'Mature' Ntsiki Mazwai won't allow weaves on her music videos

Ntsiki Mazwai has cut down on the Twitter rants and let her music do the talking as she prepares to release her most "mature" album yet.

Ntsiki is putting the finishing touches to her latest album, set for release in April, and recently shot the music video for her first single off the album. The shoot was unique because no person wearing a weave was allowed to feature on it.

"I am trying to empower black people with this album. Everyone I have worked with, from the artwork to the production, is from Soweto. Africans need to stand up for themselves and realise we can do things for ourselves. I have always been committed to Africans celebrating themselves and being African. I have a problem with white-affiliation meaning success, so part of my journey is to show the beauty of Africanness.

"Celebrating women being their natural selves will do more for the African child than anything else. We need to stop people aspiring to wear weaves and aspire to wear their hair naturally. These themes, and themes of black consciousness and love, come through in the album."

It has been five years since Ntsiki last released an album and she said the break she took from the industry to study and pursue other ventures helped mature her.

"I am growing. I am maturing. It is becoming more important that people I am surrounded with need to be elevated as well. I was often seen as a youth on my last album but I have made the transition into a big girl." 

Part of that evolution was to learn to not take social media too seriously. 

One of her more explosive feuds online was with businessman Kenny Kunene, but to many fan's surprise, the pair who had once traded blows online, were seen posing together at Kenny's venue this past weekend.

Ntsiki said the pair were simply doing business and that regardless of her feelings towards him, she respected his efforts in empowering young black talent.

"No evolved and mature spirit takes Twitter seriously. Kenny has a right to be himself. I have the right to be myself. We are just two people in a community running business that are compatible. It was the coming together of two black businesses. In that way, I respect him. It is important that black people take ownership of the economy. Just because you do not like a person, doesn't mean you can't credit their good work. I really don't know him well enough."