Sgoobzin’s The Quest isn’t perfect — and that’s exactly why it works
Sometimes the most honest music doesn’t come from big studios or perfectly planned rollouts. It comes from people figuring life out in real time.
That’s what Sgoobzin brings with The Quest.
The 25-year-old Bonginkosi Mkhwanazi known to his fanbase as Sgoobzin from Duduza’s Bluegum View isn’t trying to present himself as finished or polished. If anything, this EP feels like someone in the middle of becoming, someone still working things out, but choosing to document it anyway. “The title represents my engagement towards life and the obstacles I’ve been through,” he says.
And you hear that from the start. This isn’t a project built on one idea. It moves between different parts of his life, love, spirituality, pressure, survival, without trying to force them into one neat box.
Music that comes from somewhere
Growing up in Duduza, Sgoobzin’s perspective is shaped by what he’s seen around him. “My township shows how people are affected by poverty, drugs and unemployment,” he explains. “People end up doing different things just to survive.” That reality sits underneath the music. Not in a heavy-handed way, but in how he writes, how he reflects, and how he chooses to tell his story.
You can hear the influence of artists like Sjava in the emotional honesty, while the spiritual and cultural grounding echoes groups like Ladysmith Black Mambazo. It’s not a calculated blend. It’s just how he grew up.
A big part of Sgoobzin’s journey started during lockdown in 2020. After leaving university in Port Elizabeth and returning home, he didn’t have access to a studio. So he made another plan. “I kept writing and downloading beats online so I could practice,” he says.
That period shows in the music. There’s a sense that he built his confidence before he ever stepped into a proper recording space. The Quest feels like the result of that preparation finally finding an outlet.
The moments that hit hardest
Some of the most memorable parts of the EP weren’t carefully constructed — they just happened. On Shembe, he freestyled the chorus during a difficult time in his life. “I was going through a rough patch. I was crying inside.” You can hear that. It’s not overly polished, but it carries something real.
Then there’s Mangubeni, which leans into love. It’s softer, more open, and shows a different side of him, one that balances out the heavier themes across the project.
The entire EP is produced by Yung Shebib, someone who’s been part of Sgoobzin’s life long before the music. They’ve known each other since childhood, went to the same schools, and even the same university before both decided to leave and take music seriously. That history matters. It gives the project a sense of comfort, like the artist and producer understand each other beyond just sound.
Sgoobzin – shift, not an arrival
Sgoobzin doesn’t present The Quest as a victory lap. If anything, he sees it as a turning point. “The person I am now is different from who I was before this EP,” he says. That shift comes through in how the project moves. It doesn’t stay in one emotional space. It reflects someone changing in real time.
There’s no sense of slowing down. He plans to keep releasing music, with singles, collaborations, and a possible album on the way. But more than anything, he wants people to actually listen. “I recommend people listen to the lyrics and share what they get from it.” And that might be the best way to approach The Quest. Not as something to skim through, but something to sit with.
Because underneath the rough edges and the transitions, there’s something honest there.
And right now, that counts for a lot.
