The virtual airwaves came alive during the highly anticipated WORD!S MTN Bushfire X (formerly Twitter) Space.
In a collaborative effort that was set to ignite cultural conversations and build anticipation for the beloved festival, WORD!S hosted a special edition on their X Space dedicated to MTN Bushfire.
The session connected a dynamic mix of artists, representing a variety of genres and nations spotlighting creatives from Eswatini, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, Mozambique and South Africa.
Festival goers and digital attendees from around the world tuned in to connect with African creatives, who shared their stories, and celebrated the festival’s continued impact on connecting talent from Eswatini and beyond.
WORD!S Communications Officer Bandile Shongwe said for them, the session was more than just conversations.
He said it was a tribute to the role MTN Bushfire played in building platforms for artists to be heard, seen, and celebrated across borders.
“Originally, we host conversations from podcasting, business seminars and we build platforms for conversations to change people’s perspectives in the arts,” Shongwe said.
One standout voice was Eswatini’s Khole Tshabalala, a poetic force in Afro-jazz who has blossomed under the spotlight of collaborative platforms like MTN Bushfire.
Khole shared that when she started her musical career, she did not intend to be a backup artist.
“I’ve always wanted to be the lead, the writer, the star. But life takes you to stages and being a band member taught me about connection,” she said.
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Khole emphasised the importance of live instrumentation and collective artistry.
“My band is an extension of me, the same way I value my voice is how I value their instruments. That’s the kind of craftsmanship we’re talking about, rooted, human, and deeply African,” she said.
She also spoke to the importance of identity in her music, “I suppose for me identity has been a big key thing in my artistry, I was always aware of how black I was and that I am African.” Khole said.
She added that it became a duty to her if not just an artistic inspiration, that whatever she did artistically or musically, she could still identify as a black artist.
“In my music you always have to know that this girl is from a little country called Eswatini,” she said.
Joining the conversation was Charisse C, a Zimbabwean born DJ, singer, and songwriter, who echoed the same appreciation for platforms like MTN Bushfire that champion African music and identity.
Charisse C said music has always been a form of escapism.
“African music has always been a space of resistance, healing, and joy. The dancefloor is sacred. When you’re in it, you leave everything else behind,” she explained.
She added that the reason platforms like MTN Bushfire were so important was because they allow artists to share that sacred experience with the world.
Speaking on the WORD!S X MTN Bushfire Special, MTN Bushfire Communications Manager Phiwokuhle Dhlamini said the MTN Bushfire Festival was a very welcoming gathering and the unity is unmatched.
“We are known as one of Africa’s largest multicultural gatherings and we have over 23 000 attendees from over 55 nationalities, so this is a big deal and it informs how we curate our programme not just in our stages but across the festival zones and environment,” she said.
Dhlamini also called upon their local, Pan African, and global audiences to come together and create spaces for dialogue, spaces to truly unite and connect around the burning issues of their time and share ideas of how best they can address them.
MTN Eswatini Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Manager, Thandwayinkhosi Dlamini said the most rewarding moment of being a title sponsor of the most globally loaded festival was that for them it encapsulate the gist of what the whole platform was about.
“We look at it as something that connects people, as something that brings in different elements of what gives us life as human beings, creativity, the art, music, food and all of these different elements in our lives that just give us life, and excite us,” she said. Dlamini expressed that as a brand, that has been the most rewarding thing for them.
She said it was not just a sponsorship to them, it was a partnership.
