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UNCLE WAFFLES TAKES ON EUROPE

04/07/2022 08:30:00 Nombuso Dlamini

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Mbabane – ‘Waffles we want to party’!

Internationally renowned Amapiano DJ Uncle Waffles from Eswatini has landed on European soil for her tour, that began on Saturday. The tour comes after the rising star released her first Extended Playlist (EP), Red Dragon under a new stable, Spatial Audio. It was release on March 30, of this year. The EP will also be the focal point of the tour, which has been topping Apple Music album charts in South Africa ever since its release. The tour began on Saturday in Portugal; it will see the star perform at 11 other places, ending on September 10 in the United Kingdom and other shows are yet to be announced.

Performances

Social media was abuzz this past weekend as the star was heating up the social streets with her fire performances from her first stop, Afro Nation in Portugal. Afro Nation is an annual three day musical festival produced by Live Nation, Event Horizon and Memories Of Tomorrow just to name a few. The festival was founded and launched back in 2013 and it’s amazing to see Eswatini’s very own on such a big stage. The event has hosted the likes of Burna Boy, Afro B, Davido, Wizkid and Distruction Boyz just to name a few. This years’ line-up has kept the bar high with the amazing international acts. This year’s line-up had big names namely; Megan Thee Stallion, Rema and Beenie Man.

Born Lungelihle Zwane, Waffles like many young teens in the kingdom, came from humble beginnings. Before she was the talk of the town and an internet sensation across international borders, Zwane had aspirations of becoming an aeronautical engineer but reverted to the entertainment, after she couldn’t further her studies. Show business was the perfect match for her because she exerted an energy that later inspired her Red Dragon EP, the dragon persona. Gunning for the big screens Uncle Waffles, hosted music and entertainment shows on Eswatini TV, which is where she honed her Djing skills.

From there the star took steps into the right directions for the take off of her career when she left her homeland for a gig in South Africa. From that very first gig, she filmed and posted on various social media platform, the internet was set ablaze and from then on the star never looked back. Boundary breaker, fashion enthusiast has been some of the labels put on her back, but her talent has never been questionable to those who knew her capabilities. Waffles has been unwavering in her skills that won her a swathe of global fans, including Hip Hop superstar Drake, who followed the young DJ on Instagram and is often seen commenting on her Instagram (IG) lives. The Amapiano trail blazer has since been pushing the ‘Piano Movement’ internationally, with tours in London, Durblin and Birmingham just to mention a few. This summer tour that has begun for the artist will also be an international ‘premiere’ for her EP.

Project

The project has a total of four songs. She worked with Boi Bizza and Sino Msolo on her latest project. Her EP is also an extension of her international Amapiano sound. The artist shared about the inspiration behind the project and the naming of it. “I just wanted to release something that had a bit of everything in the performance aspect, and also bringing in the hype of Uncle Waffles onto a recorded format for my fans,” said Zwane in an interview about her EP Red Dragon with Glitzempire. When reached for comment Eswatini Arts and Music Association (SWAMA) President Lutfo Dlamini, shared that It doesn’t have to be foreign to be palatable. “This European tour for Uncle Waffles should show the high decision makers in the country that we are a talented country. We are very proud of the young DJ and we are ready to apologise to her for the mere fact that she had to be identified by another country whereas her own country wasn’t of any assistance,” said Dlamini.

He went on to share that they support the DJ. “We are also saying that the sky is the limit for our local artists, and the entertainment industry in the kingdom. It has a lot of challenges because a lot of decision makers in the country find ways not to support talent,’’ said Dlamini. He further said this should also be a positive warning to the arts and culture department and the ministry, to invest time and money to scout for talent and to stop neglecting it because they end up being recognised in neighboring countries.