Bongeziwe Mabandla faced addiction, illness and ‘backstabbers’. How has the South African singer stayed so upbeat?

What happened

According to The Guardian’s source item, Bongeziwe Mabandla faced addiction, illness and ‘backstabbers’. How has the South African singer stayed so upbeat?, An indie star in his homeland, Mabandla’s fame is growing abroad – and his uplifting new album is full of existential insight after some of the toughest years of his life As the camera pulls back from Bongeziwe Mabandla in the video for his recent single Yalwa , the true stars of the show reveal themselves: two women, dressed in a mix of crisp white and black traditional isiXhosa umbhaco garments and chic designer wear. Sure, Mabandla himself strikes a compelling figure in the centre of the frame in his own traditional apparel; the herd of cattle grazing around them are resplendent; and the forested ridges of South Africa’s Eastern Cape remain rapturous. But those stoic, confident, badass women! “Yeah, that’s my mom and aunt,” Mabandla says with a chuckle. The song, he says, is “all about heritage, going back and celebrating women in my lineage and in my family”. Keeping that connection

Context

The development sits in VINI’s Culture file for readers following arts, entertainment, fashion, film, music, celebrity, and the business of culture. The original report is linked so readers can check the source account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The source item is dated 2026-06-18T08:30:00+00:00.

What to watch

Open questions include whether primary sources issue follow-up statements, whether local or market impacts become clearer, and whether additional reporting changes the timeline or adds material context.

Source

Primary source: Bongeziwe Mabandla faced addiction, illness and ‘backstabbers’. How has the South African singer stayed so upbeat? via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.