Oskido is the stage name of Oscar Bonginkosi Mdlongwa, a very popular South African DJ and artist who proved himself also as a great record producer and businessman.
Oskido is very respected on the SouthAfrican music scene since he is the person responsible for Kwaito music genre to become highly regarded worldwide.
He says that this genre is one of his favorite discoveries in the whole world, but he would love to do even more for it.
He has several nicknames and the most interesting ones are Godzilla and The Big “O”.
Early years
He was born as Oscar Bonginkosi Mdlongwa on November 23, 1967, in the northwestern part of South Africa, in the town of Brits. Brits are located in the North West province of the South African state.
His father was working as a politician in Zimbabwe named Esaph Mdlongwa, while his mother Emily Sophia Molefi originates from South Africa. Most of his childhood the family lived in the Luveve Township, located in Bulawayo, the state of Zimbabwe.
He was an average student at Gifford High School where he graduated from. He lived there until he turned 21 when he returned to South Africa.
It was in 1988, and he decided to move to Johannesburg where he hoped that he would get a chance to move his music career forward. Because of this dream, he workd very hard and he wanted to provide for his whole family, but this didn’t come true too soon.
It was very hard for him to show his skills and he had to work a lot of different jobs in order to provide himself a decent life. It was hard to start a music career when you are completely unknown.
Career development
Oskido got his chance very interestingly. He was working one night in a club and sold sausages there when he heard that the DJ that was supposed to come to play didn’t turn up for the gig.
He offered himself to perform instead of the DJ.
He gained positive reviews for his performance and it motivated him to start making mixtapes and compilations where he showcased his own sound. He really had a special sound and some great ideas in mind.
He had released Mixmaster and Big Jam and his good reputation found its way even out of Johannesburg.
After Bruce “Dope” Sebitlo saw and heard Oskido he was sure that he would become a great partner to him so he invited Oskido to join him and become a member of a band named Brothers of Peace.
While being a part of Brothers of Peace Oskido worked very hard with his partner Bruce and they managed to release eight albums during the time the group was active.
In 1992, Christos Katsaitis, Don Laka and DJ Oskido decided that they should create their own record company Kalawa Jazme. They soon signed the Boom Shaka group to the label and released their first album titled “It’s About Time” which got released in 1993.
In 1995 it partnered with another record label called Jazmee and the company became Kalawa Jazmee Records. This moment was supposed to launch Oskido into the world of stars.
In 1994 the group has released an album named Traffic Cop and it came out through Kalawa Jazme record label.
In 1999 their new album named Dollar waa released through the same label.
In 2000 they shortly transferred to Columbia Records with their Project A album, but the following sequel named Zabalaza: Project B was again released through Kalawa Jazme.
In 2002, another release was on the shelves: it was titled Alaska: The Return.
In 2004, Columbia Records released the new album called The D Project: Life.
In 2005, they have released an album King of Kwaito: Uyagawula which was released through Universal Music. This album was long-awaited amongst many people and therefore it was a big hit.
Between 2000 and 2010 he had released several albums which together turned into a compilation called Church Grooves.
In the summer of 2019, he released his new album called Akhiwe and it soon became a hit. He collaborated with many artists on his new album. Some of them are Winnie Khumalo, Monique, and Tamara Dey.
Oskido is considered to be one of the artists who popularized Kwaito music, a South African music genre that was created in the ’90s.
His creativity and contribution to the music brought him several awards, and Special Recognition Award he received in 2012 is the most important award amongst all of them.
Since his father is from Zimbabwe and he grew up in Bulawayo he was nominated for Bulawayo’s Award for Outstanding Artist but he had rejected the award.
He doesn’t consider himself being a Zimbabwean and doesn’t live there so it is not fair for him to take the award from a true Zimbabwean.
Oskido has helped a lot of talented musicians to start their own careers, like Boom Shaka, Mafikizolo, Uhuru and DJ Zinhle into the spotlight.
Kalawa Records is not run only by him but by his partners Mahoota, Bruce Sebitlo, Spikiri, and Mjokes Matsane.
Personal life
In 1993, his loving mother Emily died and it was a rough period for him since they had a strong mother and son bond.
Oskido lives in Midrand, in an expensive home with a huge garden and a beautiful pool. The neighborhood is watched by security guards. He says that all of this is going to be a gift to his children and his grandchildren.
He looks very good for his years and claims the reason for his good looks is that he rarely drinks, exercises regularly and eats very healthy.
Oskido is a single father and has three children, daughters Mandy, and Naledi and a son named Bass. He hired two nannies to help him cope with it because it is hard for him to find a balance between personal and professional life.
He is very proud of his kids, especially his son Bass who is the eldest and is also very interested in music.
When he speaks about his young age he says that he was very reckless when he was young and that he had problems with booze and fights.
He often mentions the example when he came to an interview completely drunk and embarrassed himself.
He also went on the stage drunk more than once and had many incidents following that.
He is in good relations with his brother who also works as a DJ. His stage name is DJ Pepsi and he is Oskido’s younger brother.
He was in a relationship with an Afro-pop singer Tina Dlanwana but they broke up.
Tina married Prosper Mkwaiwa after this breakup but her husband died unexpectedly at the beginning of 2015.
He loves cars but his most favorite vehicles are his Bentley and Mercedes Benz. He says that cars are something that all men love and it’s in their blood, therefore he always dreamt of these.
He also has a beach house where he likes to go to get some rest.
He has almost half a million followers on his Instagram account.
Quick summary
Full name: Oscar Bonginkosi Mdlongwa
Date of birth: November 23, 1967
Birthplace: Brits, South Africa
Age: 52
Profession: DJ, Kwaito artist
Height: NA
Weight: NA
Net Worth: $2 million