SA: Sho Madjozi inks Epic Records deal

The ‘John Cena’ hitmaker joins the label’s esteemed roster as the only South African. She is also expected to release a yet to be announced debut single with Epic Records soon.

“African artists are enjoying an unprecedented level of visibility in music and Sho Madjozi is beautifully waving the flag for South Africa,” Epic Records chairperson and CEO Sylvia Rhone said. “She's bold, brilliant and remarkably talented and her music embodies all that is special about her homeland. We're honoured to have her as the newest member of the Epic family.”

In South Africa, Sho Madjozi will be supported by Epic Records' sister label, Sony Music Entertainment Africa (SMEA).

“We’re working at a special company at a special time and we couldn’t be prouder than we are of our local star Sho and our big sister Sylvia for partnering to make this happen,” SMEA managing director Sean Watson said:

Sho Madjozi’s deal follows SMEA and Celebrity Services Africa’s announcement of a new joint venture that seeks to enable artist-brand opportunities and develop new talent in Africa.

Her rise to stardom began in 2017 following the release of her debut single ‘Dumi HiPhone’ featuring DJ duo PS DJz. The song earned her an appearance on DJ Maphorisa’s 14-track BlaqBoy Music Presents Gqom Wave album where she was featured on a song called ‘Probleme’.

In 2018, she released the single ‘Huku’ off her debut album Limpopo Champions League. Sho Madjozi has also played some pretty big gigs, including Afropunk in Brooklyn, One Source Live, Cape Town International Jazz Festival and Global Citizen Festival.

In 2019, she won a BET Award in the Best New International Act category against Teniola Apata (Nigeria), Headie (UK), Octovian (UK), Jokair (France) and Nesly (France). This year, she was nominated for a BET in the same category but lost to Nigeria’s Burna Boy.