Why Ras Canly’s Reggae Win at SAMA32 is Totally Deserved
Once we first launched Ras Canly to our readers again in 2018, we knew we had been witnessing the arrival of a particular expertise. Quick-forward to 2026, and that uncooked potential has formally culminated in nationwide glory along with his win for Greatest Reggae Album at South African Music Awards for the album International Alternate. Our introduction got here shortly after his breakout monitor “Vhutshilo Rito Fhana” swept the Tshivenda Music Awards (TSHIMA) for Music of the Yr. Even then, we had been a bit late; he was already a family identify in Limpopo. His discography spans almost a decade of stable Reggae music in Tshivenda, evolving from early roots tracks and hip-hop collaborations to studio albums, conceptual EPs, and main singles.
The Early Years
In 2016, Ras Canly recorded and launched his debut album, Mbilu Yanga (My Coronary heart), that includes the profitable monitor “Vhutshilo Rito Fhana.” The album induced such a furore that whereas he initially shared obtain hyperlinks for requested tracks, followers demanded the complete album. This gave him the final word confidence that he was on the fitting path. He garnered such a large following that it got here as no shock when he walked away with a serious trophy from his three TSHIMA nominations the next 12 months.
Trade recognition, although essential, didn’t outline his success. His profession is constructed on laborious work, endurance, sensible technique, and an unwavering love for his area and language. Proper from the start, the Prime Shatter bwoy has sung proudly in Tshivenda. His first releases immediately championed the Limpopo area—an activistic stance contemplating the historical past of underrepresentation and unfavourable sentiment in the direction of the world and its individuals.
These sentiments re-emerging in the course of the 2026 xenophobic mayhem in South Africa, The Vatsonga/Machangana and Venda-related communities marched to the South African Human Rights Fee (SAHRC) in Johannesburg to protest harassment, profiling, and discrimination. Ras Canly’s music stood as a cultural protect. He has at all times unashamedly expressed love for his tradition, dropping summer time anthems like “Venda nga December” with award-winning Venda hip-hop artist Mizo Phyll. His chic monitor “Ndi Funa Venda” pays final homage to the area, declaring an timeless love for its tradition and other people.
Dance ah Yard Earlier than You Dance Overseas
In contrast to artists who migrate to Johannesburg to chase fame, Ras Canly went the wrong way. He stayed put, cementing his identify domestically and cultivating a fiercely loyal, grassroots following, establishing his impartial label, Prime Shatters, proving a deep, long-term understanding of the music enterprise.
By collaborating with native underground and in style artists throughout VendaRap, Gospel, and conventional genres, he constructed a BHIM Nation-like fan base. His collaborations prolonged past music into native commerce. He solid a promotional partnership with the Niani Mulwela Palace & Resort, ceaselessly tagging his updates with the caption: “Ṋamusi ri Niani Mulwela palace & resort” (At the moment we’re at Niani Mulwela Palace & Resort).
This grassroots technique paid off. Whereas international streaming platforms traditionally see low quantity for localised South African reggae, Ras Canly utterly dominates the digital house. With over 17k month-to-month Spotify listeners, his digital footprint is bigger than the remainder of his SAMA32 class nominees mixed. Particular person hits like “Hogo” (over 313k streams) and “Dzuvha” (over 270k streams) show that his viewers isn’t simply following his social media updates—they’re actively looping his discography each day.
The Journey to the SAMAs
The Journey, one among his seminal works, earned Ras Canly his first nationwide nomination at SAMA27, adopted intently by Exhausting To Consider at SAMA28. As a real storyteller, his first entry was an inventive acknowledgment of the lengthy highway that introduced him to the nationwide stage. Undeterred, he returned with Exhausting to Consider, securing a consecutive nomination.
Lastly got here International Alternate. Working like a whole foreigner breaking right into a Joburg’s centrally-concentrated, gate stored, and closed reggae circle, this album sealed his destiny at SAMA32. Once we say Ras Canly is the Sovereign of Sound, we imply he’s a king of his musical area, he doesn’t simply make Reggae; he utterly instructions his distinctive sound model and dictates his personal profession path on his personal phrases. He didn’t simply take house the Greatest Reggae Album Award; he was pushed into the highlight by contending for Greatest Male Artist in opposition to heavy-hitters from main pop, Amapiano, and Gospel classes.
