The ongoing feud between award-winning Maskandi singers Khuzani Mpungose and Mthandeni Manqele is far from over. Khuzani alleged that Mthandeni, who is nominated for the Patrick Motsepe Foundation Song of the Year award at this year's South African Music Awards, received his nomination as a result of favouritism. Furthermore, Khuzani has ridiculed Mthandeni, telling him to humble himself and beg him and his supporters for votes to secure the award.

SONG OF THE YEAR NOMINEE

Mthandeni's popular song Paris has over 22 million views on Youtube, and it is the first song in the history of Maskandi to reach such status and double platinum. The song has surpassed the previous record held by the award-winning Maskandi group Shwi NoMtekhala with their track "Ngafa," which dominated the number one position on YouTube for several years. Mthandeni faces competition from notable artists such as Tyla, with her internationally recognised song "Water," as well as IPlan by Dlala Thuzini and Imothandazo by Kabza Da Small among others.

BEG US, WILL SUPPORT YOU

In a recent interview with the Durban-based Affirmation Podcast, Khuzani expressed his views on Mthandeni's nomination in the prestigious SAMAs category, accusing the awards of favouritism. "I'm not jealous over his nomination. If he can humble himself and ask my followers to vote for him in that category, they will do that. I don't see the need to be jealous over his nomination when I know how he was nominated. People are not aware that someone close to him had a hand in his nomination and we are not bitter about it. When one artist is doing well, I am one person who is always the first to congratulate them. Unfortunately, I have never received any congratulatory messages from Mthandeni, but in all these years, he has been telling people that I pay for my awards. I cannot be jealous of Mthandeni with just one nomination to the SAMAs when I have won over 20 awards," he said. When Mthandeni was approached for a comment, he abruptly ended the call. 

SAMAS 30

RiSA CEO Nhlanhla Sibisi has congratulated the nominees. "It is with great pride that I salute all the artists who have been shortlisted as nominees for Motsepe Foundation Record of the Year and RAV Music Video of the Year awards. Artist recognition is an important and significant pat on the back, and we continue this tradition in our 30th year of existence. It is beautiful to see how music and artists have evolved over the years," she said. The nominees for the Motsepe Foundation Record of the Year were chosen from singles released between 15 April 2023 and 14 April 2024.