From Viral Voice to Varsity Graduate: Paradise Mdlalose Takes a Bow

She commands a following of more than half a million people on TikTok and recently performed to 6 000 people at the Durban International Convention Centre (Durban ICC), but graduating from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) is the achievement she’s most proud of. Ms Paradise Mdlalose graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Music from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), marking a significant milestone in a career that has already seen her build a large social media following and perform to thousands of people.

Mdlalose, known for her signature isiZulu greeting, “Ngiyabingelela abadala, abancane, nontangabami” (I greet the elders, the young, and my peers), graduated from UKZN after balancing full-time study with running a digital platform followed by over 528 000 people. The milestone comes just days after she recorded her first song at the Durban ICC on 5 September 2026, alongside gospel veteran Malusi Mbokazi.

Raised in uMlazi by her mother, Mdlalose matriculated at Ogwini Comprehensive Technical High School in Durban. She describes herself as a child who was “lively and bold,” the kind who seized every opportunity to take the stage, camera or no camera. “Ukusina (Zulu dance performance) nokucula (sing) carried me through school, long before social media,” she says.

Her signature greeting was born out of a spur-of-the-moment video competition which went viral. She says it costs nothing, yet makes everyone in earshot feel counted. Somewhere between the algorithm and the isiZulu, over 528 000 people started showing up daily just to be greeted.

Mdlalose says she chose to study Music at UKZN, “I wanted to see what else I could have that’s more than just a voice,” she explains. “If I didn’t go to varsity, maybe I would be singing at church only.” Her studies led her to the Durban ICC stage, the same venue that has hosted Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Zakes Bantwini, Bryan Adams and Mary J. Blige, and an invitation from gospel singer Nontokozo Mkhize to open her sold-out Durban Playhouse Theatre show.

Ask Mdlalose who deserves the credit, and her answer isn’t the algorithm. It’s her teachers, especially Ms Nelisiwe Katamzi. “Even though they saw gold, they could see that it needed to be refined,” she says. It’s also Mr and Mrs Saunders, publicly known as “Ugogo no Mkhulu” (Grandmother and Grandfather), whom she met at their small shop near UKZN’s Howard College campus and who came to play that role in her life. After learning her own father had passed away, Mr Saunders quietly stepped into that role as well.

Words: Sejal Desai

Photo: Supplied