iFANi

iFANi
Background information
Birth name	Mzayifani Mzondeleli Boltina
Born	(1985-11-20) November 20, 1985 Mthatha, Eastern Cape, South Africa
Genres	Hip hop Xhosa Rap rapper
Occupation(s)	Singer songwriter rapper
Years active	2009–present

iFani, born “Mzayifani Mzondeleli Boltina”,^[1] is a South African Hip-Hop/Rap artist, MC and TV Presenter, best known for his lyrical abilities^[2] and unique styling. He first entered the South African music industry with his single, ‘Hola Hater’ and then went on to release a host of other chart-busting records including ‘Ewe’, ‘Shake’, ‘Milli’ and the ‘I Believes in Me’ (1st and 2nd Quadrant) ^[3] albums; the latter of which, attained Gold Status’ on the day of its release. Music apart, he debuted on television as a presenter, hosting a sponsored reality series, on SABC 1 called, ‘Stumbo Stomp Amapantsula’,^[4] 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’,^[5] which aired on the channel, ‘Mzanzi Magic’.

Early Life & Career

iFani was born in Mthatha, the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa and was raised in the Port Elizabeth locales of New Brighton and Motherwell.^[6] He was a student at the Gelvandale High School and it was here, where he discovered his affinity towards graffiti and drawings. He pursued BSc (Hons) Computer Science & BSc (Computer Engineering) at the University of Cape Town ^[7] and graduated with full honors from the institution. Following his graduation, iFani worked as a Process Control Engineer at SABMiller,^[8] during which time, he also pursued music as an underground artist. He dabbled with different styles of music and became consistently involved in a number of Hip-Hop battles and cyphers as an underground rapper,^[9] post work hours.

Major Works

His first single, ‘Hola Haters’opened to a tepid response in the year 2009 and gained wider reception once it was picked by the Guateng Radio Station,^[10] YFM and featured as one among the ‘Hot 9’ songs on the ‘Hot 9’ chart. His second single, ‘Ewe’, defined his feelings upon entering the South African music industry and the reception for his music. The song, released in 2010, gained massive airplay on popular music stations and charts and is considered one of iFani’s most successful singles till date. The TV Channel, SABC1 ^[11] picked ‘Ewe’ as one of the ‘Best Music Videos’ for the year 2011. Through the next couple of years, he released a series of hit singles including ‘Shake’ and ‘Milli’ and has collaborated with the artist, Blaksuga, with whom he released the track, ‘Chocolate and Vanilla featuring Blaksuga’.^[12] The year 2013, saw the release of his first album ‘I Believes in Me’ (1st Quadrant) that features 13 tracks and collaborations with 3 popular 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. The 2nd Quadrant album also features 13 tracks and was released under the Columbia – Epic label. His single ‘Settle Down’ ^[13] entered the ‘Top 100’ charts and coincided with the first physical pre-order for an album and a digital pre-order via iTunes.

Television Appearances

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 more recent times, iFani was seen as the ‘Kasi Host’ ^[14] 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’, ‘Zaziwa’ and many more.

Personal life

From a very young age, iFani shared a close bond with his grandparents and admits that his stage name, ‘iFani’ was inspired from a name he adopted from his grandfather, ‘Mzayifani’.^[15] The stage name stuck on and would eventually become the name that would catapult him to success in his later years. He kept the name iFani as a promise to his grandmother that he would prove his mettle, make a career for himself and take care of her.

Shortly after entering the industry, iFani lost his grandmother and was also part of a debilitating accident. It was after recovering from the accident that he decided to change the course of his career and pursue music full-time. iFani’s grandmother was the subject of one of his more popular songs, ‘Ilingoma Ezimnandi’.^[16] The song was an ode to his grandmother and echoed his ceaseless love for her.

Nominations

• iFani’s song ‘See Live’ was nominated for the category ‘Best Song’ at the South African Hip Hop Awards, 2012
• The song ‘Milli’ was nominated for the category ‘Song of the Year’ at the South African Hip Hop Awards, 2013 ^[17]
• He was nominated for ‘Best Male’ at the South African Hip Hop Awards, 2013
• The video for ‘Milli’ was nominated for ‘Best Video’ at the South African Hip Hop Awards, 2013
• iFani was nominated for the ‘Most Valuable’ category at the South African Hip Hop Awards, 2013 ^[18]
• ‘I Believes in Me’ (1st Quadrant) was nominated for the ‘Album of the Year’ at the South African Hip Hop Awards, 2013
• He was nominated for the ‘Best Male Artist’ category at the Metro FM Music Awards, 2014
• His album was nominated for the ‘Best Hip Hop Album’ at the Metro FM Music Awards, 2014
• His music video was nominated for the category ‘Best Music Video’ at the Metro FM Music Awards, 2014
• iFani was one of the nominees for the category of ‘Best Newcomer’ for the Metro FM Music Awards, 2014
• He was nominated for ‘Newcomer of the Year’ at the SAMA 2014

Awards

iFani - Rapper

• iFani was conferred the ‘2012 South African Hip-Hop Award’ in the category of ‘Best Freshman’^[19]
• At the ‘20th Annual South African Music Awards’, iFani’s album, ‘I Believes in Me’ (1st Quadrant) bagged the ‘Best Rap Album’ award in the year, 2014 ^[20]
• He was awarded the ‘Best Hip-Hop Artist’ at the Eastern Cape Music Awards, in 2015 ^[21]

Musical Achievements

• Hype Magazine listed iFani as Number 1 on their ‘Top Unsigned Hype List’, in 2009 ^[22]
• Club 808 chose iFani as their first Boxfresh artist, 2011 ^[23]
• iFani signed a contract with Sony Music Africa after his single, ‘See Live’ caught the company’s attention ^[24]
• His single ‘Shake’ debuted on Club 808’s Chart at the number 1 position in September 2012 ^[25]
• ELLE Magazine listed him as one of the ‘people to watch!’ on the 2014 Hot List
• His album, ‘I Believes in Me’ (2nd Quadrant) touched Gold status on the first day of its release in, April 2015 ^[26]

References