By his own account, the crew on a KindlyNxsh music video is KindlyNxsh. The call sheet fits on a sticky note, nobody waits for the colourist to reply to an email because the colourist is already on the call, and the cover art never has to be sent back for revisions. He left school after Grade 9 with his family’s support, so the curriculum can fairly say it taught him none of this.
A one-person credit list
KindlyNxsh (Anashe Ithiel Chizhande) was born in Zimbabwe and raised in the Johannesburg area. He is 23. He started making music at around 15 and taught himself production and engineering. His early reputation came from working behind the boards for other artists, with credits tied to Blxckie, Sjava, AKA, Costa Titch and Nadia Nakai. In early 2024 he turned to his own records. “Eish Chief” followed in June 2024, and reports say it passed a million streams quickly.
His album SHONA MAN came out on 25 September 2026. It has nine tracks, and reports credit him with producing eight of them. Credits aggregators list him as producer, composer and lyricist on his own material.
The same instinct runs through his visuals. He told SA Hip Hop Mag that he does his own cover art, colour grading and editing. His reason was short: “I’m the crew.”
What the standard looks like
Plenty of artists have a hand in their image. Fewer keep a hand on every stage, from the beat to the grade of the final frame. For KindlyNxsh, this is a decision about authorship. The story is his, so he wants to tell it, down to how each video is cut.
SHONA MAN applies the same logic to its subject. The album reinterprets Oliver Mtukudzi material, including “Neria II” and a live version of “Todii”. It leans further into Shona language and adds Afrobeats and rave elements. He has described it as an exploration of an identity he had kept more in the background. He calls himself “a product of Africa” and says he is both South African and Zimbabwean. That dual inheritance is the raw material of the record.
On rights, the picture is mixed. His early releases were independent, and some listings place SHONA MAN in association with Gallo Record Company. No public source confirms who owns the masters, so this note claims only what the credits show: heavy creative control and a clear line of authorship from production to presentation.
Why he is worth watching
A 23-year-old who produces most of an album, grades his own videos and designs his own covers is rare. The distance he has covered since leaving school already shows in the credits. The album is still inside its release window. Others across the continent work the same way, in smaller rooms and for smaller audiences. He is one of the clearest examples of what that looks like.
