Toya Delazy

Born Latoya Nontokozo Buthelezi in eMahlabathini, KwaZulu‑Natal, and initially active in Durban before settling in London, Toya Delazy has built, since the early 2010s, a career at the crossroads of electronic music, hip‑hop, pop, jazz and dance genres. A trained pianist, she emerged after signing with Sony Music Africa in 2011 and released the album Due Drop in 2012, which blends pop hooks, electronic textures and phrasing that leans toward soul or rap. Toya Delazy followed with Ascension in 2014 and broadened her scope after moving to the United Kingdom with the mixtape Jetlag in 2017 and the album Uncommodified the same year, increasingly engaging with British electronic scenes and collaborating with producers such as Raf Riley, Joy Anonymous and Sinistarr. Since 2019 she has used the term afrorave to describe a writing approach that links the energy of rave, techno and drum and bass with African rhythms and lyrics in Zulu. This orientation is more clearly expressed on Afrorave Vol. 1, released in 2021, where Toya Delazy tightens her music around a more direct, danceable and percussive sound while retaining a melodic vocal base and a highly personal take on the crossover between club music and South African heritage.