Afropop Worldwide

Although he has had his share of setbacks--including losing a major-label deal with Sony and getting carjacked and kidnapped-- iFani has ascended quite rapidly to South African stardom. We covered that rise in last year’s “South Africa Today” program. After abandoning a career as an engineer, the young rapper put out several successful singles before dropping his debut full-length I Believes in Me: 1st Quadrant, the current number-one record on South Africa’s iTunes. iFani stands out by rapping entirely in the Xhosa language, rarely heard in South African hip-hop, even though it’s the second most-spoken language in the country. He's well known for his unique fashion sense--sometimes rocking rimless glasses, wool gloves, a dollar-sign chain and suspenders with an ungroomed Afro--and his funny, fast-paced rapping style. iFani displays another side on “iingoma Ezimnandi,” the sixth single from I Believes in Me. The song is dedicated to Mamthembu, his deceased grandmother who raised him, “and all mothers who passed on.” The video for the song shows a young boy growing up with a loving grandmother, playing games with him and shedding a tear as he gets his college diploma, before hitting a sad note as iFani grieves over his grandmother’s passing. His rapping prowess is clear, with the sounds of Xhosa smoothly bouncing off each other in a rapid-fire delivery. Check it out below!