Though the SAMAs have long-lost their mainstream credibility—and now with the primary sponsorship taken over by that billionaire who sponsored the Africa Soccer Cup riddled with political shenanigans—this background noise doesn’t diminish Ras Canly’s shine or his monumental achievement.
Dominating the Regional Stage First
Lengthy earlier than the nationwide committee took discover, Ras Canly had utterly dominated the regional TSHIMA sector. His first vital win was Music of the Yr—a serious flex, because it marked the primary time in South African music historical past {that a} Reggae monitor received a Music of the Yr title. It was a historic first award that set the tone for his profession, with a gradual stream of regional awards and nationwide nominations following in its wake.
Making Strikes
His transition to Adziambei Music Academy (AMA) was a superb stroke. It unlocked the complete depth of his artistic imaginative and prescient, granting him entry to a cutting-edge recording studio. Extra importantly, it positioned him in direct alignment with a excessive calibre of legendary musicians and reside instrumentalists, together with Dr. Colbert Mukwevho and Kenny Murabi. He launched the inspirational monitor The Sky Is the Restrict that includes Colbert Mukhwevho. The alignment with Kenny Murabi,- one among his main influences – culminated in a passing of the torch when Ras Canly was featured on Kenny Murabi’s daughter’s – Tsiko and Vusani -debut album mission, “The Inside” on the monitor Dem Ah Come.
His worldwide strikes had been dealt with with equal mastery. When he collaborated with Jamaican reggae icon Lutan Fyah, Ras Canly didn’t make a direct, noisy fuss about it. As a substitute, Fyah Man Ras quietly waited for the proper tactical second to drop the monitor off his conceptual My5 Ep collection on Quantity II, maximizing its inventive influence.
One other tactical transfer was securing a extremely coveted spot on the line-up for Makhadzi’s insanely in style One Lady Present. Being chosen for such a large platform was a monumental nod to his rising mainstream persona and star energy. Each Makhadzi and Ras Canly would go on to win at SAMA32. It was actually heartwarming to look at them congratulating and uplifting one another on their respective social platforms—Ras Canly SAMA32 affectionately praising her on-line as “Khaladzi wam”. The followers flooded the congratulatory threads, overtly calling for a dream studio collaboration and reside efficiency between the 2. In the end, their shared highlight stands as a large second for the whole Limpopo province
The Final Alternate
Rotondwa Canly Mulaudzi—the “Ras Fyah Man Canly” we watched rise from the bottom up—is formally the South African Music Award winner for Greatest Reggae Album 2026. Ras Canly SAMA32. For a Limpopo boy raised in Tshiombo, within the coronary heart of Vhembe District, navigating an atmosphere deeply rooted in cultural custom and neighborhood spirit was at all times his biggest energy. By refusing to compromise his native tongue or depart his house turf, his total profession turned a lesson in endurance.
His Journey proved to be Exhausting to Consider, however by buying and selling localsed grit for nationwide glory, his sensible International Alternate lastly paid off. SAMA32 didn’t simply hand him a trophy; they validated a decade-long campaign, cementing his legacy as absolutely the, undisputed sovereign of his sound.
Giving Thanks: The Journey Continues
True to his character as a acutely aware storyteller, Ras Canly SAMA32, isn’t resting on his honours. Simply six days after his nationwide crowning, he dropped the Official Music Video for “Ndikho Livhuwa”—a standout monitor from the profitable album whose title interprets on to “Giving Thanks”. The visuals function a profound providing of gratitude for all that has come his means. It stands as a testomony {that a} nationwide trophy is merely a milestone, not the tip of the highway. As Ras Canly places it to cap off this historic period in a 2019 interview: On The Journey with Ras Fyah Man Canly
“We’ve been doing this music factor for lengthy and we’re not going to cease, so we’re on the journey, sooner or later we are going to attain the vacation spot.” – Ras Canly. (2019)
Ras Canly SAMA32
Feedback
