Actor, activist and entrepreneur Nomzamo Mbatha celebrates some of her favourite musicians for our celebration of South Africa’s 30 Years of Freedom, including Trompies, Liquideep, Sipho ‘Hotstix’ Mabuse, Zahara, Nasty C, Dlala Thukzin, Big Nuz, Prince Kaybee, Master KG, Amanda Black and more. “These artists have given us a lifetime of memories,” she tells Apple Music. “We have specific feelings and distinct memories with these songs. There are people who make music and then there are artists. These folks… these folks are artists. The originality, the audacious ambition, the swag, the glorious grounding in the places they take us—it’s unmatched.” “They remind me of teenage years when questioning adulthood, and Yizo Yizo is at top of mind,” she continues; “whilst moving through a time in college, where on Friday and Saturday nights we would be caught dancing on top of speakers. December summer days of gqom hitting the speakers and moving through an inexplicable feeling—[of being] grateful for the chance to live in a new renaissance of South Africa. These songs remind me that South Africa has always and will always create music that unifies.” What does Mbatha want for future generations of South Africans? “[My hope is that they] seize this country and to give it the promise it deserves,” she explains. “Steve Biko said, ‘The great powers of the world may have done wonders in giving the world an industrial look, but the great gift still has to come from Africa—giving the world a more human face.’”