Inkabi Zezwe released their much-anticipated album Ukhamba on 12 May and in just a few days the album has dominated streaming platforms.
On Apple Music, Ukhamba has been featured as the ‘Album of the Week’. All twelve songs off the album are on the Top 100 South Africa chart with the lead single ‘Umbayimbayi’ at the #4 spot and ‘Khaya Lami’ at #18. Ukhamba is also charting on the platform’s album charts sitting at #1 in South Africa and Eswatini, #5 in Zimbabwe, and #6 in Namibia. Still on Apple Music, the album has multiple songs on the streaming platform’s city charts.
On the Top 25 Johannesburg chart, ‘Umbayimbayi’ and ‘Khaya Lami’ are charting at #4 and #16 respectively while on the Top 25 Durban chart, four tracks are in the top 10 – ‘Umbayimbayi’ at #3, ‘Intro (Inkabi Zezwe)’ at #4, ‘Khaya Lami’ at #7 and ‘Siyabonga’ holding the #9 spot. Additionally, eleven of the songs from Ukhamba are charting on both South Africa’s and Eswatini’s Singles’ charts. In South Africa ‘Khaya Lami’ is sitting at #18 while Eswatini, ‘Siyabonga’ is at #10, ‘Khaya Lami’ is at #11, and ‘Omunye’ is at #17.
Spotify stats have been equally impressive for the album. Within forty-eight hours of its release, seven songs were charting on the Top 50 South Africa chart with three songs in the top twenty – ‘Umbayimbayi’ at #3, ‘Khaya Lami’ at #12 and ‘Intro (Inkabi Zezwe)’ at #16. ‘Khaya Lami’ took the top spot on several Spotify playlists including African Heat, New Music Friday SA, Hot Hits South Africa, Bhinca Nation, and Made in South Africa. Additionally, all twelve songs charted on Spotify’s Singles chart with ‘Umbayimbayi’ holding the fort at #4 and ‘Khaya Lami’ at #17.
Across streaming platforms, Ukhamba has proved to be a stellar project by Inkabi Zezwe. On Audiomack ‘Umbayimbayi’ (#5) and ‘Khaya Lami’ (#9) is featured on the Verified Afrosounds playlist; ‘Siyabonga’ (#3) and ‘Iskhwele’ (#7) are on the Afropop Hits playlist; and ‘Uthando Lunye’ (#1) as well as ‘Impumelelo’ (#10) are both on New Releases. On Deezer, the project is currently #4 on the platform’s album chart and eight tracks off the Ukhamba are charting on Deezer’s Singles chart (‘Umbayimbayi’ at #5 and ‘Khaya Lami’ at #18).
The success of this album only four days into its release is unsurprising given the positive and broad receptivity the lead single ‘Umbayimbayi’ enjoyed. The hit track is now double platinum in South Africa and the official music video, which premiered on 28th April, has surpassed two million views on YouTube. Fans can also look forward to Inkabi Zezwe’s tour which is fast approaching.
Image Cred: Supplied
