FEATURE: Spotlight: Uncle Waffles — Music Musings & Such

FEATURE:

Spotlight

Uncle Waffles

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A name that people should know…

I wanted to shine a light on the brilliant Uncle Waffles. The D.J., producer and artist is someone that I am new to. I have been looking back at her rise to prominence. Perhaps not as well-known as she should be, I feel the rest of this year will see her release incredible sounds and confirm that she is a fascinating talent to look out for. I am going to head back to 2022 for the first interview. Complex UK caught up with a Amapiano (a South African subgenre of House music that emerged in South Africa in the mid-2010s) pioneer:

“Whether it’s house or techno, Black electronic music has been at the forefront of popular culture for decades, often with the Black musicians and communities behind it rarely afforded the credit for actually birthing it. The tides, however, are slowly changing, thanks in part to social media making it easier to credit creators and discover new sounds.

One such sound that began to gain international traction around 2019 is Amapiano—or, as it’s also affectionately referred to by its people in South Africa, ‘piano (which also reflects the literal Zulu translation). Amapiano—a blend of percussive loop samples and melodic, energetic vocals, deep house and jazz—is arguably the biggest sound coming out of the continent right now, with the likes of Burna Boy, Wizkid and Davido all collaborating with its artists and even taking them on global tours. This increased awareness has helped shine a light on the rich and ever-evolving musical legacy of South Africa, a nation where music has been integral not only in soundtracking major historical events, but also in forming Black national identity and culture post-Apartheid.

Someone who has been instrumental to the genre’s growth for the last couple of years is 22-year-old Lungelihle Zwane, more commonly known as the DJ/producer Uncle Waffles. Since shooting to international stardom following a viral clip late last year, Zwane has since performed at a string of sold-out shows—at home and, more recently, here in the UK—and is here to prove that she is more than just an internet sensation. With a laser focus on building her brand, and with all eyes currently on Amapiano, the woman who describes herself as ‘awkward’ is intent on doing things her own way.

We caught up with Uncle Waffles to discuss internet trolls, that “surreal” Drake follow on Instagram, the future of Amapiano, and more.

COMPLEX: Congratulations on a sold-out UK and Ireland tour with Piano People! What was it like going on the first Amapiano all-star tour this country has ever seen, for a sound that is relatively new to this market?

Uncle Waffles: Thank you! I’m feeling so blessed, but also tired. This was my first ever time in the UK, let alone for a booking. The headline show at Ministry Of Sound sold out two weeks before the event, so it was such a pleasant surprise to see how much love Amapiano is getting and how much of an appetite and appreciation there is in every city we’ve been to. Seeing people singing along is such a surreal feeling, especially when in some cases they don’t even know what it means; especially when DJs directly from South Africa are more likely to play the specialist stuff that is less known as opposed to the commercial ones that are more widely available. I think, as the sound grows around the world, producers and DJs from around the world will bring in their influences and tastes and create Amapiano with their own flavour.

You shot to fame when a clip of you DJing at a gig in Soweto, South Africa, went viral last year—which, in turn, has triggered a set of events that have led to international recognition, as well as a follow from Drake. How did it lead up to that?

Nothing was planned, but it all happened at the right time. I’m originally from Swaziland—a small country neighbouring South Africa—and there isn’t much of a creative scene there, maybe two or three gigs a year at best, so I had to work in South Africa to develop my career. The people who have now become part of my team were hosting a show and invited me to come over and DJ; they had originally given me a slot of 6.30pm, which is a horrible time. I had another show that day, too, but after a flurry of cancellations, I ended up covering somebody. I was terrified, because not only was it my first big event in South Africa, it was sold-out too”.

Born Lungelihle Zwane, Uncle Waffles released the SOLACE long-E.P./mini-album, last year. There are a couple of interviews from last year that I want to end with. Back in August, okayafrica. Spoke with the Swazi-born, South African-based D.J. about her new work. We discover how Uncle Waffles rose to become a Amapiano heroine and leader:

“In the beginning, Unce Waffles had simpler ambitions: to express her creativity. She grew up in Eswatini, a country which shares borders with South Africa and Mozambique, and was exposed to a lot of local sounds.

