Idols SA Star ZanoThando Opens Up About His Sound And New EP Featuring Veteran Thebe.Meet Sonwabile Zano Thando Ngxito who is popularly known as Zano thando, he is one of the South Africa idols 2020 contestants. ZanoThando was born in Rustenburg, North West, South Africa. He was announced as one of the Idols SA season 16 finalist.
ZanoThando is back on the music scene with a new EP that features kwaito legend Thebe. With the belief that “kwaito is not dead, it has revolutionised”, Ngxito has used the two years since he was booted off Idols SA as a time to rebrand and reintroduce who he is as a kwaito and Afro-soul artist.
“I was very fortunate to collaborate with a legend in the game, Thebe. I grew up being influenced by kwaito and the kasi culture. I grew up around gangsters and guys from the streets. I used to listen to Thebe and having him on my song Gogo was like a dream come true,” said
“My sound is very street hood, it’s not a sound that’s on high rotation or popular. I think it’s more new age kwaito with a little influence of amapiano. I always make sure to keep the bounce in my sound. However, I am a versatile artist. I also tap into Afro-soul and make romantic type of music… my aim is to inspire people through my music.”
Looking back, Ngxito said he wanted to go all the way in the singing competition but not bagging the ultimate title did not stop him from chasing his dreams. “I’ve been receiving quite a lot of attention since I dropped my EP, Uza no Thando, earlier this month. The past two years have been a big transition for me… from being someone who people didn’t know to be stopped everywhere I go,” said ZanoThando.
“The fame I received from Idols SA played a huge role on my brand which I feel privileged about. It helped me grow in the industry a lot faster but the downside of it all is that after I left the competition in the top 4, I had to start gaining my fan base from scratch.”
