Uncle Waffles

Early life Zwane was born and raised in Eswatini (formerly Swaziland). Zwane grew up listening to South African house and kwaito music from artists such as Black Coffee, Lebo Mathosa and DJ Kent. It was here that she first was introduced to DJ'ing by a friend who also worked at the studio, as there was a fifteen-year old set of DJ decks there.

Career Uncle Waffles learned how to DJ in 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdowns, and claims to have practiced for eight hours each day. and would begin openly endorsing her on the platform. Uncle Waffles soon ventured into music production, and released her debut single "Tanzania" in March 2022 in anticipation of her debut extended play (EP), Red Dragon, which was released later that month. The tour was closely interlinked with a series of shows organized by Piano People, which she headlined alongside DJ Maphorisa and Focalistic, and is deemed the first all-star amapiano tour in the region. In that same month, Uncle Waffles announced that she would be hosting a residency on BBC Radio 1. She was the only DJ that performed at the 2022 Global Citizen Festival in Accra. She partnered with KFC South Africa to launch an exclusive "Uncle Waffles burger" which was made available for purchase in local branches in December 2022, and later again in September 2023. She then embarked on a concert tour of the United States, and then Australia. Streaming platform Audiomack also hailed her as an "#UpNow" artist in March 2023. Uncle Waffles' second EP, Asylum, was released in March 2023 and featured the track "Yahyuppiyah", which had been released as the first single from the project. In April 2023, she became the first amapiano musician to ever perform at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Her song "Tanzania" was sampled by American singer Beyoncé in a dance break on the Renaissance World Tour setlist, to which Uncle Waffles reacted with the statement "I'm crying, wow," on Instagram. She was nominated for Best International Act at the 2023 BET Awards. It was supported by the single "Echoes", featuring Tony Duardo, which was released on 4 August 2023.

Her single "Wadibusa" featuring OHP Sage, Pcee & Djy Bizana was released on 17 April 2024. It peaked at No. 4 on the Local Top 100 and No. 11 International Top 200 respectively.

Waffles will embark on her upcoming Less Talk, More Piano Tour, to commence from June 2, 2024, We Love Green, Paris until November 29, Asia.

Discography

Extended plays +TitleAlbum detailsCertificationsRed Dragon Released: 16 March 2022 Label: Kreativekornerr Format: Digital download, streaming Asylum Released: 11 August 2023 Label: Kreativekornerr Format: Digital download, streaming 4 Da Ho's Released: 6 December 2024 Label: Kreativekornerr Format: Digital download, streaming4 Da Streets (With Royal MusiQ)Released: 08 May 2026 Label: Kreativekornerr Format: Digital download, streaming

Singles + List of singles as lead artist, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album SA UKAfro "Tanzania" 2022 1— RISA: 7× Platinum 2023 5— RISA: 5× Platinum 3 — "Wadibusa" 2024 7 — "Zenzele" (Uncle Waffles, Royal MusiQ & Uncool MC featuring CowBoii & Xduppy)2025 27 164 Da Ho's"2 Spin Jikeleza" (with Focalistic & Shaunmusiq)2026__Non-album single "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Other charted songs

Tours

As a headliner Less Talk, More Piano Tour (2024) We Love Waffles (2025)

Awards and nominations