Zakes Bantwini, Wouter Kellerman and Nomcebo Zikode won the Grammy Award for Best Global Music Performance during Sunday night’s 65th Grammy Awards. The award came for Bayethe, a magnetic number featuring flautist Wouter Kellerman and singer Nomcebo Zikode.
After the win, Zakes told of how he met Wouter at the SA Music Awards: “I think the beautiful story is we met with Wouter chatting about this at the South African Music Awards. So we met at the awards in South Africa talking about this particular moment, and today we’re at the Grammys.
Now, having won the award, Zakes says he hopes this can prove to all young South Africans that anything is possible. “This award is not just for us, it’s for everyone back home. This moment is testament to the fact that our dreams are valid and we can accomplish anything
we set our minds on. I want every young kid in the ghetto in South Africa to dream big and believe that we deserve to be recognised on the biggest stages in the world. Thank you tomy team at IMG Africa, my collaborators Wouter Kellerman and Nomcebo Zikode, and everyone who’s been supporting us along this journey.”
Sibo Mhlungu, Zakes’ business partner and manager, said: “This is an incredibly special moment for us. When Zakes and I started this company a year and a half ago, our goal was always to compete on the world stage. This moment didn’t come by chance – we prepared for it and we spoke it into existence.”
The Grammy is the cherry on top of a busy awards season in which Zakes has bagged two South African Music Awards (Highest Airplay and Best Collaboration), a GQ Award for Musician of the Year, and a South African Social Media Award (SASMA) for Most Popular Song on South African Social Media.