Thulasizwe Siphiwe Dambuza born 19 July 1998, known professionally as Lasizwe, is a South African television personality, social media personality, radio host, comedian, actor and YouTuber. He became a local internet celebrity by uploading videos of himself interpreting how South Africans act on social media.
Early life and education
Lasizwe was born in Soweto, South Africa. He attended Meredale Primary, a mixed-race primary school in Meredale, south of Johannesburg, and then attended Mondeor High School in Mondeor. His mother, Lindiwe Dambuza (died in 2016), was a 40-year-old nurse at Lesedi Private Hospital, in a relationship with his father, Menzi Mcunu.
Along with his mother, his sister, Zonke Nkabinde, played a major role in his life, guiding and protecting him. Lasizwe noticed there was something different about him: that he was uncomfortable around boys but could relate to any feminine topic. At the age of 15 he recognized that he was gay.
Career
Broadcast media
Lasizwe has made appearances on MTV Base Africa’s You Got Got as one of the main presenters, and has presented on SABC 3’s The Scoop Africa and SABC 1’s The Real Goboza. He hosted an outdoor event with Mabala Noise and presented an award at the 2017 South African Hip Hop Awards. He was featured in a Nando’s TV commercial and on Fanta’s TV commercial as their new teen Marketing Director. In late 2017 he became a radio presenter on TouchHD. In 2018 he landed a role in hosting e.tv’s youth show Craz-e World Live as well as VOOV TV’s new show VOOVScoop.
Music
In December 2017 he was featured in Babes Wodumo and Ntando Duma’s music video for the song “Jiva Phez’kombhede”.
YouTube
Lasizwe is a YouTuber with more than 12.5 million views on his videos. In April 2019, Lasizwe received the silver play button from YouTube for reaching 100,000 subscribers.
Endorsements
In early 2018 Lasizwe became Teen Marketing Director for Fanta.
Filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2010 | Generations |
Himself
|
Extra, soap opera
|
| 2015 | Dinner With Vuzu |
Contestant, TV show
|
|
| 2017 | MTV You Got Got |
Main cast, TV show
|
|
| The Scoop Africa | |||
| The Real Gaboza | |||
| 2018 | Craz-e World Live | ||
| VOOVScoop | |||
| MTV You Got Got | |||
| 2019–present | @Lasizwe: Fake It till You Make It | ||
Awards and recognition
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Avance Media Awards | Ranked #7 on the 100 most influential young South Africans | Won |
| Avance Media Awards | Lifestyle category | Won | |
| 2019 | Feather Awards | Social Media Personality Of the Year | Nominated |