“Born at the turn of a new century in 2000, music was the most natural expression for Waffles. She eventually landed on a name that came from a scene in the DC Comics cartoon Teen Titans, which her friends in high school always sang. In 2020, while Uncle Waffles interned at a local Eswatini TV station, she chanced upon some DJ decks and a professional who frequented the studio taught her to play. At the same time she was learning to produce and create her own sounds.

Her big break came later that year, ironically from something that wasn’t planned. The DJ who was supposed to play the prime slot at the Soweto-based Zone 6 Venue wasn’t available and Waffles stepped in. A clip posted from that performance, featuring Waffles whining to Young Stunna’s “Adiwele” became an internet sensation.

Uncle Waffles' performances are an immersion into dance and visual storytelling. “Traveling around the world,” she says, “I realized that people consume music differently, especially music they don’t understand. So you’re not only introducing a new genre to people but you’re also introducing a genre in a language they don’t completely understand. How do you express to them, so they experience the music the same way you hear it? As you know ‘Piano has so many dances and people know ‘Piano through the dances, so it encouraged me to want to perform more.”

Uncle Waffles’ progression from a viral star to a premier tastemaker in Amapiano was deliberate. “We wanted to ensure that I always stay visible,” says Waffles, “Because the issue with viral moments is that you go viral, and then you step back and you kind of disappear in the midst of people who’s gone viral, so you need to make sure that you are still very visible.”

Earlier this year, Waffles released ASYLUM, whose soundscape was markedly different from her debut. Showcasing a renewed approach, the songs incorporated more features while exploring the motions of everyday life. With SOLACE, she extended the concerns about finding joy and fulfillment that she has reflected throughout her career, although the execution in sound is markedly different this time.

“When you release a project, you get to tell a story through it,” she says. “From Red Dragon, which was my first ever project, to ASYLUM, that’s what has allowed me to put meaning into the music. ASYLUM is meant to represent the chaos of my journey, because you know, waking one day and going viral and having to run with it was quite a lot. There’s been a lot of things that have happened and I want to reflect that in music.”

Creating projects emboldens Waffles to “tell stories that allow the people who support you to feel close to you, to understand you,” she says. Her third project, SOLACE, “represents the part of the journey where it’s beautiful and I’m at rest.” The sound evolves to carry the tranquility of this present moment. Whereas her two initial projects overtly expressed her DJ tendencies, on the third she wants to “show that you can do hard music, but it can still be super soft, actually.”

She describes ASYLUM as the "Side B" to SOLACE, and she was conscious of that multi-dimensional continuity while she was creating the latter. To utilize her global stature within the Southern African scene, she reached out to artists that an international crowd wouldn’t be quite familiar with. On “Echoes,” her favorite song on the project, Waffles features frequent collaborator Tony Duardo, along with Manana and Lusanda, whose videos on TikTok she’d been familiar with for a while.

This new project signifies a graceful run towards global domination for Uncle Waffles. Still deep into her creative process, she wants to explore more pockets within Amapiano, and she’s returning to house music, which she affirms as one of the first genres South Africans championed globally. House music has platformed a lot of acts, especially DJs like herself. “Up till now, DJs were never stars,” she opines, “but now, they are becoming them.”

Uncle Waffles is surely a star. She constantly reiterates her forward-facing vision throughout our conversation towards its endm she lays down the ethos of SOLACE. “This album is meant to represent the actual happiness I feel,” she says. Hearing her speak, there’s no doubt that Waffles is in a good place. She’s earned this peace and happiness, and being a serious creative, she’s gone back into the sound, seeking to extend her three-year grasp on the pulse of global pop culture”.

