Bokone Music
South African record label built around founder Don Laka's own catalogue, formed after Kalawa Jazmee's 2001 split; releases have gone out under licence to majors rather than through its own distribution.
- Based in
- South Africa
- Founded
- 2001
- Founder
- Don Laka (Donald Mahwetša Laka)
Bokone Music is a South African record label built around the catalogue of its founder, jazz musician and producer Don Laka (Donald Mahwetša Laka). Laka set up the imprint in 2001 after the founders of Kalawa Jazmee, the kwaito label he had co-run, split up; rather than join the breakaway Dangerous Combination Crew, he started his own label under the “kwaai-jazz” style he had developed.
The label is independent and privately held by Laka. It has not operated as a self-distributing company: its releases have gone out under licence to majors, including Sony Music Entertainment Africa in 2002, EMI, and Universal Music (Pty) Ltd South Africa in 2018. Its catalogue and roster are, on all available sourcing, Laka’s own recordings rather than a wider signed roster.
Laka signed his catalogue to Sony Music Entertainment Africa again for a release programme running into 2026. Bokone Music has no live website; a historical domain associated with the label no longer resolves. Its public record rests on its Discogs label page and on Laka’s own biography, which places the label squarely in the story of Kalawa Jazmee’s 2001 split.
