About

 

 

 

CHART- topper, Unicef ambassador and voice of the 4th PowerPuff Girl on Cartoon Network, Toya Delazy is a musician, based between London and South Africa. Her music is a blend of Jazz, Electro and Hip-Hop (she calls it JEHP).

Pianist, producer, rapper and singer-songwriter Latoya Buthelezi, known as Toya Delazy, has made her mark as one of the finest performers to break new ground in the South Africa’s burgeoning music industry. At age 9 she began to train in classical piano, and attended Howard College’s Jazz Program in Durban in 2009. Due to her exposure to different influences, from Amy Winehouse, Lauryn Hill, Skrillex, to Radiohead and Kings of Leon, she pieced together the different nuances, performing around Durban’s pubs with her keyboard and a beatboxer, before being scouted to play Africa Day in 2011.

Toya eventually signed to Sony Music Africa and released her debut album “Due Drop” in April 2012, raising the bar to fresh, new heights.

With more than 1600 radio plays and 400 000 Youtube views*, her first single “Pump It On” dominated across South Africa’s Top 40 for 16 weeks and beyond, with the iconic video. The “live life to the fullest” concept behind the track prompted Reebok to recruit her as a brand ambassador in 2012. With following singles “Heart,” “Love Is In The Air” and “Are You Gonna Stay”, Due Drop soon reached Gold status and got Awarded as Newcomer of The Year, Best Pop Album and Best Produced at the 2013 South African Music Awards and, the same year, received a BET Award Nomination forBest International Act. After a 120 dates Tour across Southern Africa, between 2012 and 2014, Toya also opened for Paolo Nutini and Ne-Yo during their African Tour.

 

Toya left Sony the next year when the two parties couldn’t come to terms on a dysfunctional 360 deal, to start her own record label, Delazy Entertainment. Wanting to widen her audience, Toya moved to London and released her 2nd album, titled “Ascension”, with hit singles “Forbidden Fruit” and “My City”. The album propelled Toya to international levels, headlining at the Apollo Theater NYC, scoping Best International Song Award at the 2016 Out Music Awards held in New York with Forbidden Fruit.

Following 2 years off the radar writing new material, Toya released her third offering on the 8th December 2017: ‘Uncommodified’. The album entered this Top 100 Pop on Apple Music on its first week.

NEW SINGLE PRESS RELEASE (26.12.2017)

Surfing the wave of her successful debut album “Due Drop”, which got her a BET Award nomination, and the recent announcement of her voicing the first black PowerPuff Girl, Toya Delazy continues her rise as one of the most versatile and exciting new talents boasting from Africa,  and releases the new track “London Town”, off her new album ‘Uncommodified’.

The 27-year-old East-London-based MC recruited UK chart topper and friend Rymez on the production (SteffLon Don, Wiley, Lil Yachty…), wrapping the wordsmith’s signature ferocious and fearless flow in infectious afro-beat and heavy bass sound.

‘London Town’ follows the release of ‘Luv My City’ that reached #5 on the UK Music Week’s Urban chart in November 2015.

 

ACHIEVEMENTS 2016/2017