The sounds of Kenny Bevhula

     Music

Kenny Bevhula’s journey in the music industry is marked by success stories and the insistence of working in a team.

A resident of Bevhula village, he is a Xitsonga traditional musician who started his music career in 1998. In 1999, he released Shangaan Vibe, which got him his first nomination in the Xitsonga Music Awards in the best disco category.

“My entry into the music industry was largely influenced by legends such as General Muzka and the late Matshwa Bemuda,” he says. He made headlines when he released the soundtrack entitled Ithemba lami for Yizo Yizo 3 in 2003. He later released a couple of house music albums before switching to traditional music.

He recorded his first Xitsonga traditional album, Khwirhi ra mabyalwa, in 2013 under the Bevhula Entertainment label. It was produced by the late Chris Sibanyoni, the same man who produced most of Matshwa Bemuda's albums. 

Khwirhi ra mabyalwa was followed by Whawha in 2014. It earned him nominations at the Munghana Lonene Xitsonga Music Awards in 2014 for best Xitsonga collaboration, on which he worked with the likes of Benny Mayengani and Prince Rhangani in a group called Black Poison. "This was the album that also earned me many followers and opened many doors for me," he says.

In 2015, he released Swarila, which was produced by Benny Mayengani and Prince Rhangani. The album also features heavyweights of Xitsonga music such as Sunglen Chabalala, Percy Mfana, Sarila, Nkhensi and Jelani.

Bevhula says his recent success can be attributed to his insistence on selecting the best musicians and teams to work with and ensuring that there is no element of vulgar language in his lyrics. “I am eternally grateful to the artists who have contributed to my music career,” Bevhula concludes.

Celecele was released in 2016, when he worked with popular artists such as Limpopo Roots, Prince Rhangani, Sunglen, Jelani and Mora. The album produced popular hits such as Ncinisa Nyonga and U siye nwana.

He will soon release yet another album, entitled Suka Kona (Wani Sirhela). His radio single, Suka Kona, is currently extremely popular, with more than 20 000 downloads.

Entertainment - Date: 30 April 2017

Tshifhiwa Mukwevho

Tshifhiwa Given Mukwevho was born in 1984 in Madombidzha village, not far from Louis Trichardt in the Limpopo Province. After submitting articles for roughly a year for Limpopo Mirror's youth supplement, Makoya, he started writing for the main newspaper. He is a prolific writer who published his first book, titled A Traumatic Revenge in 2011. It focusses on life on the street and how to survive amidst poverty. His second book titled The Violent Gestures of Life was published in 2014.

Email: [email protected]