South African DJ Duo TXC Teases Wizkid and Jorja Smith Collaborations in Major Year-End Project

South African DJ duo TXC are building anticipation around a significant new project expected to land before year-end, with hints at collaborations involving Nigerian music giant Wizkid and British singer Jorja Smith. The announcement comes as Amapiano—the genre TXC help champion—continues its remarkable global expansion, resonating with audiences across Africa, Europe and beyond.

In a recent interview with The Dotty Show, TXC members Clairise Hefke and Tarryn Reid remained deliberately vague about whether these collaborations would appear as separate tracks or a unified release. "It could be one song, it could be separate songs. Let's see, let's see," Clairise teased, keeping fans guessing about the exact format of what promises to be a landmark release for the duo.

Building on "Naku Penda" Success

TXC are riding high following the international breakthrough of "Naku Penda," their collaboration with Nigerian superstar Davido and Ch'cco. The track exemplifies the chemistry that emerges when West African and Southern African sounds collide—a dynamic increasingly shaping the continental music landscape.

According to Clairise, the creation of "Naku Penda" unfolded with remarkable ease. The production was already complete when they decided to invite Ch'cco onto the record, then sent it to Davido, who responded with immediate enthusiasm. "I sent it to him and he was like, 'Yes, let's do Lagos this weekend,'" Clairise recalled. This contrasts sharply with their earlier collaboration "Yebo," where Davido held onto the beat for an entire year before recording his contribution.

The Lagos studio session produced an unexpected standout moment when producer Zlatan improvised a line intended as a joke. What began as casual studio banter became one of the song's most memorable elements. "We were like, 'Oh no, we can't say that, we can't do that.' And now it's the biggest part of the song," Clairise explained, highlighting how the best creative moments often emerge from spontaneity rather than planning.

Clairise's confidence in the record's potential proved prescient. Even before vocals were recorded, she recognised the beat's strength: "Even before there was vocals, there was just the beat, I already knew. I would even go and sell that without vocals. That's how strong I knew it was gonna be."

Why It Matters for Ghana and the Broader African Music Scene

TXC's trajectory and upcoming project represent something significant for African audiences: the rise of female producers and DJs within genres traditionally dominated by men, and the increasing ease with which West African and Southern African artists collaborate across geographical and musical boundaries.

For Ghana specifically, Amapiano's expansion offers lessons about genre exportation and cross-regional appeal. While Ghana has its own rich musical traditions—Afrobeats, hiplife, azonto—the success of South African sounds globally demonstrates that African music's future lies in collaboration and cross-pollination rather than isolation. Ghanaian artists and producers watching TXC's rise should note how the duo have used their DJing platform to transition into production and artist collaboration, a path increasingly accessible to creative professionals across the continent.

TXC have also redefined female DJ visibility by refusing the industry's conventional boundaries. Tarryn's energetic dancing during performances sparked viral moments, yet she resists the narrative that she simply dances while Clairise works the decks. "What you see online is like a 10-second clip. You don't know what happened before that," she emphasised. This reclamation of space in a male-dominated industry resonates across African music scenes, where women often encounter similar gatekeeping.

The Expanding Amapiano Global Footprint

Amapiano, characterised by its jazzy piano melodies, deep house rhythms and celebratory energy, has evolved from a South African local sound into a genuinely continental and international phenomenon. TXC attribute this expansion to the genre's inherent musicality and emotional depth. "I think it's the soul in it. I think it's the instruments," Clairise said. "We jazzing and we partying. It's a whole big feeling."

The duo's current London schedule—including performances at Davido and Friends and Piano People in the Park on 28 August—underscores Amapiano's accelerating global presence. For African audiences, this represents a moment of cultural influence rather than cultural consumption, a reversal of historical patterns where African sounds were exported for external validation before returning home as trends.

With new music confirmed for release before 2024 concludes, TXC are positioned to further cement Amapiano's mainstream status while opening doors for collaborations between Africa's biggest stars across regional boundaries.