Bonginkosi Dlamini (born 24 April 1977), popularly known as Zola 7, is a South African kwaito musician, actor, writer, TV presenter and poet. Dlamini began his career as an actor, achieving national recognition in the television series Yizo Yizo. He also starred in the hit Academy Awards winning film Tsotsi in 2005 which he wrote the musical score for. With a career spanning more than 20 years, Dlamini essentially got into music, releasing 9 songs. Zola is a philanthropist and through his show "Zola 7", which aired on SABC1, he helped a lot of people achieve their personal and social development goals such as building libraries for their communities. Biography and early life Bonginkosi Dlamini was born on 24 April 1977 and grew up in Zola, a township of Soweto, notoriously known for its high crime rate. It is his childhood home town from which he adopted his name. Unemployment, alcoholism, and single parent families are very common in Zola. Dlamini's father, believed to be part of the Mchunu clan, abandoned the family, leaving his mother to care for him and his older brother and sister when they were young. Zola himself served time in prison as a juvenile for car theft. Actor Zola became well known for his role as the notorious gangster Papa Action in the second season of the television series Yizo Yizo. The character was already popular from the first season, where it had been portrayed by another actor. Zola resembled the previous performer, and his performance only increased the popularity of the role. He also performed the score and played a role in the Academy Award-winning film Tsotsi (2005) and the movie Drum (2004). Zola also has a prominent role in the documentary SHARP! SHARP!- the kwaito story (2003) directed by Aryan Kaganof. In 2015 and 2016 Zola had minor roles in the television series Isibaya, as well as Zabalaza. Television Zola 7 Zola 7 was a television show presented by Zola airing from 2002 to 2010 on SABC1. Each episode focused on a young person, who with support from Zola realized his or her dream. Utatakho Utatakho was a television programme produced by Connect TV in 2015 which aired on Mzansi Magic and was presented by Zola. In each episode Zola helped participants to find or reconnect with their biological fathers. Zola accompanied participating sons to meetings with their fathers and facilitated conversation. Additionally,