| Background: | person |
| Lwah Ndlunkulu | |
| Birth Name: | Lwandile Mtshali |
| Birth Place: | Hluhluwe, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa |
| Genre: | Afro-Pop |
| Instrument: | Vocals |
| Years Active: | 2021–present |
| Label: | Nkabi Records |
Lwandile Mtshali, professionally known as Lwah Ndlunkulu or Lwah The Ndlunkulu is a South African singer and songwriter. Born and raised Hluhluwe, KwaZulu-Natal, having signed a record deal with Nkabi Records released her debut single "Ithuba", which became her first biggest song and certified Platinum by the Recording Industry of South Africa (RiSA).[1]
Lwandile Mtshali was born and raised Hluhluwe, she relocated to Johannesburg, Gauteng[2] to her mother's house while she was studying Grade 11 in 2020.[3] She got a job at Hillbrow Radio Station as a radio presenter prior working at a club situated at Maboneng.[4] While she was working at the club she met music producer Celza and invited her to visit Nkabi Records prior signing a record deal. Lwah signed a record deal and made her debut on Big Zulu's single "Umuzi eSandton" which appeared on Ichwane Lenyoka. The song reached number 1 in South Africa.[5] "Home" featuring Sjava was released 2021.
Lwah apperead on a joint album of Nkabi Records Inkabi Nation alongside Xowla, Siya Ntuli, Big Zulu and Mduduzi released 2022.
Lwah gained global prominence after her breakthrough debut single "Ithuba" featuring Siya Ntuli was released August 2022. The song was certified platinum by the Recording Industry of South Africa (RiSA).[6]
"Ngiyeza" was released on January 20, 2023. It reached number #2, #4, #5, #9 iTune Charts, Shazam, Apple Music and Spotify respectively within the first week of release. It reached Platinum by Recording Industry of South Africa.[7] [8]
Lwah leads the nominees with 4 nominations for Song of the Year, Afro Pop Artist of the Year, Artist of the Year at 2023 Basadi in Music Awards.[9]
Ndlunkulu announced her debut studio album Imizwa, on November 13, 2023. The album was released on November 24.
Upon its release it debuted number one on Spotify's Top Albums Charts, and amassed two million streams on Spotify, 10 days after its release. [10] [11]
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZA | ||||||||
| "Home" (featuring Sjava) | 2021 | — | ||||||
| "Ithuba" (featuring Siya Ntuli) | 2022 | — | RiSA: Platinum | Imizwa | ||||
| "Ngiyeza" | 2023 | 1 | RiSA: Platinum | |||||
| "Eyami" | — | |||||||
| "Ngikhathazekile" (Bongo Beats, Lwah Ndlunkulu, Khethi) | — | |||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZA | ||||||||
| "Paris" (Mthandeni SK featuring Lwah Ndlunkulu) | 2023 | — | RiSA: Multi-Platinum[12] [13] | |||||
| "Umsindo we Nhliziyo" (Xowla featuring Lwah Ndlunkulu) | 2024 | — | ||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||
| Title | Year | Other artist(s) | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Mushonga" | 2023 | Mbofholowo | ||
| "Cela Skhulume" | DJ Tira | Malume Way | ||
| "Ntombo" | 2024 | Zulu Romance |
| Lwah Ndlunkulu | |
| Wins: | 7 |
| Nominations: | 19 |
! |-|rowspan =4|2023 |"Ithuba" featuring Siya Ntuli|Song of the Year | |rowspan=4|[14] |-|rowspan=2 div style="text-align: center";>|Herself |Afro Pop Artist of the Year | |-|Artist of the Year| |-|div style="text-align: center";>|"Ngiyeza" |Music Video of the Year | |-|rowspan =5|2024|div style="text-align: center";>|Herself|Artist of the Year | |rowspan =4|[15] |-|rowspan=2div style="text-align: center";>|"Eyami"|Afro Pop Artist of the Year ||-|Song of the Year | |-|div style="text-align: center";>|"Ngiyathandaza" |Music Video of the Year | |-|div style="text-align: center";>|"Ngiyeza" |Capasso Most Streamed Song||
! |-|rowspan=3|2024|rowspan=2div style="text-align: center";>|Herself |Artist of the Year | |rowspan=3||-|Best Female | |-|div style="text-align: center";>|Imizwa |Best African Pop|
! |-|rowspan=2|2021|rowspan=2 div style="text-align: center";>|"Umuzi eSandton" |Song of the Year||rowspan=2|[16] |-|Best Collabo|
! |-|rowspan=5|2024 |div style="text-align: center";>|"Paris" | Motsepe Foundation Record of the Year ||rowspan=2|[17] |-|div style="text-align: center";>|"Ngiyeza"|RAV Music Video of the Year||-|rowspan=3 div style="text-align: center";>|Imizwa|Newcomer of the Year| |rowspan=3|[18] |-|Female Artist of the Year| |-|Best Afro Pop Album|