Black Coffee (1976-…) is the stage name of a South African disc jockey (DJ) and music producer. He creates electronic dance music (EDM). Black Coffee is known for his futuristic, tribal, and jazz-inspired sounds.
Nkosinathi Innocent Sizwe Maphumulo was born on March 11, 1976, in Durban, South Africa. Maphumulo grew up in Mthatha, in the Eastern Cape. In 1990, during celebrations for the release of South African activist Nelson Mandela from prison, Maphumulo was in a car accident. He suffered an injury that permanently paralyzed his left arm. Maphumulo later studied jazz music at the Durban University of Technology. Black Coffee earned one of two spots for South African artists in the Red Bull Music Academy in Cape Town in 2003. The academy is a traveling EDM festival and workshop. Maphumulo released his first album, Black Coffee, in 2005. His breakthrough hit was the single “Happiness” (2005).
Black Coffee began making appearances at nightclubs and music festivals. His other albums include Have Another One (2007), Home Brewed (2009), Africa Rising (2012), and Pieces of Me (2015). He released the EP Music is King in 2018. EP stands for extended play and is a type of musical recording that includes several songs but is not considered a full-length album. In 2022, Black Coffee won a Grammy Award for best dance/electronic album for Subconsciously (2021).