South African Afro-House architect Zakes Bantwini has reimagined Johnny Clegg’s beloved classic “Osiyeza” into a powerful new record titled “The Crossing (Osiyeza),” bringing together Jesse Clegg, Msaki, and Skye Wanda – and the result is one of the most culturally significant South African releases of 2026.
The timing is everything here. Jesse Clegg and Msaki are currently curating the Scatterlings Music Festival on August 1 at Huddle Park, Johannesburg – a celebration built around Johnny Clegg’s legacy and a forthcoming album of reimagined Johnny Clegg songs. So “The Crossing (Osiyeza)” does not arrive in isolation. It lands as part of a larger cultural movement to carry Johnny Clegg’s spirit into the current generation without reducing it to nostalgia.
What Zakes Bantwini does here is bold. He takes the Zulu anthem – which translates roughly to “we are coming, we are crossing over those dark mountains, where we will lay down our troubles” – and rebuilds it as an Afro-House record without losing what made the original sacred. Msaki opens with soulful depth, Jesse Clegg carries his father’s musical DNA forward with quiet dignity, and Skye Wanda – who already shares a joint EP with Zakes Bantwini — adds an emotional intensity that lifts the whole record.
Johnny Clegg’s original vocals are also woven into the track, which gives “The Crossing (Osiyeza)” a haunting, intergenerational quality that few collaborations across any genre manage to achieve. This “Zakes Bantwini – The Crossing (Osiyeza)” is not just a song. It is a conversation across generations.
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