Candy Tsa Mandebele
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Candy Tsa Mandebele Mokwena (born June 19, 1970) is a South African singer, songwriter, actress. Born and raised in Limpopo, she began singing in her mother's community traditional group, Sekgapa, at the age of 14. Mandebele began her career in 1993 as a songwriter, prior to joining group Shaka Bundu Girls in 1995. Mandebele is also well known for singing in Khelobedu language, which is a dialect of Northern Sotho language. In 2016, her debut solo album ''Siki (Five Cents)'' was released through
Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainme ...
, The album was a critical success and generated the single "Baile".


Life and career


1970–1993: Early life and beginnings

Candy Tsa Mandebele Mokwena was born in July 19, 1970, in the province of Limpopo. Mandebele has three siblings, At the age of 14 Mokwena started performing as a soloist in her Mother's community traditional group Sekgapa choir (her mother was the group leader and also played the drum for the group), in the village of Ga- Sedibeni. Mandebele grew up without her biological father Mandebele also attended public school in Limpopo, she did not receive formal schooling, she dropped out of school at grade nine. Candy launched her professional music career in 1993 as songwriter on Peter Teanet's double multi-platinum album, "Nwa'yingwani".


1994–2007: Career beginnings, Shaka Bundu Girls, and Disband

In 1994, Candy and her friend Nurse Matlala moved to the city of
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...
to pursue music career, In late 1994, they met Papa Penny Penny, who helped them sign a record deal with Gallo Records, the duo co-wrote penny hit single "Shichangani-Lshilungu", while they were working on their debut single. In 1995, they launched their career as Shaka Bundu Girls, The group scored a hit with their single "Hona Mo SOO" which was later certified Platinum by
RISA Risa may refer to: * Risa (given name), a feminine given name * Risa (Star Trek), a fictional planet * Radioiodinated serum albumin * Recording Industry of South Africa Recording Industry of South Africa (RISA) is a trade association repres ...
, Singles such as gold certified single "One Day" (1996) and "Hi July" in (1997) kept the band in the spotlight. In 1999, after leaving Gallo Records, they started to freelance as session musician. In 2004, they joined Kalawa Jazmee Records, Oskido renamed the group to CandyNurse. While at Kalawa Records the duo helped in composition of some of the tracks in BOP's "Life Iskorokoro" album, they also provided backing vocals for the album. In 2007 the duo disbanded.


2009–2017: ''Siki (Five Cents)'' and career breakthrough

In September 2010, her debut solo album, ''Siki (Five Cents)'', was released, it was released to positive reviews from music critics, and spawned the hit " Baile". The single earned Mandebele one nominations at the 2000
South African Music Awards The South African Music Awards (often simply the SAMAs) are the Recording Industry of South Africa's music industry awards, established in 1995. The ceremony is held annually, usually in late April or May, with the judging process starting in N ...
. Throughout the years, Mandebele performed guest verses on several song, including "Nkatanga" by Selaelo Selota and Malatji, "Boloba Thaba" with Revolution, DJ Lucky, Lacosta's "Diteki" and "Khoma jive", Uhuru's "Nkirikiri", Dr Malinga's "Moshito" and Black Motion's "Maghoro". After a four-year hiatus, On October 13, 2013, Mandebele released "Tsa Mandebele" song featuring Oskido and an accompanying music video on YouTube. The song became a 2013 hit and signature song for Tsa Mandebele.


2017: ''Hupenyu Unenge Viri''

In 2018, under her own label, Mandebele released "Nathinga" a single from her ''Hupenyu Unenge Viri'' (2018) album through
Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...
South Africa. The Xitsonga house track was written by Mandebele and produced by Molefi Modikoe. In an interview when she was asked about what the song was about, she said "The song was about a fictional person called Nathinga, who is eligible to and will get married in spite of the concern that people seem to have about her betrothal. The "Hupenyu Unenge Viri" album won two awards at the 2019 Limpopo Music Awards (LMA), Best Music Video (for song Nathinga) and Best Female. In March 19, 2019, Mandebele starred in South Africa's first Xitsonga telenovela drama series Giyani: Land of Blood on
SABC 2 SABC 2 is a South African family public television channel owned by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). SABC 2 broadcasts programming in English, Sepedi, Afrikaans, Venda, and Tsonga. As of August 2018, the channel started broad ...
, which tells the story about two families locked in a bitter, decades-long squabble over a banana plantation which was recently given to the people of Risinga. She played the role of a flamboyant village shebeen queen Mhani Dayina in the telenovela, Her portrayal of Mhani received positive reviews, and she made history by becoming the first person to speak Khelobedu in a television series. The show ended on November 26, 2019. Candy received four nominations at the 15th Annual South African Traditional Music Awards for Best Traditional Collaboration Song, Best Traditional Music Artist /Group Of The Year, Best Traditional House Music Song, Best Female Artist/Group.


Personal life

Mandebele was a mother of one son Lesley. She became pregnant at the age of 17, and had to drop out of school, she then went to work at a tea farmer to support her son. In 2011, Candy lost her son Lesley Mokwena (1987–2011) in a car accident. In 2017, Mandebele was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes


Discography


Studio albums

* ''Siki (Five Cents)'' (2009) *Easy Come Easy Go (2016) * ''Hupenyu Unenge Viri'' (2018) *Still Here (2020)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mandebele, Candy Tsa 1970 births Living people People from Limpopo 20th-century South African women singers 21st-century South African women singers