Magumba hitmaker, Khadeair from Botshabelo in the Free State, is over the moon after winning the hotly contested Song of the Year award at the 4th edition of the Central Music Awards held in Bloemfontein on Saturday, 15 November.
Khadeair’s chart-topping single “Magumba” featuring Peekay Mzee and Kaytah, has taken the country and the African continent by storm and continues to be a fan favourite, made more popular by its infectious Magumba dance.
“Magumba” has been a game-changer in the music industry, reaching #1 on Spotify South Africa and accumulating over 4.9 million streams. The song’s music video has garnered over 300,000 views and trended at number 18 on YouTube’s top music videos in just four days.
Khadeair’s infectious and culturally rich sound has taken the music world by storm, solidifying his position as one of the fastest-rising stars in the African music scene. The success of “Magumba” has seen Khadeair perform in several countries, including Mozambique, Swaziland, and Botswana.
But what many may not know is that the song was first released unofficially in 2022 but went viral in 2025 following the dance challenge made popular by Phemelo from Sasolburg in the Free State, known as Mr Magumba.
Speaking to Free State World via his publicist, Khadeair said the song came about when he was financially frustrated, trying to get money, as finding a job was not something he considered.
He ventured into music in 2014, but has been a DJ since 2011. Khadeair used to make music that was personal to him, but people could not easily relate to his sound then, as he always made music that was different and didn’t like following trends.
With the music Khadeair was making at the time, he said he was not making money, and that led to him being financially frustrated, as he had bills to pay, and that moment birthed Magumba.
Regarding making Magumba, Khadeair said he had the beat and the melody and was with Kaytah, his friend in the studio, who helped him finish the Magumba beat and laid some production magic on the song.
After working with Kaytah, he wanted something different on the song and for it to have a street element, and that’s when he approached Peekay Mzee and told him the kind of sound he wanted for the song, and Peekay Mzee gave him what he wanted.
Magumba was made in 2022, released unofficially in 2023 online for people to have it and to give Khadeair tips on how to push it.
From 2023 to 2024, the song was promoted and withdrawn in 2024 and re-released again in 2024 online unofficially, just to let people know about it.
“I went around towns performing the song, and the song got traction. People started liking the song and gravitating towards it.” Said Khadeair.
What solidified the song as a hit was Phemelo from Sasolburg, who came up with the popular Magumba dance that went viral on TikTok, catapulting the song and the dance to stardom.
The success of the dance challenge and the song led to Khadeair inking a deal with Virgin Music, which signed the track and released it officially in 2025 in collaboration with We-Inside Entertainment.
“The song has been doing amazing, we just recently released a music video which has over 600k views in 7 days, and I also received a 100k YouTube subscribers plaque. We also took the song of the year at the Central Music Awards in the Free State. We are also nominated in Ukhozi’s top 20 songs of the year. It has just been amazing.”
The song has changed Khadeair’s life.
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