Renowned musical group, Inkabi Nation, lead by popular rapper Big Zulu (real name Siyabonga Nene), released the new single “Tilili” on Friday, July 26.
The upbeat love song centres on a man complaining about his partner not giving him enough attention.
“In this song, the audience experiences how the group merges their flow, melodies and harmonies of Ushun sound,” a press statement explained. This stems from Zulu’s 2018 album, “Ushun Wenkabi”.
The group, which is also made up of Lwah Ndlunkulu, Mduduzi Ncube (also known as Stallion), Xowla and Siya Ntuli.
Having shot to fame with the hit song “Voicemail”, they have been mentored by the “Dear My Love” hitmaker. The 37-year-old Durban-born musician is known to be a father figure to them.
He said in the statement: “Ngithanda ukubonga onke amafans axhasa Inkabi Nation , njengoba singumdenii ozama ukuphuhlisa Ushuni ngiyanithembisa ukuthi nizoyijabulela lengoma ‘Tilili’ njegoba siyibalele nina siyiNkabi Nation. Ngalomazwi ngithi Shwele.”
This loosely translates to: “I'd like to thank all my fans for supporting Inkabi Nation, since we're a family trying to promote music, I promise that you will enjoy this song 'Tilili' since we wrote it for you as iNkabi Nation. With these words, I bid you adieu.”
Meanwhile, their new song starts with Xowla singing: “Oh Tambo lam le Kentucky ozokufowuna nini dali, ifowuni yam ithulile dali uzongithinta nini”, which loosely translates to: “Oh my KFC chicken bone (my love), when will you call my darling, my phone is quiet, darling when will you call?"
Inkabi Nation has earned widespread acclaim for their other hits, which include “All I Need To Know” and “Impendulo”.
Their self-titled album was released in September 2022 and, last year, they won the The Metro FM Award for Best Duo or Group. They were nominated also for Best Traditional Album in 2023 at 29th South African Music Awards (Samas).
∎ “Tilili” is available on all digital platforms.