User:LindsayFriday/Aba Shante

A South African female-fronted kwaito group. Created by Arthur Mafokate’s record label, 999 Music, the group was made up of artists Abel “Aba” Golele, Iyaya “Queen” Sesoko and Zanele “Nestum” Nyakele. After Abel’s passing, Tebogo “Zombo” Ndlovu joined the group, later passing in 2008 due to health complications caused by HIV.

The name ‘Aba Shante’ is a combination of Abel’s name with reference to the Ashanti Empire. The Ashanti Empire is organised matrilineally, thus linking to a theme of female dominance promoted by the group. The group's musical style was influenced by reggae, with Abel toasting and DJing in a raggamuffin-inspired manner.

The group has released seven studio albums and two singles.

Awards
Several of Aba Shante’s albums were nominated for awards. Girls (1996) received a nomination for Best Newcomer Group at the third SAMA, and Dreams (1998) for the fifth SAMA. In 1997, Arthur Mafokate withdrew the group, nominated once more for Best Newcomer, from the SAMA ceremony, likely as a result of grievances with SAMA’s alleged bias against independent labels.