I am going to finish with an interview from December. This interview goes deep with a truly tremendous artist. I think that we are going to see and hear a lot more from the sensational Uncle Waffles. If you have not heard her music yet, do make sure that you check it out. She is a supreme talent that people need to know about:

“In her short experience with fame, Uncle Waffles has demonstrated that she is a student of her discipline(s). She stands defiant against her critics, though maintains a willingness to learn. Whilst it is unclear what the future may hold for Uncle Waffles, she is determined to make her mark and repel rhetoric suggesting she is “just a pretty face”. We have seen her ability to bring life to the party, and now she is keen to make an indelible mark on the creative industry through multifaceted abilities, and too represent the Southern African region in inspiring fashion. Her love for music is unquestionable and is extremely thankful for what it has done for her so far. “Music just hits you”, she says, pointing to her heart, indicating just how much it means to her.

To understand Uncle Waffles as a human being, and her journey thus far, we spoke to her about her passions, influences and too a snippet on her future plans.

It’s been a mad year for you, let’s be real! But firstly, how are you doing?

I’m okay, I’m doing pretty well.

When you started going viral and you started seeing your face in the newspapers and on Twitter, how did that make you feel?

Initially, I was very overwhelmed but a part of me was like I am just gonna goof around for a while.. it’ll be a cool video but how it turned out was like no.. this is not just a cool video but instead it’s gonna complete launch me!

I was very overwhelmed by the love but of course the love comes with the latter because people want to knit pick.. or say whatever it is they want to say. Having to take everything in at once, an immense amount of love and immense amount of hate, it was a bit of a struggle. I have very severe anxiety so initially it was a bit of a struggle, but now I have just found the balance knowing that the love [of music] is what brought me here and what keeps me here, as well as the hard work but the love overtakes everything. So I think now I am at a place where there is so much good.. I am less anxious, less overwhelmed and I am very, very happy! [Uncle Waffles cannot help but smile]

How long have you been DJ’ing for? Is it something you have been doing for a while or was it quite recent?

Yes, I started learning during the pandemic when we had our first lockdown. It was six months of 8 hours a day, just trying to learn and understand it, and I started taking gigs this year in January

You were practising 8 hours a day?! That is practically like a full time job!

Yeah it is like a job, you have to dedicate yourself, as much as people make it seem like its potentially easy. I already knew that my struggle would be like people would say ‘she’s just a pretty face’, so I always knew that I had to be good at it (DJ’ing) to show no one has nothing to nit-pick, and even if they tried the reality is what it is.

Do you have any DJ’ing inspirations?

I didn’t have someone that I was looking up to… part of me felt like these things weren’t possible [aspiring to be like the DJ greats] given that I was just starting. I was like, maybe if I look at Black Coffee, it’ll be something that I achieve 10 years from now. I didn’t really have someone I was looking up to.. it was more so about ‘I actually really like this’, and I am going to try my best even on days where this [being Uncle Waffles] doesn’t seem like the right thing to do anymore, I still need to push!

Uncle Waffles… where does that name come from?

[Laughs] I need to start coming up with a very serious story, because everyone asks me! My friends came up with it at school.

Was it given to you as a joke?

It was! If you watch Teen Titans, Beast Boy and Cyborg had a waffles song, so my friends would sing it every day and then one of them decided that I am going to be waffles, and here we are today! It’s a real anti-climactic story, I know! But that’s what happened!

On a more personal level, would you say you are more introverted or extroverted?

I am actually quite awkward.. introverted. I am the most awkward person you could probably ever meet! I think when people meet me, they realise I am awkward and they say “oh you’re just normal”, and I am like “yeah I really am!” I don’t know how to act… when people scream at me, I scream back!

How do you spend your down time? Is there a particular TV series you’re watching now or artist you’re listening to?

