There are songs we play because they sound good, songs we play because they remind us of someone, and then there are songs that somehow seem to understand the particular emotional weather we woke up carrying, which is why Mandisi Dyantyis’ “Ndiyakholwa” has always felt less like something you simply listen to and more like something you sit with, particularly on those quiet mornings when the world has not yet demanded anything from you and you are given a rare moment to admit that perhaps you are tired, perhaps you have been carrying more than you have said, and perhaps what you need before answering another message, entering another meeting or pretending that everything is perfectly fine is simply to hear somebody remind you that there is still something good ahead.
Mandisi Dyantyis’ “Ndiyakholwa” Is a Beautiful Reminder to Keep Believing Share on XFor me, that is what makes “Ndiyakholwa” such a beautiful morning song, because mornings are often treated as symbols of new beginnings while the truth is that many of us wake up carrying yesterday into today, and Mandisi Dyantyis seems to understand that sometimes hope does not arrive dramatically with sunlight pouring through the curtains and a perfectly organised life waiting outside, but arrives quietly through a voice, a melody and one repeated conviction that says, essentially, keep believing.
Released on 3 December 2021 as part of Dyantyis’ acclaimed album Cwaka, “Ndiyakholwa” is built around a deceptively simple emotional proposition, namely that even when we experience depression, pain and tears, we can continue to believe that something beautiful may still happen, and that distinction is important because the song does not offer the kind of artificial optimism that tells us to smile through everything, but instead acknowledges suffering before slowly turning our attention towards hope.
Mandisi Dyantyis’ “Ndiyakholwa” Is a Beautiful Reminder to Keep Believing Share on XWhy “Ndiyakholwa” Feels So Different
Mandisi Dyantyis has never sounded particularly interested in making music that exists merely to occupy background space, and his career makes that clear, because he has built his artistic identity around the meeting point of jazz, gospel, African indigenous musical traditions, spirituality and lived experience, creating music that often feels less concerned with impressing the listener than with making the listener feel seen.
Born and raised in Gqeberha, Dyantyis began his musical journey remarkably young, learning the trumpet as a child before studying jazz at the University of Cape Town, where he developed the musical vocabulary that would eventually allow him to move comfortably between jazz, classical music, theatre, gospel and indigenous African traditions.
That background matters when listening to “Ndiyakholwa”, because the song does not feel like a conventional contemporary inspirational record that has been engineered to make you feel better within three minutes, but rather like an intimate piece of spiritual storytelling in which repetition becomes part of the emotional architecture.
The repetition is especially important because the central phrase, “Ndiyakholwa”, meaning “I believe”, does not arrive as an elaborate theological argument, but as a declaration that becomes stronger each time it returns, almost as though Dyantyis understands that sometimes faith is not something we feel once and permanently possess, but something we have to remind ourselves of repeatedly.
And honestly, that feels very human.
There are mornings when believing is effortless, and there are mornings when believing feels like work. “Ndiyakholwa” belongs to the second category.
Mandisi Dyantyis’ “Ndiyakholwa” Is a Beautiful Reminder to Keep Believing Share on XA Song About Pain Without Becoming a Song About Defeat
The lyrics speak openly about depression, crying and pain, before repeatedly returning to the belief that something good will happen, creating a conversation between what we are experiencing and what we hope will eventually become possible.
That structure gives the song emotional credibility. It does not tell us that everything is already beautiful. It tells us that beauty can still be possible even when everything does not feel beautiful yet.
In an era where inspirational language can sometimes become so polished that it loses its humanity, “Ndiyakholwa” feels refreshingly honest because it gives sadness permission to exist while refusing to allow sadness to become the entire story.
The song therefore occupies an interesting space between gospel, jazz, prayer and personal reflection, and that is precisely where Dyantyis is at his strongest. He understands that spirituality does not always sound like certainty. Sometimes it sounds like someone saying, quietly and repeatedly, I still believe.
Mandisi Dyantyis’ “Ndiyakholwa” Is a Beautiful Reminder to Keep Believing Share on XThe Beauty of Repetition
The repeated declaration that something good will happen functions almost like a mantra, and the more frequently it returns, the less it feels like a lyric and the more it begins to feel like a personal affirmation that the listener can borrow for a few minutes.
This is where the song becomes bigger than its literal words. You might not speak isiXhosa fluently. You might not understand every linguistic nuance of the song. Yet the emotional intention remains remarkably accessible because hope is one of those musical languages that does not require translation.
This is one of the strengths of African music at its most powerful, because cultural specificity does not necessarily create distance, and in Dyantyis’ work, isiXhosa becomes not a barrier to understanding but an essential part of the emotional texture. The language carries history, rhythm, intimacy and spiritual weight. The music then gives those words somewhere to breathe.
