Bonginkosi Dlamini has enjoyed success as a
Kwaito musician. Lance Stehr of
Ghetto Ruff records has referred to Zola as "the second biggest brand in the country next to
Nelson Mandela." Zola not only performs but also writes and produces some of his own music, signing to the independent label
Ghetto Ruff records. Zola is also the owner of the music company Guluva Entertainment. In the song "Mdlwembe", which literally means problem child, he expresses his feelings about the neighborhood he grew up in. He talks about the horrible quality of life of the township, particularly the extreme level crime and violence. "Beware of the Zola boys; we do crime for money" demonstrates Zola's past and also the perpetual anguish of life in a ghetto. Today, Zola works on behalf of younger performers, helping them to be integrated into the music industry. He is a pioneer in social action and benefit projects in South Africa.
Kwaito is branded as apolitical, and often associated with the advancement of personal wealth, glamorized gangster lifestyle, and frivolous consumption themes found in much of Jamaican
Dancehall and
Rap. The genre is associated with a new political freedom gain since the end of apartheid in South Africa and less political strife. The form of the
Kwaito produced by Zola is in that case an anomaly in that it is very much politically charged and contains a social message. Zola raps in
isiZulu with a high usage of
Tsotsitaal. The latter is the vernacular slang in South Africa. This infusion of colloquial dialect with a national language allows for better interaction between the artists and the community South Africans in lower socio-economic classes who live in the townships and speak Tsotsitaal can relate to Kwaito music differently from Cape Town hip hop or US hip hop because of the lyrics. Additionally many of his songs describe situations of life in the townships, particularly Soweto. On 7 July 2007, Zola performed at the
South African leg of
Live Earth. ==Radio==