project beyond the release window.

The album was introduced to industry guests at a private Sony Studios listening session in Johannesburg ahead of release.