Don Dada: Celebrating South Africa’s Heritage Month through music and storytelling
Multi-platinum, multi-award-winning artist Menelik Nesta Gibbons — better known as Don Dada spoke to IOL regarding Heritage Month.
Image: Supplied
Multi-platinum, multi-award-winning artist Menelik Nesta Gibbons - better known as Don Dada - has never seen music as just entertainment. For him, it is heritage, healing, and hope. From jamming with his father as a child to releasing Viva Mandela, the multi-platinum-selling anthem that became a national tribute, Don Dada has made it his mission to tell African stories through rhythm and rhyme.
With his Johannesburg-based RuFF CuTT Studios, Don Dada has carved out a creative space where reggae, hip hop, and African consciousness collide.
Multi-platinum, multi-award-winning artist Menelik Nesta Gibbons — better known as Don Dada spoke to IOL regarding Heritage Month.
Image: Supplied
“My path has been about pushing boundaries, creating space where reggae, hip hop, and African consciousness collide to tell stories that matter - musically, culturally, and socially,” he reflected in an interview with IOL News.
In 2020, his album Alkebulan - distributed by Bob Marley’s iconic label Tuff Gong International - paid homage to Africa’s ancient name and identity. With tracks celebrating pride, peace, and reconciliation, the project has been hailed as “an important part of Black history” by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC).
His recent accolades include the South African Upcoming Musicians Awards (SAUMA) Special Award in recognition of his contribution to the music industry, BIG M Production Awards: recognition as “2024 Most Influential Man & Artes Award & 2025 Most Influential Artes Award” recipient, and most recently, a SAMA 31 nomination for his album The Heart & The Mind. For Don Dada, Heritage Month is not symbolic—it’s sacred.
“Heritage Month is a sacred reminder to honour, reclaim, and uplift the soul of our continent,” he says.
“It’s a time to celebrate Afrika’s essence - its languages, rituals, stories, and unshakeable spirit.”
This year, he has taken the celebrations to heart, planning live performances, collaborations across poetry and music, and visuals from his UNITY trilogy.
“Through performances and storytelling, I’m hoping to reignite the spark of pride and unity across borders.”
And on the upcoming Heritage Day, Don Dada’s message is clear and heartfelt: “On this Heritage Day, I call on my fellow South Africans, Africans across the continent, and my brothers and sisters in the arts to stand tall in the richness of who we are. Our music, our languages, our traditions, and our stories are living treasures - they are the heartbeat of our identity.
“Let us celebrate our diversity while remembering that we are bound together by a shared history and a collective destiny. As artists, we carry the responsibility to preserve our heritage and to pass it forward in ways that inspire, heal, and unite.
Multi-platinum, multi-award-winning artist Menelik Nesta Gibbons — better known as Don Dada spoke to IOL regarding Heritage Month.
Image: Supplied
“May today remind us that our heritage is not just about the past - it is the power that shapes our future,” he said.
For Don Dada, the beat is always bigger than the music - it’s the pulse of a people, carried forward with pride.
jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za
IOL News