South African-based Eswatini amapiano DJ and producer Uncle Waffles has made history as the first female artist to grace the cover of Rolling Stone Africa.
Image: Elliot Hensford
South Africa-based amapiano DJ and producer, Uncle Waffles, has made history as the first female artist to feature on the cover of "Rolling Stone Africa".
The rising star from Eswatini has taken the African music scene by storm, solidifying her place in history with this groundbreaking achievement.
She has risen from humble beginnings to become one of the most celebrated artists in the world of amapiano.
Her journey to fame began in 2020 during the pandemic lockdown when she started learning to DJ.
What followed was a meteoric rise after her viral performance in Soweto in October 2021, which catapulted her into the limelight.
Her debut EP, "Red Dragon", and the smash hit "Tanzania" solidified her status as an artist to watch.
Hailed as the "Princess of Amapiano", Uncle Waffles has performed on major global stages, including a historic appearance at the Wireless Festival in London, where she became the first amapiano artist to perform at the event.
She also made waves at the iconic Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, further cementing her place on the global stage.
In a candid interview with "Rolling Stone Africa", Uncle Waffles shared her reflections on her childhood and journey into music.
"My childhood was fairly interesting. I always gravitated towards music because I felt like it was a great escape," she revealed.
"I'm a Beyoncé stan, everyone knows this if you know me, so I used to sit around and just think about, 'Damn, she was so creative, how did she come up with this?' I always knew that I wanted to do something creative."
Though initially drawn to acting, Uncle Waffles (real name Lungelihle Zwane) found her true passion in DJing after taking an online job as a presenter at a small studio during the lockdown.
Her interest in DJing grew, and after months of practice, she discovered a deep passion for the craft.
The name "Uncle Waffles" came from a playful nickname she earned in high school.
"They used to call me Waffles in high school because of 'Teen Titans'," she explained.
"When I got on Instagram, everyone was like, 'This Uncle thing is so cool right now... just put an Uncle Waffles in, it makes perfect sense,' so I did it."
Her rise to fame began with a viral video of her performance in Soweto.
"I posted the video, I remember, the show was on a Friday. I posted the video on Saturday at 2 o'clock, a normal day. I posted it, I fell asleep, and I woke up to calls, like, people literally blasting my phone, saying, 'Yo, check, what's happening?'" she recalled.
"Two hours later, it was on 100k views."
At the time, Uncle Waffles was not earning money from gigs, but the viral video marked a turning point.
"Everyone was like, 'Yo, you can finally get paid, maybe you're going to get a $5 or something, like, you're going to get a little something,'" she shared.
"That opportunity was all I wanted." She went on to explain, "Next day, my friend called me, I think she called me 30 times, like, 'Yo, Drake followed you!' I was like, 'What is actually happening?'"
This viral moment sparked international attention, leading to Uncle Waffles becoming the first African female artist to headline the Wireless Festival.
Despite the challenge of performing in front of a hip-hop audience unfamiliar with amapiano, she rose to the occasion.
"It was intimidating playing the same day as Doja Cat," she admitted. "But I sucked it up and did what I had to do."
In 2023, Uncle Waffles was awarded the prestigious Woman of the Year award at the GQ Men of the Year Awards.
Reflecting on the honour, she said, "Getting that award made me feel like people still recognised the effort, the part that's still being created."
As a trailblazer for women in the music industry, Uncle Waffles views her position in the male-dominated amapiano space as an advantage.
"I feel like we're very deserving to be in every space. We're very capable. We're actually better than you in every space," she asserted.
"It's just that as a woman, people want to pick apart what you do, because they assume that there's no way you can do two things at the same time. People assume that there's no way you play and dance."
She continued, "But we have so many men that come, they hug their friends, they smoke joints, some things, you know? But no one will ever question that. But when it's a woman, there's obviously something wrong with you. You can never just be good."
In a genre often dominated by male artists, Uncle Waffles continues to break down barriers for women.
She calls 2025 "her year of breakthrough," adding, "There’s a lot of things I’ve been working on in the background. There’s a lot of doors we’ve been knocking on. This year is the year for breakthrough."
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