Welkom’s artist, KoolieWest makes waves in the music industry!

Mandilakhe Kwaaiman, also known as KoolieWest Musique was born in 2000 in Welkom, Free State.  Along with his siblings, they were raised in a loving, God-fearing home by their single mother. Fortunately, Mandilakhe belongs to the family that God has chosen to bestow a musical talent on.

“I really don’t recall the first time I discovered that I could actually sing; to think of it, it is like I knew since the day I was born. I grew up around people who loved singing and inspired me in that regard.  As time went by, this hunger for singing kept growing and needed to be fed, so I sang at church and at school. From there, I started singing acapella with my brothers,” said Mandilakhe.

That was not the end, but the beginning of his music career. 

KoolieWest began recording his own music in 2016, primarily drawing inspiration from Afro pop music. At that point, he began to establish his own name and became quite known in his hometown. In hight school, KoolieWest became so popular and people loved and supported him.

With time, Mandilakhe’s love and inventiveness for music increased dramatically and helped him grow rapidly in the music field. At one point, he had to halt his music to focus on academics.

“I genuinely have no regrets about the choice I made because it allowed me to enrol into university,” relayed the musician.

In 2020, KoolieWest relocated, leaving his family and friends behind, those who also helped him produce his music.
As a result, he started over in a new environment and was forced to learn music production on his own. The first step was buying himself a studio equipment, then went to collaborate with artists around and outside Free State. That became one of the ways in which his identity (and brand) gained major recognition.

Internationally, he had the opportunity to collaborate with artists and producers from Botswana and Swaziland.

In 2021, he released his debut Amapiano song, Ingoma yam, produced by the incredible Khathapillar.

In an interview with Kasi Voice News, Mandilakhe relayed how difficult the journey had been for him since he was also an engineering student. He was always under a lot of pressure and had to take frequent breaks from the industry.

However, all his hard work and sacrifices proved not to be in vain. KoolWest had the opportunity to collaborate with some of the industry’s biggest artists, like the Mina Ngiyazthandela hit producer, Afrotoniq, as well as fantastic vocalists, Kaydo Matthews and Jumanji Grey. Form that collaboration, a song titled Ngeke Balunge was produced.

Furthermore, Mandilakhe collaborated with Khathaphillar on a song titled Makwwande, featuring Gift Majowa and released on December 15th last year.

“This is a song very close to my heart,” informed the young artist.

The song is about reflecting on his life and the challenges he faced in the previous two years of his life. During that time, the creative artist he felt like he had no support. What worsened things was that he developed a blurry vision about his path. He felt alone and needed senior guidance on this journey.

“Writing the lyrics of Makwande was a way of praying,” said Mandilakhe.

Before releasing Makwande, they decided to redo it. His favorite lines: ‘imvula mayine, makwande‘ mean he was asking God for success, to let the rain of blessings fall upon his people, and to let the sun shine for things to get better.

Mandilakhe will release a new single around June titled Umaqondana. It is a love song with a Zulu inspired sound; even the instruments are giving Blaq Diamond, Big Zulu and Mnqobi Yazo vibes. He really tapped into a love vibe in this song. 

It is without a doubt that KoolieWest is creating waves in the industry and Kasi Voice News wishes him nothing but the best in his journey.

For those who wouuld like to follow this emerging star, you may find him on these social media platforms; Facebook as KoolieWest Musique, Instagram as @mandiik_057 and also on X as @mandiik_sa.