Kalawa Jazmee
Independent South African kwaito and house label founded in Johannesburg in 1992 by Oskido, Don Laka and Christos Katsaitis.
- Based in
- Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Founded
- 1992 (as Kalawa; merged with Jazmee Records around 1994-95 to form Kalawa Jazmee)
- Founders
- Oscar 'Oskido' Mdlongwa, Don Laka, Christos Katsaitis (Kalawa, 1992); joined with Jazmee Records, run by Mandla 'Spikiri' Mofokeng, Emmanuel 'Mjokes' Matsane, Zynne 'Mahoota' Sibiya and Bruce 'Dope' Sebitlo, c.1994-95
- Website
- kalawa.co.za
Kalawa Jazmee Records is a South African record label founded in Johannesburg in 1992 as Kalawa by producers Oscar “Oskido” Mdlongwa, Don Laka and Christos Katsaitis. Katsaitis left in 1995, and the remaining partners merged the operation with Jazmee Records, run by Trompies members Mandla “Spikiri” Mofokeng, Emmanuel “Mjokes” Matsane, Zynne “Mahoota” Sibiya and Bruce “Dope” Sebitlo, forming Kalawa Jazmee.
The label is independently owned and run by its founding producers, with Gao Mokone as label manager. It built its reputation on kwaito, signing Boom Shaka, Trompies, Mafikizolo and Bongo Maffin, and later moved into house and afro-pop with Professor, Uhuru, DJ Zinhle, Black Motion and Busiswa. Black Coffee and DJ Tira both licensed early releases through Kalawa Jazmee before founding their own labels, Soulistic Music and Afrotainment.
Kalawa Jazmee remains based in Sandton, Johannesburg, and describes itself as having operated for more than 25 years.
