Lungelihle Zwane (born 30 March 2000), known professionally as Uncle Waffles, is a Swazi-born DJ and record producer based in South Africa. She didn’t know her parents and had been brought up by her grandma through her childhood years, until she reconciled with her mother as a teenager with whom she had a strained relationship thereafter. She is noted for her work in the amapiano genre and her dance abilities, with Billboard describing her as the “princess of amapiano”.
Four: Tanzania
“Tanzania”, her debut single reached number one in South Africa, and was certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry of South Africa. It was released in March 2022 in anticipation of her debut extended play (EP), Red Dragon which featured artists like BoiBizza, Tony Duardo, Sino Msolo. The official music video garnered ver 2.4M views on YouTube.
FYI
- Before her success as a DJ, Zwane used to be a television presenter on Studio1 on Eswatini TV, but was replaced in January 2022 after parting from the show.
- October 2021, she gained prominence after a video of her dancing to the song “Adiwele” by Young Stunna during her set went viral.
- Amid the success of the video, Canadian rapper Drake started following Uncle Waffles’s Instagram account.
- She was the only DJ that performed at the 2022 Global Citizen Festival in Accra.
- She partnered with KFC South Africa to launch an exclusive “Uncle Waffles burger” which was made available for purchase in local branches in December 2022.
- British publication Mixmag hailed Uncle Waffles as one of the top breakthrough DJs of the year 2022 worldwide.
- In April 2023, she became the first amapiano musician to ever perform at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. She will also perform at the Afro Nation Festival in both Miami and Portugal in June 2023.
Three: Hayi by Felo Le Tee feat. Uncle Waffles
Gaining popularity through the popular app Tiktok as a dance challenge, this track features Uncle Waffles and it has garnered over 708k views on its official audio on YouTube.
Two: Sghubuhandro
Off her Ep “Asylum” “Sghubuhandro” has garnered over 35k views on its official audio on YouTube. It was released on the 31st of March,2023. It was produced and recorded by the Swazi DJ, Uncle Waffles featuring Shakes and Les. The song was released through KO-SIGN PTY Ltd and distributed by Encore Recordings.
Awards/ Nominations
- She won the award for Best DJ Africa at the African Muzik Magazine Awards in 2022
- She was nominated for Beat African DJ and Best Female Artist in South Africa at the All Africa Music Awards in 2022
- She was also nominated for African DJ of the year at the 2023 Soundcity MVP Awards Festival
DISCOGRAPHY/ EPs
- Red Dragon (2022)
- Asylum (2023)
One: Yahyuppiyah
“Yahyuppiyah”, of her second EP “Asylum” which was been released in March,2023. as the first single from the project. The EP was certified gold by the Recording Industry of South Africa (RISA) within one week of its release. The song is currently a circulating trend on the popular app Tiktok The official visualizer garnered over 1.5M views on YouTube with the song released on the 24th of April,2023.
