Tendaness
Tatenda Mandaza, known professionally as Tendaness, is a Swazi-born record producer, DJ and songwriter.
Early life and career
Tatenda Mandaza was born in Mbabane, the capital city of Eswatini. His mother is Swati and his father is Zimbabwean. He began his music career in 2007–2008 in his bedroom after having picked up an interest in the art from a friend in high school. He got his stage name 'Tendaness' from his friend who taught him how to use turntables in 2008. He mastered the process of music production and established his record label, Tendamix Records in 2011. Tendaness has won two national "DJ of the Year" awards in Eswatini and won first place in the Sprite DJ Champion 2011.In August 2012, Tendaness moved to the United States to attend the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma. He studied advertising with a minor in Film and Media Studies for four years while still making music. Tendaness released his first EP Play on 23 August 2012 under UK based indie label Crossborder Records. He has released many more singles, EPs and official remixes to date. He released a major single "Overload" in 2013. The single featured former Cashtime member Smashis and rapper Kid Nice. The track was released during his time as Coca-Cola Swaziland Ambassador, as part of the Crazy For Good Campaign. The song gained major airplay in Swaziland and South Africa and had the first ever Swazi music video to be aired on major music channels like MTV Base and Channel O. On 3 March 2016, he released his debut LP "Grande" featuring a roster of upcoming artist from Swaziland and around Africa.