You might have seen his face on the screens and not recognised him. Sjava real name is Jabulani Hadebe. The artist bears one of the Hadebe clan names. Most people refer to him as Sjava Ka Mnisi. He is one of the most famous artists in South Africa. He is also an actor. He has featured in one of the most popular TV shows like Generations, Soul City, 7 De Laan, Zone 14. Apart from acting, he has also released hits that performed perfectly well and won him big awards.
Sjava Age And Family
The lstar was born on 2nd December 1984, in Bergville, KwaZulu Natal. As of date, Sjava age is 37 years old. His family later on relocated to Johannesburg where he grew up. It is funny how he looks younger than he really is. As a young boy, he did not have it smooth growing up.
Sjava Family
He was born to Thandi Nkabinde, his mother and was mostly raised by his grandmother. Sjava has two older siblings, Sibusiso (his brother) and Sindy (his sister). Sjava’s parents were not well off financially. His mother used to run a business of selling food at a taxi terminus. His father was not so much involved in bringing him up. In an interview, he stated that he did not let his situation thwart him from pursuing his goals. He openly describes his childhood as ‘tough’
Sjava Education
Jabulani Hadebe A.K.A Sjava completed his primary education in KwaZulu Natal. Thereafter, his family moved to Johannesburg where he was enrolled at a high school. After completing high school Sjava did not pursue education but rather began working at the taxi rank.
Sjava Career
Sjava began his career by listening to advice from Mabuza to become an actor first in 2005, starring in several drama series’ and films including uGugu no Andile (2009). He then rose to fame on the drama series, Zone 14 where he starred for three following seasons. Sjava ventured into the music industry after Mabuza advised him to join a record label Ambitiouz Entertainment and was featured on Miss Pru’s critically much-admired song “Ameni” in 2015.
Sjava is one man who is very proud of his culture and tradition and he is not afraid to show it in his dressing. Because of the hard work that Sjava has done he has set a legacy that would take another artist decades to set.
Growing up, Sjava had a liking for arts; music and acting. He was also a committed soccer player. Sadly his soccer career didn’t go so well for him and he then decided to give all his time and energy in the arts industry with music taking precedence.
His debut on television was when he landed a role on Zone 14 and this opened more doors for him for other shows such as Rhythm City and The Bantu Hour. in 2016, he decided to quit acting and that is when he signed a contract to work with Ambitiouz Entertainment.
That same year he released his debut album, Isina Muva. The performance of the album was exemplary, and within the first day of its release, it had secured the first position on iTunes. He did a luxury version of the album which was the best part of it because it reached the gold status. The latter then won himself the Viewers’ Choice Best International Act for the BET International Awards.
Sjava Baby Mama
A woman called Mandisa Mtubu has come out to claim that she has a son with Sjava and he is refusing to support his son. In an exclusive interview with Drum magazine, she revealed that their love failed up when she got pregnant and that she was even paid to keep quiet about the matter.
She claims Sjava and his team at Ambitiouz tried to bribe her. “They gave me R10 000 in cash and told me to keep quiet, he wants to keep my child a secret and I will not allow it”.
Sjava and Lady Zamar
Unfortunately, although Sjava and Lady Zamar have gone their separate ways, it hasn’t been a friendly breakup. Lady Zamar had an interview with Sunday World and let the world know that Zulu singing sensation, Sjava had raped her. Off the club, people were divided about the allegations and since then, there has been a excess of new news about the two’s relationship before, during and after their relationship.
On many occasions, Lady Zamar has been stable in her decision that she doesn’t feel safe around Sjava to which many claims were ignored until she pressed charges against the singer for rape. Sjava remained silent about this rape until he started to lose out on endorsements and performances from multiple brands to which, Sjava finally made a statement, pleading his innocence.
Sjava has made it public knowledge that he has made plans to sue the Sunday World & Lady Zamar for defamation of character. He is also waiting on the SAPS to get back to him about the case filed against him.
Sjava Awards and Nominations
Here’s a list of Sjava’s awards and nominations
2017 – Best Male at Metro FM Awards for Isina Muva (Nominated)
2017 – Best New Artist at Metro FM Awards for Isina Muva (Nominated)
2017 – Best Afro Pop Album at Metro FM Awards for Isina Muva (Nominated)
2017 – Best Produced Album at Metro FM Awards for Isina Muva (Won)
2017 – Best Produced Album at SAMAs for Isina Muva (Won)
2017 – Rising Star at the DSTV Mzansi Viewers’ Choice Awards (Won)
2018 – Viewers’ Choice Best International Act at the BET Awards (Won)
2019 – Album of the Year at SAMAs for Umqhele (Won)
2019 – Best Engineered Album of the Year at SAMAs for Umqhele (Nominated)
2019 – Best Afro Pop Album at SAMAs for Umqhele (Won)
2019 – Male Artist of the Year at SAMAs (Nominated)
2019 – Best Male Artist In Southern Africa at the AFRIMAs
Sjava Songoma
Although he is constantly seen wearing traditional insignia, Sjava confirmed that he is not a Sangoma but rather a true Zulu who is proud of his culture.
Sjava Net worth
The ‘Umama’ hit maker has a net worth of R1 million – R5 million which springs from music royalties, shows, endorsements and private businesses. Even though he has been discreet about his private businesses, Sjava claims to be investing more in private businesses than his musical career.