I watch a lot of YouTube, Emma Chamberlain particularly and she is like my comfort, I don’t know why. She’s quite awkward and gives me comfort. I do also read a lot and music wise, I listen to Mereba. I like that type of music because it calms my spirit and I listen to a lot of Gospel. With this whole thing [being well known] comes with it a lot of internal battles, and so sometimes I feel like I need to connect and just come back to Earth

You were born in Swaziland right? Do you feel your setting a foundation for the world to learn more about Swaziland?

There is no creative space in my country, no creative funding.. we barely have any events that are successful. So I think with what happened to me, a lot people feel there is hope for talent because as much as they don’t have exposure, there is great talent (In Swaziland), very talented people, but we just don’t have the reach. I always say that ‘you can never make it at home’, I feel people don’t support you at home the (same) way other people support you. People are always going to South Africa (for exposure) e.g. the likes of Amanda Du-Pont, but you wouldn’t know because she decided to chase a dream and go to South Africa.

If there was a way to get more reach into countries where there is little reach, we can find very talented people. They just need help. Not everyone will have the faith that I had to take money and go to South Africa, go to promoters to promote themselves. Not everyone has that.

Where do you feel you have been received the best?

Kenya is number 1! The Kenyan crowd was really young, and it was my first fully young crowd. That day, I spent 2 hours taking pictures because everyone wanted one, but even I wanted to take pictures with them because they showed me so much love. When I was on the decks, everyone was dancing! Keep in mind that most of these countries don’t know the words to the music but they still understand it!

Are there any other countries that you really want to perform in?

The UK! I would also love to go to Mozambique, because of the crowd there. I would also love to perform in Namibia, Botswana too. Other countries more so for selfish reasons, I mean.. Dubai, come on! That would be really nice. Ibiza! That would be great!

With fame comes negative press or comments as we know. How do you feel about recent comments on Twitter, where people are trying to police how you dress?

I always feel like people are trying to police a 21 year old. I don’t fully control my own Twitter, but because I want to still have a presence, I pop on here and there. I try my best not to be on it because then I get sucked into reading what everyone is saying and that affects me emotionally. People are allowed to have their own said morals, but once you’re trying to project your morals to someone, that’s not okay. People are saying “it’s too revealing” but if you actually see the outfits in real life, it’s like “is it really” [people on the internet exaggerating].

I get a lot of my [fashion] inspiration from the 2000s, and it was very common at that time [to dress in such a way] and I really liked it. So I started dressing like this, to be comfortable in myself. I feel like, people shouldn’t then look at how you dress as who you are. People should be allowed to be an individual

Who are these inspirations?

Saweetie. I really love her she dresses, it’s very ‘I’m a bad bitch’, ‘I’m on my money’, as well as video vixens from back in the day. I take a lot of inspiration from Aaliyah too, but in the modern day it has to be Saweetie, it’s very cool and they she can switch up and be so sexy, I love it!

Do you feel like this is more so a case of Twitter rather than what happens when people approach you in real life?

I think haters are fictional because those are the same people who want to watch you. So what happens is that they start buying tickets to come watch you, to prove themselves right yet you’re investing time in proving that someone you supposedly don’t like is not doing something right.

I’ve read that you’re planning to start releasing music yourself, is this true?

[Laughs] Yes!

Have you thought about a particular sound you’d like to explore?

I’ve been working with a lot of producers and have been listening to a lot of music daily to find my sound. Initially the sound I wanted to go for was something slower but as I am growing into my brand, I am realising that maybe not. But I will be releasing some stuff [soon].

What are the next steps for you?

To completely expand my brand and to.. there is a lot in the works! I don’t want to only be remembered as the girl for the viral videos, that’s always going to be my start but that’s not going to be my finish!”.

A brilliant D.J., producer and artist, I am relatively new to Uncle Waffles. I feel that she is too good not to be heard by all. I hope that more stations in the U.K. spin the sounds of this phenomenon. I am quite unfamiliar with Amapiano, so to have an artist like Uncle Waffles putting it to the forefront is much-needed. I can highly recommend this…