Nitefreak

Afro house architect behind HiNDE, bridging Zimbabwe's scene with the world

Nitefreak is the Afro house project of Bhekinkosi Mabhena, a Zimbabwean producer and DJ who began releasing music in 2009. Signed to Deep Root Records, he has built a catalog of percussive, melodic Afro house that has charted on Beatport and drawn support from Black Coffee, Shimza, Diplo, and Keinemusik, with releases also appearing on Spinnin Deep, Higher Ground, and Insomniac. His collaborations include work with Francis Mercier, Magic System, and Amadou and Mariam, and his track Bolingo Nanga reached a wider audience through its inclusion in the Francis Ngannou documentary. In 2021 he launched HiNDE, an event series and cultural platform that grew out of Bulawayo's club scene into an international circuit with stops in Harare, Miami, Mauritius, and the United States. He has received airplay on BBC Radio 1 and built a large streaming audience, with millions of monthly Spotify listeners. Nitefreak remains one of the clearest bridges between Zimbabwe's dance scene and the global Afro house circuit.