South African DJ Nkosinathi Innocent Sizwe Maphumulo, better known bis his stage name Black Coffee, took home the 2022 Grammy Award for “Best Dance/Electronic Music Album.”
Titled Subconsciously, the 12-track effort is Black Coffee’s ninth studio album. This marks the first time a South African has either won or been nominated in the category. Commercially successful artists such as Diplo, Pharrell Williams, and David Guetta appear as guest artists throughout the work.
“I want to thank god for the gift of music and being able to share it with the world and heal some souls,” he said during his acceptance speech. He also thanked his fellow producers for collaborating with him, saying they “believed in working with a smaller artist like myself.” His firstborn son, Esona, was onstage with him to accept the award.
Born in Umlazi, South Africa, Black Coffee’s career began to take off after he participated in the 2003 Red Bull Music Academy contest. In 2005 he founded his own record label, Soulistic Music. That same year, he released a self-titled album through the imprint. The effort went on to gain recognition thanks to his sampling of popular South African musicians. He created it with basic software, stating that “everything was played with a computer mouse.”
