The Durban creative industry and eThekwini Municipality welcomed Grammy award-winning Zakes Bantwini back home after his landmark win at the prestigious global music awards show two weeks ago.
Bantwini returned to his home city for the very first time after landing at King Shaka International Airport on Thursday afternoon. He was welcomed by provincial officials as well as dozens of adoring fans.
“This is such an incredible experience,” he said. “It feels so good to be home and it feels great to be celebrated in this way. I hope this incentivises the powers that be to invest in young local artists so they too can have an opportunity to reach these global heights.
“I would love every artist to have the opportunity to feel the joy and pride I feel right now. We have great talent here in South Africa and all we need is more support and we can consistently compete on a global scale.”
The Grammy Award-winning star also spoke on his excitement at his upcoming album, “Abantu”, which is set to be his final album before he retires in a few months.
He’ll also be hosting a show at DHL Stadium in Cape Town, which is also titled “Abantu”, to celebrate the album and to extend his events property. “We’re going to have 25 000 people at the stadium in a few months.
“It’s going to be a huge show and I’m super excited for everyone to see what me and my team at IMG Africa have planned. We’re going to be hosting an ‘Abantu’ concert every year.”
Bantwini won the Grammy for Best Global Music Performance at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on February 6 for “Bayethe”, his collaboration with Wouter Kellerman and Nomcebo Zikode.