Producer, dancer and singer Ayabonga Zuma, famously known as Sykes parted ways with award-winning singer Nomcebo Zikode’s record label Emazulwini Productions after being signed.
According to entertainment publication, ZiMoja, the Sisekani Babies hitmaker recently left the record label owned by the Grammy winner and her husband Selwyn Fraser due to a fallout.
In June 2023, Sykes’s career skyrocketed after being discovered by Nomcebo leading to his hit singles Sisekakeni Babies and popular single iPlan featuring Dlala Thukzin.
During a recent interview with news publication, IOL, Sykes said, “All in all, I’m doing everything I can to get the Sykes brand to the top, and I feel more confident because I have an amazing team, and an amazing mentor (Nomcebo Zikode), who is keen to see me thrive. I want to be a household name someday, so it’s onward and upward for me from here.”
Before he departed from the record label, Nomcebo told the above-mentioned source that she was excited about working with Sykes to develop his talents further.
A close source told ZiMoja, that by the time he was signed to the record label his brand and already grown given his hit solo single, adding that, he was promised the world and that they were not working on getting him gigs despite him working on music.
It hasn’t been all bad since he joined the label as he was nominated at the 2023 Metro FM Awards under the categories: Best New Artist and Best Kwaito/Gqom, but a close friend added that he had been planning to part ways since the awards where the label owners refused.
Speaking to the entertainment publication, Selwyn confirmed Syke’s departure, adding that, there had been no bad blood between them.
“Sykes was like a brother to me; we treated him like an egg at the time and we achieved a lot in the short space of time that he was with us. Success is not an overnight thing and we did a lot of great things together. We want to go about this the right way, shake hands and move on,” he says.
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