We Speak Afrobeats

Mawelele Steps Into His Moment With New Album PGLTM and a First South African Tour

Published

2 hours ago

November 1, 2026

Mawelele. Photo via @mawelele_.

South African singer, songwriter and pianist Mawelele has released his new album PGLTM, short for Pretty Girls Listen To Mawelele, through gamma. The 16 track project arrived on October 30, 2026, and it is built around love, reassurance, forgiveness and second chances, blending soulful R&B and Afro pop with the heartfelt writing that has carried his rise.

The album brings together a strong cast of collaborators, including Olivetheboy, Kwesta, Danya Devs, Nomfundo Moh, Ndu Browns, Tony Dayimane, Usimamane and Empro. Its engine is Ngiyaz’fela, his single with Kwesta, which reached No. 3 on the Radio Monitor Top 100 Airplay Chart. The title translates to I am in love with you, and its music video passed one million views within four days of release and has since climbed to 1.7 million. The pair’s earlier collaboration, All My Life, has passed 4.1 million streams on Apple Music, 19.7 million on Spotify and 23 million views on YouTube. Ahead of the release, Mawelele hosted an exclusive listening session in Sandton, giving media and invited guests a first listen to the record.

Born Ntokozo Wandile Mawelele in 2002 and raised in the Vaal, he began playing piano at 11 and built his first audience through cover videos posted during lockdown. That path led to a signing with Umuthi Records, the label associated with Blaq Diamond, and his catalogue has now passed 100 million cumulative streams. The album will also meet the stage. gamma., in partnership with Blu Blood, is producing his first South African live tour, opening December 17, 2026 at the iZulu Theatre, Sibaya Casino in Durban, with a Johannesburg date in December and further shows across the country over Valentine’s weekend in 2027. Merchandise is also on the way, giving fans another way into the PGLTM world.

We Speak Afrobeats

Diamond Platnumz Teams With Xduppy and DJ Maphorisa on Tse Monate

Published

4 hours ago

November 1, 2026

We Speak Media

Diamond Platnumz. Photo via @diamondplatnumz.

Tanzanian singer Diamond Platnumz has teamed with Xduppy and DJ Maphorisa on Tse Monate, a new amapiano single released on October 30, 2026. The three artists share the main artist credits on the recording, which brings together voices from Tanzania and South Africa on one dance record.

The single features Focalistic, Uncool MC, Angekebabuye mc and Ricky Lenyora, who are named in the featured credits. The release contains one track and runs for six minutes and two seconds. Its label credit names New Money Gang Records, with exclusive distribution through Sony Music Entertainment Africa. The recording is listed in the Nigerian catalogue of Apple Music, a sign of how widely amapiano records now travel across the continent and beyond it.

Tse Monate brings Focalistic and Diamond Platnumz together again. Focalistic previously appeared alongside Costa Titch and Pabi Cooper on Fresh, a track on First Of All, the 2022 project from Diamond Platnumz. That project also included Sona with Nigerian singer Adekunle Gold and Mtasubiri with Zuchu, and it showed the singer building bridges with collaborators across African music long before this new single arrived.

The new recording should not be confused with an earlier track of the same title on Rough Dance, the project from DJ Maphorisa and Xduppy. That 2025 recording credited DJ Tira, Al Xapo and Ricky Lenyora and ran for five minutes and twenty five seconds. The October 2026 listing carries a different combination of performers and a longer running time, marking Tse Monate as a new recording in its own right. For Diamond Platnumz, the single adds a major amapiano collaboration to his catalogue and keeps his name in the centre of the continental dance conversation as the year moves toward its final months. Listeners can hear a preview of the single through its Apple Music listing.