Music, similar to any other art form, is in a constant state of transformation. One creation gives birth to the next and a cycle of innovation keeps revealing knew sounds that tell the story of the communities that helped influence it. This has especially been true for African house music and all its variants.
The bootleg house era gave birth to kwaito, which was in turn transformed into South African house, which in turn gave us gqom, then gqom led to the birth of amapiano, and the love child of amapiano and Afro tech gave us 3-step. The genre inaugurated by Thakzin, and now a platform that has allowed Jazzwrld & Thukuthela to shine.
Tracks like “Isaka,”Vuka,” “Uzizwa Kanjan,” and “Bengicela,” have dominated airwaves across the African continent, and driven a demand for the duo that won’t be stopping soon. The music has in fact made them the continent’s most wanted bookings.
Jazzwrld is the dynamic and soulful producer at the heart of the creative process, while Thukuthela is the gifted vocalist and songwriter giving the music it’s soul.
The duo have taken what Thakzin created, Mörda influenced, and Dlala Thukzin transformed, and made a sound of their own. A soulful groove with light percussion and constant tension and release. This is at the heart of the duo’s debut album The Most Wanted. The 13 track album has what can be termed a soulful 3-step. It blends the house genre with R&B, jazz and soul elements, while putting musicality above everything else.
Curated like a house music set, The Most Wanted ebbs and flows with a balance of rhythm and melodies. This is the key to what has made Jazzwrld & Thukuthela a dominant force in African. Having met less than 2 years ago, the two were instant friends and almost inseparable. A natural chemistry that is clear in the art they create.
The Most Wanted begins with emotive and heartfelt in the acoustic version of “Vuka” and ends in the same breadth with “Tholukuthi Reprise”. In between Jazzwrld & Thukuthela maintain a groove of soft sounding vocals, drums and claps. The album’s variety is offered in the heavier drum textures of “Abasekho,” the ethereal feel of “uValo” alongside Dlala Thukzin, the clap dominated “Tholukuthi,” the distinctly jazz “iS’Babazo.”
The duo combine with Oscar Mbo, GL Ceejay, Babalwa M, Dlala Thukzin, Nokwazi, Major League DJz, The Joy, Sykes, Zee_nhle, Makhadzi and MaWhoo, but every track always feels like a Jazzwrld and Thukuthela song. The Most Wanted is heartfelt, and beyond just being a great album it feels like the addition of an offspring to African house’s family tree.
In isolation, Jazzwrld & Thukuthela’s hit songs certainly have a feeling of the familiar among them, but in their full body of work they provide the diversity everyone has been asking for. The Most Wanted is a debut that few could match, and the perfect culmination of the 2025 the duo has had in African music. If amapiano has the Scorpion Kings, then 3-step has Jazzwrld & Thukuthela.
House rating: 8.7/10
