BY PHUMZILE NDLOVU
MBABANE – M Nation has hailed the people of India, saying they have great hospitality and they love Emaswati.
M Nation is expected to return home later today after being in India for three weeks. He and the Eswatini culture team left the country at the end of last month to perform at the Mela Festival in India, 37th edition. They left for 21 days.
When reached for comment about the trip, M Nation shared that the trip was a success. He said: “The trip went very well, and it was well organised. Indians are people with great hospitality, and they love Emaswati. They are very interested in knowing about the Kingdom and our festivals. It was a well-organised festival with a huge following.”
He also shared with this publication that he learned a lot about Indian culture and cuisine, as well as their types of dances and music.
When asked how the gig in India has helped his brand, he said, “My brand has grown; I now have a following of over 35k people, and the people of India responded well to my dance moves. Other countries could not wait for my turn on stage. The Surajkund Craft Mela Festival is the best,” said M Nation.
According to M Nation, if given the chance to perform at the Indian festival, he would definitely do it again. He said: “It’s a good cultural exchange programme. I met a lot of artists from different countries, some of whom I will be working with soon. I have a lot of upcoming projects to work on. I will soon share when the time is right.”
Before their departure, the Honourable Minister of Sports, Culture, and Youth Affairs, Bongani Nzima, said they should go and be ambassadors of Eswatini. He said this at the Ministry’s offices Mbabane, as he bade farewell to the team travelling to India.
Part of the team included M Nation and three Sibhaca dancers, namely Sdumo Vilakati, Sabelo Mabuza, and Sanele Dlamini. The three ladies of the ingadla are Sakhile Dlamini, Tesive Dlamini, and Nakiwe Dlamini. The travelling team was selected through their respective cultural programmes by Eswatini Arts and Culture, where they scouted each individual at cultural events in every region across the country, according to Eswatini National Council of Arts and Culture (ENCAC) CEO Stanley Dlamini.
Born Wandile Ndlovu in Pigg’s Peak 30 years ago, he debuted his music career in 2015. He was among the top ten winners of last year’s MTN Bushfire Firefly. This helped his brand a lot, as he has been recognised and recommended at a lot of big events.
M Nation will be dropping an Extended Playlist (EP) this year; more details will be revealed as the due date approaches. According to the artist, he fell in love with music when he finished school. Due to a lack of funds to study further, he decided to venture into music. He has performed all over the country and headlined a lot of events, including the MTN Bushfire Festival last year, Sibebe Hiking, Biggest Braai, Eswatini Motorsport Weekend, and a lot of other events.
He has also performed on numerous occasions in South Africa, with the most recent being a crossover show that was held in KwaZulu Natal (KZN) in Mgazini.
