Nakhane

Nakhane
Nakhane live at Omeara London 2018
Nakhane live at Omeara London 2018
Background information
Birth nameNakhane Lubabalo Mavuso
Born (1988-02-03) 3 February 1988 (age 36)
Alice, Eastern Cape, South Africa
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • actor
  • novelist
LabelsBMG
Websitenakhaneofficial.com

Nakhane Mahlakahlaka (born Nakhane Lubabalo Mavuso,[1] 3 February 1988) is a South African singer, songwriter, actor, and novelist. They are formerly known under the stage name Nakhane Touré.[2] Having grown up among a Christian community[3] in Port Elizabeth, at 15 they moved to Johannesburg, leaving the church[4] in 2013 and publicly celebrating their queerness with their debut album Brave Confusion.[5] They found both controversy and critical acclaim with their starring role in John Trengove's 2017 feature film Inxeba (The Wound), and relocated to London[6] to record and release 2018's heavily autobiographical album You Will Not Die. Their work has been championed by Elton John, who interviewed Nakhane on his Beats 1 radio show,[7] and Madonna, who cited them as one of her two favourite artists[8] and said their music influenced her 2019 album Madame X.[9]

Nakhane is non-binary with they/them pronouns.[10]

  1. ^ Cagnolari, Vladimir (9 May 2018). "Nakhane: the voice of an angel who beats the devil".
  2. ^ "Nakhane On New Music, The Problem With Queer Role Models, And Late-Onset 'Inxeba' Trauma". HuffPost UK. 13 March 2018.
  3. ^ "Ousted from his hometown, Nakhane Touré finds salvation in music". Document Journal. 22 February 2019.
  4. ^ "The big Nakhane interview – part 2". Music In Africa. 14 May 2018.
  5. ^ Ncube, Gibson (3 July 2015). "To be black, Christian and gay: Nakhane Touré's Brave Confusion". Muziki. 12 (2): 37–52. doi:10.1080/18125980.2015.1127622. S2CID 146899289.
  6. ^ "Nakhane on refusing acne treatment: We need pop stars with acne scars". TimesLIVE. 21 February 2019.
  7. ^ "WATCH: Sir Elton John interviews SA queer star Nakhane - IOL Entertainment". www.iol.co.za.
  8. ^ "Madonna on Instagram: "Was such a treat introducing my 2 favorite artists tonight in Lisbon! @_mykki_ 💙 @nakhaneofficial 🦄🦄 #fearless #unique #inspiring"". Instagram. Archived from the original on 25 December 2021.
  9. ^ "Madonna Talks LGBTQ Fans, Queer Artists & More Following Her GLAAD Media Award Win: Exclusive". Billboard.
  10. ^ NAKHANE (26 June 2019). "Talking to my mom about being non-binary". Twitter. Retrieved 27 September 2021.