Born Jabulani Hadebe in Kwa Zulu Natal, South African singer Sjava is among the wave of artists creatively fusing hiphop and R&B with indigenous sounds.

His rise to fame began whilst acting since 2005, appearing in several films including uGugu no Andile and the drama series Zone 14, where he starred for three consecutive seasons.

Sjava ventured into the music industry and gained wide popularity after featuring on Miss Pru's acclaimed song "Ameni" in 2015.

Sjava's debut album, Isina Muva (2016) introduced his experimental sound, which fuses afrobeats, hiphop and contemporary R&B. The album went gold and earned him a SAMA Award for Best Produced Album.

His widely acclaimed second album Umqhele in 2018 continued his fusion sound and also won him the SAMA Award for Album of the Year. Sjava gained wider international recognition with his song ‘Seasons’ appearing on 2018’s Kendrick Lamar–curated and Grammy-nominated Black Panther soundtrack album.

The same year, Sjava won the BET Award for Best New International Act.