South Africa’s sassy young R&B enigma Tsakani “TK” Mhinga was found dead in a hotel room in Bryanston, north of Johannesburg on Monday.
The grim discovery was made by a staff member of the City Lodge in Bryanston. There was “no evidence of a struggle”, said Captain Schalk Bornman of the South African Police Service.
It is believed that kwaito star Mandoza was with Mhinga at the hotel on Sunday.
Mandoza’s manager, Vaughn Eton, told the Mail & Guardian Online on Tuesday that the police are still investigating Mhinga’s death and a post-mortem was being conducted.
TK was passionate about music and in 2003, following the recording of her third album, Black Butterfly, the singer had a black butterfly tattooed on her left arm.
Chris Ghelakis, managing director of Electromode Music told the M&G Online on Monday evening that he felt extreme sadness.
“I was there from the beginning [of Mhinga’s career]. TK was great. She was very highly talented.”
Electromode Music said in a press statement of Wednesday that Mhinga’s death is “a devastating loss to the music world … TK will be sorely missed”.
The music label described her as one of South Africa’s most talented young artists and said the 27-year-old singer “lived a full life as a talented performer, a mother, a sister, a daughter and a friend to many”.
“TK has been a humble yet thunder-stealing performer as the curtain raiser for a number of international acts over the last few years, delivering only the best in local talent at international standards. She delivered professional, energetic and interactive performances time after time.”
TK’s family have requested that the media give them a chance to mourn and respect their privacy, said the statement.
According to a biography written by TK’s label in 2003, the words in the songs on the Black Butterfly album describe TK -‒ “a beautiful black butterfly who flies, on the wings of angels into the music scene, always delivering music that is that much more potent than what she has created before”.
Mhinga, who grew up in Soweto and made her first recording soon after completing matric, won a South African Music Award (Sama) for best R&B album for 2001’s TKO (which contained the hit Mind Your Business) and 2002’s Eject Yo Ass.
TK was also nominated for two MTN Metro FM 2000 music awards (best R&B artist and best female artist) before she even released an album.
Black Butterfly, released in 2003, also won a Sama for best R&B album (as well as one for best joint composition). Mhinga covered Judy Garland’s classic Somewhere over the Rainbow on the album.
Mhinga rubbed shoulders with international stars like Beyoncé, Ludacris and Kelly Rowland, and also in clubs around South Africa, including Who Zoo, Golden Fountain, Mogambo’s and Taboo.
She also bagged the best composer and best R&B artist for the third year in a row at the Sama’s in 2004.
She told the M&G in December that her best moment of 2005 was when she performed Somewhere over the Rainbow at the Bidvest annual company function with the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra.
She once said to a journalist referring to her song Black Butterfly, “the song is so amazing. It’s going to be around a lifetime”.
TK is survived by her only son, Oratile.