Rakgadi of the rhythm

A tribute to Mantwa Chinoamadi — the beloved nurturing force and fearless leader behind the soul of South African jazz

- Lesego Chepape

‘Some call me ‘Hahani’, or even ‘Dabawo’, but I am mostly known as ‘Rakgadi,” says Mantwa Chinoamadi, producer of the renowned Standard Bank Joy of Jazz festival.

She says it not with pomp, not even with power, but with an ease — like it’s not a title she carries but rather a truth that carries her.

In our communities, titles are more than mere names — they are positions, placements, deeply woven into the fabric of black identity.

Rakgadi is not just the aunt who brings sweets at family gatherings or calls to check in during exams. Rakgadi is the firm hand at a funeral, the voice that steadies a family during lobola negotiations, the woman who speaks with her eyes when elders are too weary to explain. To be called Rakgadi is not just to be known — it is to be trusted.

When I first met Chinoamadi, it wasn’t her CV or her reputation that walked into the room. It was her presence. Her words — “Have you eaten?” “Did you get a drink?” “Do you know where you're going?” — floated through the air like a melody, warm and anchoring.

There was music in her care, rhythm in her hospitality. She moved with the kind of energy that doesn’t need to be announced. It wraps around you, grounding you. That’s what makes her powerful. That’s what makes her Rakgadi.

In many spaces, softness is seen as weakness. But in Chinoamadi’s hands, it is strength, braided with intention, stitched into leadership. She commands not with ego but with empathy.

In a male-dominated industry, where elbows are sharpened for boardroom battles, Chinoamadi walks in, not as “the woman among men” but as the producer. The executive. The decision-maker. Titles she wears lightly, but roles she fulfils with precision and a maternal command.