Mbuso Khoza: The voice of heritage, healing and hope

WHEN Mbuso Khoza speaks, his words carry the rhythm of history and the weight of tradition.

- LUTHO PASIYA

He is a man who has built his career on music, storytelling, and respect for the cultural knowledge that shaped him.

As he prepares for his Amahubo Symphony concert at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg on September 28, Khoza reflects on his journey, influences, struggles and the vision that continues to guide him.

Khoza’s first encounters with music came from community ceremonies and family life.

“My earliest moments of music were when I saw Amabutho singing at ceremonies and when young girls would practice at uMemulo. Older women also sang lullabies to children. That is how I was inspired”

Raised in a family that embraced both the Salvation Army and the Nazareth Baptist Church, Khoza was exposed to hymns such as How Great Thou Art as well as the distinctive traditions of Shembe worship.

His uncle’s involvement in the church added another layer to this musical exposure. Later, listening to the gospel artist Vuyo Mokoena confirmed for Khoza that music could be more than a passion.

“I wanted to study law and become a magistrate but music took over,’ he recalls. At 22, he moved to Johannesburg, imitating Mokoena until meeting jazz pianist and composer Themba Mkhize, who became another major influence.

Khoza emphasises that his Zulu heritage is inseparable from his music.

“The influence of Zulu heritage in my music comes with the expression of language. I grew up in an era where people took pride in using the philosophical aspects of the language and its metaphors.”

“When I became a songwriter, I treated history as a record of events and traditions. They shape how I write, how I sound and how I sing”

Khoza has created soundtracks for some of SA’s most important television dramas. His work on Umkhokha: The Curse and