NEFCISA
NEFCISA

The Music In Africa Foundation (MIAF) is proud of its partnership with the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) as a Strategic Implementing Partner (SIP) for its Social Employment Fund (SEF). Through this collaboration, MIAF is running a national programme that is creating jobs, addressing skills gaps, and strengthening South Africa's creative industries — in line with the SEF's overarching goal to generate work for the common good and build community value through employment, social contribution, and inclusive economic participation. Operating under the banner NEFCISA (National Employment Facility for Creative Industries in South Africa), the initiative is recruiting and training participants, matching them with host organisations, and has already placed 1 500 workers across the country — surpassing its original target of 1 000. NEFCISA is delivered through a network of 20 host organisations spanning five provinces, who are actively hosting participants and contributing to work for the common good across South Africa's creative and cultural industries. Key Objectives: Support employment and entrepreneurship in the creative industries. Offer skills development and training programmes. Foster partnerships between public and private creative sectors. Promote South African creativity at both provincial and national levels Foster community development through social contribution.

ACCES
ACCES

ACCES Conference and Showcase Festival is Africa's leading music industry gathering, bringing together the people shaping the future of the continent's music business. Artists, entrepreneurs, executives, investors, policymakers and cultural leaders from across Africa and around the world come to ACCES to build partnerships, exchange ideas, discover talent and create new business opportunities. Since its launch in 2017, ACCES has become the continent's premier platform for professional exchange and music market development. Combining a high-level conference with a curated showcase festival, networking, exhibitions and industry programmes, ACCES offers a unique space where creativity meets business and where African music connects with the global industry.

Gender@Work
Gender@Work

Music In Africa Gender @ Work is a three-year training programme aimed at upskilling and increasing the participation of female professionals in the African music sector. Launched by the Music In Africa Foundation (MIAF) in April 2019, the programme is connected to the MIAF’s ACCES music conference – a pan-African event held in a different African country every year. This connection enables the programme to reach new participants in a different African country every year. The programme marks the beginning of a more concerted effort by the Foundation to support the participation and inclusion of women in all facets of its programmes and the music sector in Africa as a whole. Over the three years, the programme will aim to address gender imbalances in the sector through training, lobbying, facilitating knowledge exchange and dialogues that foster the interest of women. The broader objectives of the programme are to: Provide industry training for women on critical music industry skills, focusing on: Stage management Electronic music production and recording Music business management Technical knowledge Provide an opportunity for both professional and aspiring women to benefit from the Music In Africa network and its broad range of activities in 2019, 2020 and 2021. Provide a solution-based platform in the form of a round table at ACCES with a view to identify challenges, discuss opportunities and lobby for the interests of female practitioners. Offer participants the opportunity to benefit from programmes offered by MIAF’s partners. Increase access to educational materials. Integrate participants in the broader ACCES programme to maximise experience and exposure to the industry. Record and present training materials on the www.musicinafrica.net, including but not limited to tutorials, templates and other best-practice materials. Communicate women-based themes that support the initiatives and messages of the programme. MAIN TRAINING ACTIVITIES Training in first country (Ghana): In the first year, participants will be trained on all aspects of stage management by a team of experienced stage managers from 10 to 17 November 2019. The programme will offer robust classroom training as well as practical, hands-on training in which participants will also be given the opportunity to manage various aspects of the ACCES performance programme. Training in second country: The second training iteration will take place at ACCES 2020 when the programme will diversify its course to include music production lessons and training on other music business topics. A round-table platform will also be introduced to coincide with the ACCES programme. Training in third country: The third training iteration will take place at ACCES 2021 in a different country, offering an advanced course. HOW DO YOU GET INVOLVED?  As a participant, facilitator or trainer: The programme enrolls up to 12 trainees every year. All opportunities are advertised publicly on this website, and will be added to this page. Please keep checking this page for new calls (below under UPDATES & CURRENT OPPORTUNITIES). As a partner Please contact Claire Metais at [email protected]. APPLY The call for applications for 2020 will be announced soon. The Music In Africa Gender @ Work programme is made possible with the support of the Prince Claus Fund, Siemens Stiftung and Goethe-Institut.

