Chris Q gives Lemogang Tsipa flowers for his 'flawless, goosebump-inducing' portrayal of Shaka Zulu

Writer and producer Chris Q Radebe recently gave Lemogang Tsipa his flowers for playing Shaka on Shaka iLembe.

Every Sunday the show charts on the X (formerly Twitter) trends list and taking to his Instagram timeline on Monday, Chris Q added his voice by singling out Lemogang.

“The biggest shoutout this week belongs to none other than Lemogang Tsipa for his flawless, goosebump-inducing portrayal of the legendary Zulu king, Shaka ka Senzangakhona.

“Despite his rather impressive acting chops, it would have seemed his decision to step into the late Henry Cele’s shoes was too ambitious, and, though bold, a very risky one on the part of the incomparable genius that is Angus Gibson. But like a true thespian, Lemogang took to the role like a duck to water. What an absolute treat it has been to watch him take us through this very long, arduous, obstacle-riddled journey.”

“Lemogang Tsipa, the decision to take on this gigantic role was potential career suicide, just on account of how easy it would’ve been to make a mess of it. But like a true professional, you put on your G-string, slapped on ibheshu, picked up your spear, and got down to work,” he wrote.

Lemogang previously told TshisaLIVE playing the character would change people's perspective of him. 

“It's a dream come true in a sense that we've always wanted to do these large-scale productions that have maximum production value, given a budget with the ability to dream. This is definitely going to shift the way people look at me,” he said.

“Playing a great king is definitely going to change people's perspective of me. I think it will also help open a lot of opportunities because Shaka is one of the unique historical figures that is globally famous.”