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Freshly GroundDoo Be DooFire Is LowI'd LikeNomvulaPot Belly
Zolani Mahola, lead vocalist [edit] History Freshlyground released their debut album, Jika
Jika, in early 2003. The commercial success of this album ultimately
kick-started their career and re-affirmed their reputation as a
fresh and vibrant young face in South African music. The much-needed
exposure from the album resulted in an invitation for the band
to perform at both the Harare International Festival of the Arts
and the Robben Island African Festival. Early in 2004, Freshlyground participated in the opening of Parliament of South Africa by performing before President Thabo Mbeki in an event organised as a celebration of ten years of democracy in South Africa. At the Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA), Freshlyground performed with Zimbabwean musician Oliver Mtukudzi. The band went on to perform alongside local legend Miriam Makeba, as well as Stanley Clarke and Femi Kuti at the North Sea Jazz Festival, held during April in Cape Town. July also marked a break from the recording studio for the band, who had been working hard on their then unreleased album Nomvula. The band took this time to perform at the Villa Celimontana Festival in Rome, Italy. Finally, in late 2004, Freshlyground released
their very successful album, Nomvula. Although the uptake of the
album was initially slow, it eventually went on to achieve double
platinum status locally. Initial success was largely due to the
catchy, feel-good, lyrics of Doo Be Doo, which enjoyed significant
play on local radio, it also covered in Indonesian by singer Gita
Gutawa. Follow-up hits included I'd like and the signature track
Nomvula, the former achieving unprecedented success on radio charts
such as the 5FM Top 40, where it remained at No. 1 for several
weeks.[1] The album Ma' Cheri was released on September
3, 2007. The album again was produced by JB Arthur and Victor Masondo,
and was recorded in Cape Town. The first single is called Potbelly
followed by Fired Up and Desire. Freshlyground's latest album Radio Africa was
released in May 2010. For which they released a collaborative music
video with the zanews puppeteers. A satire about Robert Mugabe
which has received coverage in the British media. On the 23 January 2010, Freshlyground performed
at the official inauguration game at the new Cape Town Stadium,
where local Cape Town football clubs Ajax Cape Town and Santos
played each other in a match decided on penalties. A song by Colombian pop star Shakira and Freshlyground was the official anthem of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The song, titled "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)", is based on "Zangalewa", a popular Makossa African soldiers' song by Golden Sounds. "Zangalewa" was a hit single in Colombia in 1987. Shakira and Freshlyground performed the song at the pre-tournament kick-off concert in Soweto on 10 June. The following July, the band also took part in
the official handing-over ceremony.,[2] due to take place in South
Africa. In 2005, Freshlyground was nominated for three South African Music Awards for their 2004 album, Nomvula. Although they won no SAMAs that year, in 2008 the Recording Industry of South Africa awarded them the coveted Best Duo or Group SAMA. In the same year, their 2007 album Ma' Cheri won the prestigious Album of the Year SAMA, as well as Best Adult Contemporary Album: English, and Best Engineer. At the 2006 MTV Europe Music Awards in Copenhagen, Freshlyground became the first South African musical act to receive honours from MTV, when they received the MTV Europe Music Award for Best African Act. At the 2008 Channel O Music Video Awards, the
band received the "Best Africa, Southern" accolade for their single "Pot Belly".[3] "Train Love" (4:12) [edit] Nomvula (2004) "I am the man" (4:57) [edit] Ma' Cheri (2007) "Ma' Cheri" [edit] Radio Africa (2010) "Moto"
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