Sound Connects Fund
Sound Connects Fund

For cultural and creative practitioners and organisations operating in southern Africa, access to funding remains a major challenge. The COVID-19 pandemic has also had a massive impact on government policy, spending and the economy in general, and has seen spending on culture being moved further down the list of priorities. Further, the cultural and creative industries repeatedly cite four main areas where investment is needed for growth, which are increased visibility, mobility including access to new markets, finance and support structures.

Instrument Building And Repair Project
Instrument Building And Repair Project

Experience the Vibrations African Instruments Exhibition online in 3D

Home / Artists & Industry / YungLawd Gazza
YungLawd Gazza

YungLawd Gazza

Session artists, Solo artists
linkedin

Profile added by Axolile Lucky Mke on 23 Jan 2026

Claim this profile

flag-img

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

In operation since:

2026

Contact person:

YungLawd Gazza

BIO

YungLawd Gazza (real name Tafadzwa Maponga) is an award-winning versatile musician, artist, producer, and entrepreneur known for Hip-Hop/Trap and Dancehall music. 

 

Born in Zimbabwe,  based in Johannesburg, Gauteng Province, South Africa,Katlehong (K1). Known as a "Versatile Musician/Artist," his style primarily spans Hip-Hop, Trap, and Dancehall. He began pursuing his music career in 2008. He is associated with and has released projects produced by himself under the name YungLawd Gazza and 2TARecordz.

YungLawd Gazza has established a stable fanbase and is considered a notable, consistent artist within the South African and Zimbabwean hip-hop/trap and dancehall scenes, though he appears to have a more niche following compared to mainstream national chart-topping artists in South Africa. While specific overall streaming numbers are not publicly available, some of his tracks on platforms like Spotify have listener counts in the thousands (e.g., "Sauceres" with over 4,000 plays, "Vat hulle op" with over 2,700 plays), which is generally indicative of a dedicated, but not massive, following.

Industry Position: He is recognized by industry platforms; for example, the music data site Muso.AI places him in the "Top 5% of Artists" on their platform, suggesting good engagement relative to the artists they track.  His music has received coverage in publications like Hype Magazine, indicating a level of recognition within the South African music media landscape.

Awards: He is an "Award Winning artist Trapper/Rapper OTY" (Artist of the Year), though the specific awarding bodies are not specified in the snippets.

He has collaborated with various "known artists" in the South African hip-hop industry, building his network and reach. However, his listenership numbers are not comparable to major South African acts who garner millions of streams and top national charts (e.g., Mr JazziQ is the most streamed local artist by Gen Z in SA, with millions of streams). 

In summary, YungLawd Gazza has carved out a respectable and consistent career with a solid, engaged fanbase, particularly within the specific Hip-Hop/Trap and Dancehall niches in Southern Africa, but he is not a pervasive mainstream "household name" across the entire region's general population.

Releases: He has consistently released numerous single projects. In 2025, he released the 4-track EP titled #GazzaWorldEP. 

YungLawd Gazza's top songs based on streaming popularity and frequency of mention on music platforms are primarily from his 2025 EP Gazzaworld, along with several popular singles. 

Here are his most notable tracks:

"Sauceres" - A popular track from his Gazzaworld EP.

"Vat hulle op" - Another frequently mentioned song from the same EP.

"Trappa Rappa" - Part of the core popular tracks from his 2025 EP release.

"Uze Nenye" - A well-received single released in 2025.

"Sexy Love" - Another prominent single in his discography. 

You can listen to his music on major streaming services like Apple Music or SoundCloud. 

Photos

No photos available

Social Networks and Websites

Disclaimer: Music In Africa provides a platform for musicians and contributors to embed music and videos solely for promotional purposes. If any track or video embedded on this platform violates any copyrights please inform us immediately and we will take it down. Please read our Terms of Use for more.

newsletter banner

Subscribe to our monthly Newsletter

Follow us on social media