Ulundi’s songwriter and cultural messenger Mthuthu Ndebele, who performs under the name Mthuthu, draws on Zulu heritage, faith and personal struggle in his new upcoming album, “Ntuthuko”, scheduled for release on September 25.
Across its seven songs, the KZN-born singer looks at mental health, faith, spirituality and his relationship with Zulu heritage.
He draws on praise poetry, traditional chants and songs associated with King Shaka while using those influences to speak to life in the present.
The album’s title, “Ntuthuko”, means “progress” in isiZulu, a fitting name for a project that looks backwards for inspiration while asking what should be carried forward.
For the artist, that includes the language itself.
He sees isiZulu as more than the language in which he writes and performs. It is central to how he understands his music, his spirituality and his connection to where he comes from.
The album, released through “Next Music”, marks a more personal chapter for an artist whose previous work includes “iNdumba” and “Indumiso YabeNguni”, the latter made with Dr Madala Kunene. Mthuthu was also nominated at the 2025 South African Music Awards.
At the heart of “Ntuthuko” is his belief that heritage should remain useful to the generations living now.
“I am fascinated by the origins of heritage, how it was initially deemed a substance of value to our society, why heritage matters, and how it continuously impacts the state of living,” Mthuthu told “The National”.
For him, Zulu heritage represents more than a cultural reference point. He sees its practices as carrying lessons about humanity, respect and coexistence, and believes music can help preserve those lessons in a form that future generations can access.
“Preserving heritage through music holds value that will live through generations,” he said. “Music, as a sound and literary work that is in relation to heritage, becomes an output that is interesting and can be easily archived.”
That interest in preservation is reflected in several of the album’s songs, according to its description. “uNdaba”, for example, is rooted in Ulundi and draws on ukuHubha and ukuhlabelela (indigenous Zulu vocal art form), while commemorating songs associated with King Shaka kaSenzangakhona.
Mthuthu is not interested in simply recreating historical sounds. He said he has spent time trying to understand how and why traditional songs from King Shaka’s era were composed in the first place.
He sees those songs as carrying an energy that can still speak to people dealing with their own struggles today.
“They were not just for that era, but they are an energy and a remembrance for generations to lean on as they manoeuvre different fights of life in the modern world,” he said.
That perspective shapes the way he approaches the album’s sound. African rhythms and chants sit alongside more subdued, moody and relaxed production, creating music that draws on the past without attempting to remain there.
“The sounds of today are created for the future, and my music is testament to that,” he said.
Mthuthu wrote “Ntuthuko” during a period of personal turmoil, a time he describes as one that could have caused him to stop making music altogether. Instead, he went into the studio, where that experience became part of the work. One of the results was Amaciko, recorded with Mbali Malimela.
The song became an opportunity for Mthuthu to step outside the image of the artist and acknowledge the person underneath it, including the need to ask for help.
“The booth that day was just a routine, until the music reminded me that I am also human,” he said. “Beyond inspiring songs, it is me, a person, who goes through life like everyone else. A person who should not be ashamed to cry for help in the days of dryness.”
That vulnerability continues in “Ingcindezi” (pressure), featuring Putuma Tiso, which addresses mental health and the strain Mthuthu had kept private.
He said the song forced him to confront the ways people can isolate themselves while believing they are protecting themselves.
“We have run away from this elephant for far too long,” he said. “I often cage myself, thinking I am protecting myself. This song made me see that we live in an ecosystem. We need each other to get by. Invite God. Invite loved ones. Open up. Find people who can help.”
Faith becomes another thread running through the album.
“uNkulunkulu” (God) is described as a testimony of repair, written after Mthuthu turned towards God, working through self-forgiveness and began prioritising peace.
Other songs engage with identity and spirituality more directly. “Dangabane laMakhosi” draws on his own praise name, while “EmaMpondweni”, featuring jazz artist Thandi Ntuli, explores the search for ancestral guidance on a spiritual path that can feel lonely and distant from home.
Mthuthu has chosen to make the album in isiZulu at a time when South African musicians are increasingly moving between languages and genres to reach different audiences. For him, however, isiZulu is not simply an artistic choice.
“IsiZulu is home for me,” he said. “I easily connect to the spirituality of the composition when using a language that is understood by the source that gave me this talent.”
He described creating and thinking in isiZulu as fundamental to his identity and wants his music to introduce wider audiences to what he calls the rich culture of oSenzangakhona (Shaka Zulu's father), while still reaching young people.
“I always invite young people and different audiences to reconsider indigenous music as a vital, living practice that sustains cultural identity, facilitates healing, and reclaims African spiritual agency in the modern world,” he said.
That desire to make heritage relevant to contemporary audiences extends beyond the album.
Mthuthu wants to eventually create a digital music archive museum dedicated to African languages. His concern is not that culture remains unchanged, but that its changes are properly documented.
“Culture is relayed, and in that movement and process things change. People grow and culture is interpreted and influenced in accordance with times and environments,” he said.
For that reason, he believes cultural archives need to keep evolving too. An archive, in his view, should not only preserve what came before but record what each generation adds.
“This is a digital era, therefore we should archive our own sounds for future generations. Our languages should be documented and archived.”
It is an extension of what he is already attempting with his music. He does not treat a song as simply a piece of entertainment, Mthuthu sees it as something capable of carrying knowledge, memory and spiritual meaning.
“My music functions as a performative and ritualistic medium through which ancestral knowledge is activated, transmitted, and reconstituted in contemporary contexts,” he said.
For the artist, understanding where one comes from is part of understanding how to move forward.
“Being self is historical. There is an origin and it is crucial for one to understand those roots and what they mean to the life he or she lives in the modern world. My latest offering, ‘Ntuthuko’, speaks dearly to this and is proof that our heritage moves with the times and should be celebrated today and tomorrow,” he added.
nomathamsanqa.sithathu@nationalmg.co.za