BY FIONA MOTSA
MBABANE– LiSwati afro hip hop artist, Criss Tino represented Eswatini well at the Kwadukuza Festival.
The festival was held yesterday at the Blythedale Beach in Kwazulu Natal, Durban and was hosted by the Kwa-Zulu Natal Department of Sports, Art and Culture in partnership with KwaDukuza Municipality.
Eswatini’s Criss Tino, real name Mpendulo Mndvonti, was one of the artists who made it through the festival’s auditions to be share the stage with South African music giants.
During an interview with the artist, he revealed he made it through to the top two out of 130 artists that had auditioned for the festival throughout Africa.
“I found out about the festival through ‘Big Entertainment Record Label’ which I follow closely. I travelled from Eswatini to Durban to audition for the auditions and I was one of the two artists out of 130 who auditioned who were chosen to perform at the festival.
“What also made this festival special to me was the effort that the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture in South Africa as well as KwaDukuza Municipality were promoting through hosting it, which was to promote water safety in and around the ocean and also promoting an active lifestyle during the festive season,” said the artist.
Mndvonti further mentioned that entrance to the festival was free and he was proud to have performed on the same stage with South African giants in the music industry.
“The beach was packed as you can imagine and I was especially proud to be on the same stage with big artists in the South African music industry like Dladla Mshunqisi, Tira, Qwabe Twins, Zakwe and Duncan who I performed after.
“This was really good for me because I have learnt through this experience by matching my energy with and putting up a powerful performance,” said Mndvonti.
The musician further mentioned he aspired to be an example to other young upcoming artists.
“I want upcoming artists to never stop praying and wanting the big stage. The sky is not the limit. Never chase success, chase excellence and success will follow you,” said the musician.
