Toward the end of the 2010s, Makhadzi (born Ndivhudzannyi Ralivhona in 1996) became one of the leading lights of Limpopo’s dance music scene. Starting out as a busker who gained regional popularity in the early 2010s by performing mostly wedding songs and selling her CDs by hand, Makhadzi entered the South African mainstream with her 2019 breakout hit “Matorokisi”, where she adopted the province’s popular bolobedu house sound, characterised by heavily auto-tuned vocals and synth-laden beats. “Matorokisi”, which appears on the singer’s sophomore album of the same name, also features bolobedu legend DJ Call Me and birthed a viral dance challenge (as is often the case with bolobedu hits). Makhadzi’s 2021 album African Queen incorporated the popular amapiano sound and became the most streamed album by a South African female artist of all time, cementing her status as an undeniable hitmaker with an explosive stage presence.