Tumza-Dog aka Mbyana Ya Mananga (real name Tumelo Frednard Manyama) is a South African Xitsonga Dancehall Singer/ Rapper born in Rotterdam Village in Limpopo province
Was raised by grandparents from the age of 6 months up to 13 years at Nkuzana Village on the outskirts of Louis Trichardt, at the early ages there wasn’t any sign of being a musician. Tumza-Dog was more interested in acting school dramas.
What got me into music was the fact that I grew up listening to Peter Teanet's music, so I wasn't able to sing like him , thats why I used his singing style on Hip Hop songs
So when I moved back to Rotterdam Village, met with a friend called Akani Excellent Mashele known as Young Nikka, together we started writing songs together and we went to out first studio session in 2011 at Navetisa Records (unofficial) Where we recorded a few songs which gained little audience from around the village, after that we went to work with Mzitho Records individually, worked on several songs with Mzitho which kinda made me known by the locals.
In 2016 I had my own Studio where I taught myself to record, I made a lot of songs and gained a some experience in production, One particular song "Ndzi Lorha nati verse" gained popularity and many local artists wanted to work with me.
Took a break from music for a couple of years until I met Dollar Cream (Nhlahla Kubayi) in 2018, Dollar became my mentor and producer, where we together transitioned my music from Hip Hop to DanceHall.
We were a trio called Good Stuff Music with a rapper called Af-Kidd (Collins Rikhotso), we urged to performed in every stage around Tembisa, making a names for ourselves and also hosted some events.
If you were not a Musician, what would you be?
I would be a comedian, I still have a lot of passion and love in comedy, and I am also persuing my acting career at the moment though Kasi Movie Production (Rotterdam Village), the movies I have appeared on are available on YOUTUBE channel KASI MOVIE PRODUCTION, you find projects such as Aniti Endli where I starred as a Nigerian, XIHUNDLA as Freddy and SARAH as John main character
Which song would you say a lot of people knew Tumza Dog by and why?
Happy is the song which many people knew me by, because it was the first pure DanceHall song we created with Dollar Cream, and people were not used to that kind of sound
How is the response from Family and Friends towards your music?
My family always showed support even though at first they didn't not really understand the music process, but I always got positive response from family
What makes a Good singer in your opinions
A good singer must always come up with different content to cover the varieties of audience out there, a singer must be creative enough to make everyone comfortable while listening their music
What is One thing that you love about your fans when you are performing on stage?
Am an energetic person so when ever am on stage I give the best performance and people always love that about me, I interact with the crowd during my performances.
Who have you worked with?
I worked with one of the best producers in Rotterdam Village called ThuzarSA, known to others as ManTwo, he is the one who produced WANI TSHIKA NA? and XIDAKWA ft Hush
Where can people find your music?
My music is found in all digital platforms, uploaded on Ditto and distributed to all musical platforms for streaming and download
Follow Tumza-Dog On:
Facebook: Tumza-Dog
Twitter/ X: @tumza_dog
Tick tock: @tumzadogg69
