Tseliso Monaheng, Freelance Journalist Profile

Articles

Amapiano: The South African Sound That Took Over the World | OkayAfrica

1 week ago | okayafrica.com | Tseliso Monaheng

This OkayAfrica video traces amapiano's journey from South African townships to the world's biggest stages. As OkayAfrica marks our 15th anniversary, we're taking a look back at 15 defining African moments of the past 15 years that deserve to be remembered, and the impact they've had. Here's Moment No. 12. Click here for more OkayAfrica15 stories. For many outside of South Africa, amapiano became a lockdown soundtrack in 2020.
18 South African Music Acts to Watch in Honor of Youth Day

1 week ago | okayafrica.com | Tseliso Monaheng

On June 16, 1976, thousands of Black South African students took to the streets of Soweto to protest the apartheid government’s imposition of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction in schools. What began as a peaceful march turned into a massacre that spread to parts of the country, as police opened fire, killing hundreds. Youth Day now commemorates their courage and resistance, and stands as a reminder of the power and cost of protest.
13 South African Hip-Hop Songs About Fatherhood

2 weeks ago | okayafrica.com | Sabelo MKhabela |Tseliso Monaheng

The “raised-by-a-single-mother" narrative is common in rap. So much that rap songs about fatherhood are few and far between. For Fathers' Day, we dug for some rap gems from South Africa which show appreciation to fathers, and those of rappers talking about their roles as fathers, in this updated list.
The Death Toll Continues to Rise in South Africa’s Eastern Cape Floods | OkayAfrica

2 weeks ago | okayafrica.com | Tseliso Monaheng

At least 78 people so far have lost their lives in the Eastern Cape’s O.R. Tambo district in South Africa, following days of relentless rainfall, SABC News reports. Among the victims are six high school learners and two adults who drowned on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, when a 22-seater minibus carrying 13 learners from Jumba Senior Secondary School was swept into a river on the R61 bridge in Decoligny, one of the worst-hit areas near Mthatha. “[The rescue workers] waited for the water to subside.
The Best Afrobeats Songs of The Week - June 13, 2025

2 weeks ago | okayafrica.com | Emmanuel Esomnofu |Tseliso Monaheng

Every week, OkayAfrica highlights the top Afrobeats and African music releases through our best music column, Songs You Need to Hear This Week. Read ahead for our round-up of the best new African music tracks and music videos that came across our desks this week. Afrobeats veteran Olamide assembles an all-star cast on “99,” a banger released ahead of his forthcoming self-titled album.
Lojay Talks Growth, Fame, and the Cost of Creativity

2 weeks ago | okayafrica.com | Tseliso Monaheng

Lojay speaks openly about the emotional layers that shape his music in this episode of Afrobeats Intelligence. The last time Joey Akan caught up with Lojay, it was at the dynamic Nigerian artist’s house. This time, the roles are reversed: Lojay is in Akan’s territory – the Afrobeats Intelligence podcast – for a free-ranging, joyful conversation that lasts just over an hour.
The Songs You Need to Hear This Week

3 weeks ago | okayafrica.com | Emmanuel Esomnofu |Tseliso Monaheng

Every week, OkayAfrica highlights the top Afrobeats and African music releases through our best music column, Songs You Need to Hear This Week. Read ahead for our round-up of the best new African music tracks and music videos that came across our desks this week. With his first release of the year, veteran tastemakerSPINALL goes the sensual, mid-tempo route.
Yugen Blakrok on Going Global Without Selling Out

3 weeks ago | okayafrica.com | Tseliso Monaheng

In February 2019, South African MCYugen Blakrok embarked on a European tour that was meant to wrap by August. A year earlier, she’d appeared alongside Vince Staples on “Opps,” a standout track from the firstBlack Panther soundtrack. After more than a decade of steady grinding, critical acclaim had finally caught up with her, and bookings rolled in. When August came, she extended her visa.
You Need to Watch This Cinematic Exploration of Immigration

3 weeks ago | okayafrica.com | Tseliso Monaheng

French AlgerianDJ Snake has unveiled “Patience,” a music video in form, but in every other sense, a cinematic short film. Shot in Senegal by French director and cinematographer Valentin Guiod, the seven-minute visual is a poetic exploration of migration and endurance that pays homage toAmadou & Mariam’s 2008 classic, “Sabali.” The song and its film are made more poignant by the recent passing ofAmadou Bagayoko, whose performance in the film would be his last.
Rashid Lombard, Visionary Jazz Promoter and Cultural Icon, Passes Away At 74

3 weeks ago | okayafrica.com | Tseliso Monaheng

Rashid Lombard, the celebrated South African cultural worker, photographer, and jazz impresario who founded the renownedCape Town International Jazz Festival (CTIJF), has died at the age of 74. A recipient of the National Order of Ikhamanga in Silver – South Africa's highest civilian honor for excellence in arts, culture, journalism, and music – Lombard was recognized in 2014 for his immense contribution to promoting jazz both at home and globally. His legacy stretches far beyond music.