Their love for music brought them together. Vocalist and producer Katleho "Louckzz Mangena" Maloka returned home from a sports injury and was heartbroken after quitting his first love, rugby. Mpho "Kiing Phost" Rakometsi was an aspiring dancer who almost gave up. But fate brought them together and they formed the fun and dynamic Amapiano duo, Ishuu Industry from the Free State.

FATE

They had no music studio when they started. Louckzz Mangena (23) had to return home to Wesselsbron in the Free State from Johannesburg to nurse a rugby injury that lost him a scholarship. He met Kiing Phost (18), a street dancer who longed to make music. However, the two started recording themselves and sharing their music on social media due to a lack of resources in their small town. "We met by chance when I was looking for a music studio. I had come back home after injuring my knee,' Louckzz Mangena said. "When Kiing Phost and I met, we clicked, we had a lot in common and we liked the same music. We wanted to record so badly but we struggled to find a studio, so we used InShot and posted our videos, surprisingly, people loved the music,' Louckzz Mangena said. In no time, they went viral.

MAKING HITS

Their song Chomiyaka has been a hit for months on TikTok and all streaming platforms. "That song gave us our big break.' The duo has since released the single Yebo Keh. "It's a fun song for the youth. It's a summer song just about us celebrating life and being young and free. It's not supposed to be serious or change the world in any way, but just about young people owning the space," Louckzz Mangena said.

ORIGINALITY

The two have also created their genre called iwi, which they call a sub-genre to Amapinao. "It's a distinct sound from the Free State. We wanted to create something uniquely Free State that could set us apart from other Piano artists,' Louckzz Mangena added.