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iFANi
iFani - Rapper
iFANi
Background information
Birth nameMzayifani Mzondeleli Boltina
Born (1985-11-20) November 20, 1985 (age 38)
Mthatha, Eastern Cape, South Africa
Genres
Occupations
Years active2009–present

Mzayifani Mzondeleli Boltina, better known as iFani,[1] is a South African Hip-Hop/Rap artist, MC and television presenter.[2] His first single was ‘Hola Hater’, followed by ‘Ewe’, ‘Shake’, ‘Milli’ and the ‘I Believes in Me’ (1st and 2nd Quadrant) [3] albums, the latter of which attained Gold Status’ on the day of its release. He debuted on television as a presenter, hosting a sponsored reality series, on SABC 1 called, ‘Stumbo Stomp Amapantsula’,[4] which was a platform for challengers to battle out their pantsula moves. He was later replaced by Busiswa Gqulu in the 2nd Season. He has also appeared on and hosted the reality television series ‘Clash of the Choirs’,[5] which aired on the channel ‘Mzanzi Magic’.

Early life

Boltina was born in Mthatha, the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa and was raised in the Port Elizabeth locales of New Brighton and Motherwell.[6] He was a student at the Gelvandale High School, then went on to study for a BSc (Hons) Computer Science and BSc (Computer Engineering) at the University of Cape Town.[7] Following his graduation, iFani worked as a process control engineer at SABMiller,[8] during which time, he also worked in different styles of music and became involved in a number of hip-hop battles and cyphers as an underground rapper after work.[9] His stage name ‘iFani’ was inspired from a name he adopted from his grandfather, ‘Mzayifani’.[1]

Career

File:IFANi4.jpg

His first single, ‘Hola Haters’ opened to a tepid response in 2009, and gained wider reception once it was picked by the Guateng Radio Station,[10] YFM and featured as one among the ‘Hot 9’ songs on the ‘Hot 9’ chart.[citation needed] His second single ‘Ewe’ defined his feelings about the South African music industry and the reception for his music. The song, released in 2010, gained significant airplay on pop music stations and charts and was one of his most commercially successful singles till date. The TV channel SABC1 picked ‘Ewe’ as one of the ‘Best Music Videos’ for 2011.[11] * iFani signed a contract with Sony Music Africa in 2012 after the release of his single ‘See Live’.[12] Through the next couple of years, he released a series of successful singles including ‘Shake’ and ‘Milli’, and has collaborated with the artist Blaksuga, with whom he released the track, ‘Chocolate and Vanilla featuring Blaksuga’.[6] ‘Shake’ debuted on Club 808’s Chart at the number 1 position in September 2012.[12] In 2013 he released his first album ‘I Believes in Me’ (1st Quadrant), with thirteen tracks and collaborations with the artists Blacksuga, Nomsa and Bongani Fassie. The second album, ‘I Believes in Me’ (2nd Quadrant) released on April 29, 2015 and achieved ‘Gold’ status on the same day of its release.[13][14] The 2nd Quadrant album also features thirteen tracks, and was released under the Columbia/Epic Label Group. His single ‘Settle Down’ entered the ‘Top 100’ charts and coincided with the first physical pre-order for an album and a digital pre-order via iTunes.[citation needed].

Television appearances

iFani was one of the three celebrities in the e.tv reality series show ‘Reality Check’, where he along with Chomee and Kelly Khumalo had to work and do good deeds for charity. In 2015 he was the ‘Kasi Host’ of the SABC1 documentary-series, ‘Mi Kasi Su Kasi’,[15] and has appeared on ‘Late Night News with Loyiso Gola’, ‘Jam Sandwich’, ‘Idols-Season 10’, ‘I Love South Africa – Season 1’, ‘The Man Cave- Season 3’, ‘Top Billing’, and ‘Zaziwa’.[citation needed]

Nominations

File:IFANi3.JPG
  • iFani’s song ‘See Live’ was nominated for the category ‘Best Song’ at the South African Hip Hop Awards, 2012[citation needed]
  • The song ‘Milli’ was nominated for the category ‘Song of the Year’ at the South African Hip Hop Awards, 2013 [16]
  • He was nominated for ‘Best Male’ at the South African Hip Hop Awards, 2013[citation needed]
  • The video for ‘Milli’ was nominated for ‘Best Video’ at the South African Hip Hop Awards, 2013[citation needed]
  • iFani was nominated for the ‘Most Valuable’ category at the South African Hip Hop Awards, 2013 [17]
  • ‘I Believes in Me’ (1st Quadrant) was nominated for the ‘Album of the Year’ at the South African Hip Hop Awards, 2013
  • He was nominated for the ‘Best Male Artist’ category at the Metro FM Music Awards, 2014[citation needed]
  • His album was nominated for the ‘Best Hip Hop Album’ at the Metro FM Music Awards, 2014[citation needed]
  • His music video was nominated for the category ‘Best Music Video’ at the Metro FM Music Awards, 2014[citation needed]
  • iFani was one of the nominees for the category of ‘Best Newcomer’ for the Metro FM Music Awards, 2014[citation needed]
  • He was nominated for ‘Newcomer of the Year’ at the SAMA 2014[citation needed]

Awards and recognition

File:IFANi7.jpg
iFani - Rapper
  • iFani was conferred the ‘2012 South African Hip-Hop Award’ in the category of ‘Best Freshman’[18]
  • At the ‘20th Annual South African Music Awards’, iFani’s album, ‘I Believes in Me’ (1st Quadrant) bagged the ‘Best Rap Album’ award in the year, 2014 [19]
  • He was awarded the ‘Best Hip-Hop Artist’ at the Eastern Cape Music Awards, in 2015 [20]
  • Hype Magazine listed iFani as Number 1 on their ‘Top Unsigned Hype List’, in 2009 [2]
  • Club 808 chose iFani as their first Boxfresh artist, 2011 [2]

References

  1. ^ a b "Rapper Ifani to get a reality check". sundayworld.co.za.
  2. ^ a b c "iFani, a Breath of Fresh Air". allafrica.com.
  3. ^ "Ifani explains how he sold 20 000 albums". citizen.co.za.
  4. ^ "iFani to Host New SABC 1 Show Stumbo Stomp Amapantsula". fdbq.co.za.
  5. ^ "Lawrence Maleka is the new Clash of the Choirs presenter". sundayworld.co.za.
  6. ^ a b "Ifani's rhymes tell his story". sundayworld.co.za.
  7. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-01-27. Retrieved 2016-01-21. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. ^ "iFani goes old school". ectoday.co.za.
  9. ^ "iFani". aboutentertainment.co.za.
  10. ^ "iFani". incwajana.com.
  11. ^ "iFani to host a new TV show on SABC 1". yomzansi.com.
  12. ^ a b "iFani". bimba.co.za.
  13. ^ "iFani tells AKA to kick rocks after twar gets out of hand". enca.com.
  14. ^ "SA rapper strikes gold with new release". iol.co.za.
  15. ^ "iFani". tvsa.co.za.
  16. ^ "South African Hip Hop Awards 2013 Nominees". africanhhb.com.
  17. ^ "Three EC artists up for national hip hop awards". dispatchlive.co.za.
  18. ^ "2012 WINNERS". sahiphopawards.com.
  19. ^ "Winners: #SAMA20". yomzansi.com.
  20. ^ "Eastern Cape Music Awards Winners". okmzansi.co.za.
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