BlaQ Diamond, is a popular Afro pop duo made up of Ndumiso Mdletshe and Sphelele Dunywa, both hailing from Ladysmith in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.<\/p>\n
Their musical journey started in 2010 when they met on a school trip and bonded over their shared love for music, leading to an unforgettable jam session on the bus.<\/p>\n
After signing with Ambitiouz Entertainment, they launched their debut album, Inqola, in 2017, which quickly soared to the top of the iTunes charts.<\/p>\n
FACTS ABOUT BLAQ DIAMOND<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\n
- FULL NAME:<\/strong>Ndumiso Mdletshe
\nSphelele Dunywa<\/li>\n- DATE OF BIRTH:<\/strong>May 7, 1993<\/li>\n
- PLACE OF BIRTH:<\/strong>Ladysmith, Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa.<\/li>\n
- NATIONALITY:<\/strong>South Africans<\/li>\n
- OCCUPATIONs :<\/strong>Singers, Songwriters, Rappers<\/li>\n
- LABELs:<\/strong>Ambitiouz Entertainment (Former)Umuthi Records (Current<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
During a school trip in 2010, a spontaneous rap session on the bus brought them together, igniting a friendship that revealed their mutual love for music.<\/p>\n
As they began performing at school events and gatherings, their talent quickly gained recognition in their community, establishing them as local stars.<\/p>\n
CAREER<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Eager to explore more opportunities in the music industry, the duo made the daring choice to move to Johannesburg.<\/p>\n
Although they faced initial difficulties in a new city without any connections, they remained determined, taking on regular jobs to support themselves while pursuing their musical dreams.<\/p>\n
In early 2017, Blaq Diamond signed with Ambitiouz Entertainment and started working on their debut album. Their singles \u201cSthandwa\u201d and \u201cEmzini kaBaba\u201d were released in June 2019, the latter accompanied by a music video.<\/p>\n
Their album \u201cInqola\u201d was released in the winter of 2017 to widespread acclaim, fusing Afro-soul with Maskandi and umBhaqanga influences to create a fresh and youthful sound.<\/p>\n
The duo received two nominations at the 24th South African Music Awards and made their live performance debut in Pietermaritzburg in 2018 at a local fashion show.<\/p>\n
On May 2, 2019, Blaq Diamond released their single \u201cMemeza,\u201d featuring Sjava, which climbed to number 9 on the Radio Airplay Charts.<\/p>\n
Their next single, \u201cIbhanoyi,\u201d was released on August 2 and quickly climbed to the top of the iTunes charts. They received the Record of the Year award for \u201cIbhanoyi\u201d at the South African Music Awards.<\/p>\n
On January 23, 2020, they launched their third single, \u201cLove Letter,\u201d which reached number 3 on iTunes and number 11 on the Radio Airplay Charts.<\/p>\n
Their second album, Umuthi, which includes collaborations with Sjava, Ci Ci, Thee Legacy, and Igcokama Elisha, debuted at number one on the iTunes Albums Charts on January 31, 2020.<\/p>\n
In June 2020, Blaq Diamond established Umuthi Records in partnership with Ambitiouz Entertainment.<\/p>\n
They collaborated on tracks with DJ Miss Pru before releasing their hit single \u201cSummer YoMuthi\u201d in November 2020, which topped the Channel O Top 30 music chart.<\/p>\n
On June 4, they released the single \u201cMessiah\u201d featuring Dumi Mkokstad, which quickly garnered 3 million views on YouTube.<\/p>\n
Their song \u201cSummer YoMuthi\u201d received acclaim at the 6th All Africa Music Awards, earning eight nominations, including Song of the Year in Africa.<\/p>\n
On October 29, they released \u201cItaly.\u201d By December 2021, the duo had parted ways with Ambitiouz Entertainment.<\/p>\n
Fast forward to early September 2022, they teased a new single titled \u201cQoma,\u201d featuring Big Zulu and Siya Ntuli, on Instagram.<\/p>\n
Their album “Zulu Romance,” an enchanting blend of afro-pop infused with maskandi and isichathamiya elements, was released on February 29, 2024, featuring the singles “Qoma” and “Mangibona Wena.”<\/p>\n
PERSONAL LIFE<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Even as their popularity and success continue to grow, the duo chooses to keep information about their personal relationships, families, and everyday lives away from public scrutiny.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BlaQ Diamond, is a popular Afro pop duo made up of Ndumiso Mdletshe and Sphelele Dunywa, both hailing from Ladysmith in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Their musical journey started in 2010 when they met on a school trip and bonded over their shared love for music, leading to an unforgettable jam session on the bus. After […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":15229,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[1257,1258],"class_list":["post-15225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-profiles-biographies","tag-blaq-diamond","tag-blaq-diamond-biography"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.naijatraffic.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.naijatraffic.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.naijatraffic.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.naijatraffic.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.naijatraffic.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15225"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.naijatraffic.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15225\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.naijatraffic.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.naijatraffic.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.naijatraffic.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.naijatraffic.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}