Tsakani 'TK' Mhinga was a SAMA award-winning South African RnB and kwaito artist who went by the stage name of TK.
She was a princess of the baTsonga tribe of the Limpopo Province, as well as the niece of veteran South African singer Yvonne Chaka Chaka.
Her singing style was sometimes compared to Mariah Carey's, and her voluptuous looks and charismatic stage presence reminded some of Beyoncé Knowles. Mhinga was the eldest child of Chief Shilungwa and Tebogo Mhinga of the baTsonga tribe of the Limpopo province, growing up in Soweto, Johannesburg.
Her first taste of the music industry came from her electric, chemistry driven collaborations with rapper Mizchif. TK then launched her musical career in 2000 after recording her debut album TKO without telling her family, after her father made it clear that he was against her being a singer.
In 2002 TK performed with international act Foxy Brown at the Gauteng RnB Hip Hop Fesival and opened for Keith Sweat and Deborah Cox on their South African concerts. She caused minor tremors posing nude for local women's magazine Pace, while pregnant. TK was also a participant in Celebrity Big Brother during this year.
TK received three South African Music Awards the SA equivalent of the Grammy for 'Best RnB album,' one for each of her albums. She was also nominated for two MTN Metro FM music awards, for 'Best RnB Artist' and 'Best Female Artist' respectively.
On the day before her death, Sunday 26 February 2006, she apparently she was entertaining a few friends, including kwaito star Mandoza, at the hotel where she was staying. The gathering subsequently turned into a late-night party in her hotel room.
The most common assumption is that the cause of death was either a drug overdose or a drug-induced suicide.