Mandisi Dyantyis’ “Ndiyakholwa” Is a Beautiful Reminder to Keep Believing Share on XWhy the Song Works So Beautifully in the Morning
At around 62 BPM, the track moves with a deliberate calmness, giving its message room to breathe rather than rushing towards an obvious climax.
Think about those mornings when you wake up before your alarm, look at the ceiling for a few minutes and start mentally calculating everything you have to do, everything you have not achieved, everything that went wrong yesterday and everything that could potentially go wrong today, because that tiny period before the day begins can become surprisingly heavy.
Then imagine “Ndiyakholwa” playing quietly in the background. Suddenly, the morning is not asking you to solve your entire life. It is simply asking you to believe that the story can continue.
Mandisi Dyantyis’ “Ndiyakholwa” Is a Beautiful Reminder to Keep Believing Share on XMandisi Dyantyis Understands the People Who Are Still Trying
Perhaps the most compelling way to understand “Ndiyakholwa” is to understand the wider philosophy behind Dyantyis’ music.
In a 2024 interview with Mail & Guardian, Dyantyis spoke about wanting his music to make people feel seen, particularly those working quietly and struggling outside the spotlight, describing the ordinary people whose daily lives often go unnoticed while they continue moving through the world with extraordinary resilience.
That perspective changes the way I hear “Ndiyakholwa”. This is not simply a song about abstract faith.
It can be heard as a song for the person waking up at 5am to go to work, the person travelling across a city before sunrise, the person building a business nobody understands yet, the student wondering whether the degree will lead anywhere, the mother trying to keep a household together, the artist waiting for the opportunity that has not arrived, or the person quietly fighting through a difficult season while everyone around them assumes they are doing perfectly well.
“Ndiyakholwa” gives those people a musical sentence they can carry with them.
I believe. Something good can still happen.
Mandisi Dyantyis’ “Ndiyakholwa” Is a Beautiful Reminder to Keep Believing Share on XThe Meaning of “Kholwa Nawe”
Perhaps my favourite emotional moment in the song comes when the message turns outward and asks the listener to believe too. That small shift is significant. For most of the song, Dyantyis is telling us what he believes. Then, suddenly, the listener is invited into the belief.
Kholwa nawe.
Believe too.
And there is something beautifully generous about that. It does not say that I will believe for you. It says that perhaps you can find your own reason to believe. That makes the song feel intimate rather than preachy. It leaves room for the listener’s own story.
Mandisi Dyantyis’ “Ndiyakholwa” Is a Beautiful Reminder to Keep Believing Share on X“Ndiyakholwa” is a beautiful piece of South African spiritual jazz that turns vulnerability into reassurance without ever making hope feel cheap.
For SFI.COZA, this is precisely the kind of music worth talking about because it represents something deeply valuable within contemporary South African music, namely the ability to take jazz, gospel, indigenous language, spirituality and everyday human experience and transform them into something that can travel far beyond its original cultural setting without losing the place from which it came.
Mandisi Dyantyis has continued that philosophy across his career, most recently through Intlambululo: Ukuhlambulula, his third studio album, a 17-track project released in 2025 that continues his exploration of healing, reflection, faith and renewal.
But “Ndiyakholwa” remains particularly special because its message is so uncomplicated.
We may cry.
We may hurt.
We may become tired.
We may not know what tomorrow looks like.
But we can still believe that something good will happen. And perhaps, on some mornings, that is enough.
SFI.COZA Rating
9.5/10 — A deeply human, spiritually grounded South African jazz song that deserves to be experienced slowly, preferably before the world gets loud.
Listen to “Ndiyakholwa”
Sources & Further Reading
- Shazam — song credits, release information and lyrics reference for “Ndiyakholwa”.
- Apple Music — official catalogue information for “Ndiyakholwa”, Cwaka and Dyantyis’ wider discography.
- Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra — biography and career background on Dyantyis’ work across jazz, Western classical and African indigenous music.
- Mail & Guardian — interview exploring Dyantyis’ creative philosophy and his desire to make people feel seen through music.
- News24 — interview and profile exploring his Christian upbringing, Xhosa musical heritage and creative philosophy.
- OkayAfrica — analysis of his 2025 album Intlambululo: Ukuhlambulula and its themes of healing and renewal.
One response to “Mandisi Dyantyis’ “Ndiyakholwa” Is a Beautiful Reminder to Keep Believing”
We at SFI.COZA think that stories have the ability to educate, uplift, and unite people. As a sociable and committed editor, we work hard to provide rich media coverage that connects with our audience. Our ambition to positively touch our audience's lives, one article at a time, is equal to our enthusiasm for storytelling. Come along on this adventure with us as we explore the planet.
Leave a Reply