Mzayifani
Mzondeleli Boltina, better known as iFani, is
a South African Hip-Hop/Rap artist,
MC and television presenter. His first single was ‘Hola Hater’, followed
by ‘Ewe’, ‘Shake’, ‘Milli’ and the ‘I Believes in Me’ (1st and 2nd Quadrant) albums,
the latter of which attained Gold Status’ on the day of its release. He debuted
on television as a presenter, hosting a sponsored reality series, on SABC 1
called, ‘Stumbo Stomp Amapantsula’, which was a platform for challengers
to battle out their pantsula moves.
He was later replaced by Busiswa Gqulu in the 2nd Season. He has also appeared
on and hosted the reality television series ‘Clash of the Choirs’, which aired on the
channel ‘Mzanzi Magic’.
Boltina was born in Mthatha, the Eastern Cape Province
of South Africa and was raised in the Port Elizabeth locales
of New Brighton and Motherwell. He was a
student at the Gelvandale High School, then went on to study for a BSc
(Hons) Computer Science and BSc (Computer Engineering) at
the University of Cape
Town. Following
his graduation, iFani worked as a process control engineer at SABMiller, during
which time, he also worked in different styles of music and became involved in
a number of hip-hop battles and cyphers as an underground rapper after
work. His stage name ‘iFani’ was inspired from a name he adopted from his
grandfather, ‘Mzayifani’.
His first single, ‘Hola Haters’ opened
to a tepid response in 2009, and gained wider reception once it was picked by
the Gauteng Radio Station, YFM and featured as one among the ‘Hot 9’ songs
on the ‘Hot 9’ chart. His second single ‘Ewe’ defined his feelings about the
South African music industry and the reception for his music. The song,
released in 2010, gained significant airplay on pop music stations and charts
and was one of his most commercially successful singles till date. The TV
channel SABC1 picked
‘Ewe’ as one of the ‘Best Music Videos’ for 2011. iFani signed a contract with
Sony Music Africa in 2012 after the release of his single ‘See Live’.[12]Through
the next couple of years, he released a series of successful singles including
‘Shake’ and ‘Milli’, and has collaborated with the artist Blaksuga, with whom
he released the track, ‘Chocolate and Vanilla featuring Blaksuga’. ‘Shake’
debuted on Club 808’s Chart at the number 1 position in September 2012. In 2013
he released his first album ‘I Believes in Me’ (1st Quadrant), with thirteen
tracks and collaborations with the artists Blacksuga, Nomsa and Bongani Fassie.
The second album, ‘I Believes in Me’ (2nd Quadrant) released on April 29, 2015
and achieved ‘Gold’ status on the same day of its release.[13][14] The
2nd Quadrant album also features thirteen tracks, and was released under
the Columbia/Epic Label
Group. His single
‘Settle Down’ entered the ‘Top 100’ charts and coincided with the first
physical pre-order for an album and a digital pre-order via iTunes
iFani was one of the three celebrities
in the e.tv reality series show ‘Reality Check’, where he along with Chomee and
Kelly Khumalo had to work and do good deeds for charity. In 2015 he was the
‘Kasi Host’ of the SABC1 documentary-series, ‘Mi Kasi Su Kasi’, and has
appeared on ‘Late Night News with Loyiso Gola’, ‘Jam Sandwich’, ‘Idols-Season
10’, ‘I Love South Africa – Season 1’, ‘The Man Cave- Season 3’, ‘Top Billing’,
and ‘Zaziwa’
Source
Wikipedia, 2018. Wikipedia.
[Online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IFani#cite_ref-breath_2-1
[Accessed 31 July 2018].
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Last Updated: 31 July 2018 Incorrect information? Or want
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