Oskido Net Worth and Biography

Oskido is a South African recording artist, DJ, record producer, and businessman, with an estimated net worth of $2 Million. He is one of the pioneering artists that popularised the Kwaito genre of music outside of the townships of South Africa, and he’s been central to the rise of Afro-house and newer genres like Amapiano. He is also a co-founder of Kalawa Jazmee Records, a record label that is home to musical acts like Mafikizolo, Bongo Maffin, and many other foremost groups.

Bio Data

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Biography

Oskido was born Oscar Sibonginkosi Mdlongwa born on November 26, 1967. He was born to a Zimbabwean father, Esaph Mdlongwa, who was a politician, and a South African mother, Emily Sophia Molefi, in South Africa. Oskido spent most of his early life in Zimbabwe, where he went on to finish his basic education after graduating from Gifford High School, Bulawayo. He returned to South Africa at the age of 21 in 1988 to run a family business in Lethlabile, Brits shop before he left for Johannesburg to pursue a career in music.

Career

Oskido’s career kicked off after he volunteered to perform at Razzmatazz when the scheduled DJ failed to show up.  After reworking songs and formulating his own sound in the studio, he went on to release the cassette compilations ‘Mixmaster’ and ‘Big Jam’, gaining widespread popularity in the country.

Oskido went to partner with Bruce “Dope” Sebitlo, a South African music artist who went in the Brothers of Peace group. Under the Brothers of Peace banner, Oskido and Sebitlo released and produced eight albums between 1994 and 2004, including the kwaito classic  “Makwerekwere”,  “Traffic Cop” and the ground-breaking ‘Project A’ and ‘Zabalaza: Project B’ albums, which are Afro-house pioneers.

Oskido is also known for his top-selling ‘Church Grooves’ compilation series, which kicked off in 2001 and changed the face of South African house compilations, making them a staple in the industry for the next twenty years. In 2012 he launched the “I Believe” project, which is also the name of his radio show on Metro FM.

In the summer of 2019, he released a new album called ‘Akhiwe’, which paralleled his distinctive midtempo sound with the emerging Amapiano genre. He collaborated with a number of artists on the album, including Amapiano pioneers Kabza De Small and MFR Souls, among others.

He was also influential in setting up groups such as Mafikizolo, Bongo Muffin, and Trompies.

Honors and Influence

Oskido was amongst the first artists to produce kwaito tracks by adding vocals to the slow-tempo house beats, and it went on to become popular in South Africa. But Oskido’s music could be differentiated from the rest of the Kwaito genre with its particular jazz elements.

His co-creator, Don Laka, who’s a jazz maestro, gave their production a hybrid sound that set them apart from the rest. Oskido and his producing partners faced an avalanche of criticism from all quarters of the music industry for creating Kwaito.

His contribution to the development of dance music in South Africa earned him a Special Recognition Award at the 2012 Channel O Music Video Awards. He was also part of the Kalawa Jazmee crew honored at the SA Dance Music Awards in the same year. At the 13th Metro FM Music Awards, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement award.

Oskido Net Worth

Oskido is one of the richest musicians in South Africa, with an estimated net worth of $2 Million. Having been in the music industry for over 26 years, Oskido has reached a prominent status in the South African music industry, more so in popular youth culture.

Like many musicians on the globe, the veteran South African Dj, makes money from record sales, stage performances, investments, and brand endorsements.  He cofounded Kalawa Jazmee Records as Kalawa in 1992, alongside Christos Katsaitis and Don Laka. Joining with Trompie’s label Jazmee in 1995, it then became known as Kalawa Jazmee Records.

The record label has been at the forefront of youth culture and has produced other top acts like Bongo Maffin, Mafikizolo, Thebe, Alaska, Professor, Uhuru, Dr Malinga, Black Motion, Zonke, Winnie Khumalo, DJ Zinhle, Busiswa and many others.