Released on cassette by Shandel Music, Shaka Bundu was a success in South Africa, selling over 250,000 copies in the country and achieving certified double platinum status.

[3][4] In the 1990s Penny began working as a janitor in a Johannesburg recording studio belonging to South African musician Selwyn Shandel.

[6] The house influence reflects the popularity of English and American dance-club hits in South Africa, which proved to the country's musicians that a contemporary sound could be achieved by "plucky small studios and canny producers," thus bringing about a technological revolution in the music the country produced.

[9] The album possesses a rough, yet sufficiently hooky feel,[7] with Penny's "gruff" voice offering an unlikely accompaniment to the music.

[10] The instrumentals were provided by Shirimani, who was inspired by Chicago house in particular and blended the genre's deep bass and harsh piano, as was typified by the music of Larry Heard and Marshall Jefferson, with South African melodies.

[10] The majority of the songs run at 100 beats per minute (bpm), and were recorded using a reel-to-reel tape, an Atari computer, and a Korg M1 synthesizer.

[7] Distinctive of Shirimani's production, the album features a static bass line which displays the root tones of an organ, albeit with a "peculiar richness and depth.

[6] Penny presents a "party vibe" throughout the album that was described by NPR as "hearty but not frantic, more plain sexy than raunchy.

[1] Rolling Stone called it "an example of Tsonga (or Shangaan) Afro-disco" and wrote that it "updated traditional African music with synthesizers, electric guitars, and disco or house beats.

[9] The only song with a faster tempo is "Dance Khomela", which contains elements of Italo house, and has been compared to Jinny's hit "Keep Warm".

[5] The title track, "Shaka Bundu", was released as a single, and became both a local sensation and a huge hit throughout South Africa.

[4] Shaka Bundu was a huge commercial success in the country, where it topped the South African Albums Chart[13] and sold 250,000 copies.

[6] The nationwide success of Shaka Bundu was surprising since it was performed entirely in the little-spoken Tsonga language, which had a difficult time breaking out.

"[4]Until the release of Shaka Bundu, Tsonga music was dominated by Paul Ndlovu -- who had a hit with "Ts'akane," -- and the late Peta Teanet, and the genre was still only accepted within the Northern Province.

[1] He recorded several further albums, including Laphinda Shangaan (1997) and Makanjta Jive (1998), which both outsold Shaka Bundu in the region.

[4] In April 2010, American DJ and Musicologist Brian Shimkovitz posted the music from Shaka Bundu on his blog "Awesome Tapes from Africa" (which specialized in posting music from rare African cassettes) with the description: "The tape contains simple yet deep synth-pop anthems that couldn’t give a fuck if you thought they sounded corny at first.

"[6] Shimkovitz had only recently heard the cassette and became captivated by it, enjoying it because it stood out from typical Tsonga disco with Penny's distinctive raspy vocals, joyous songs, and Shirimani's unique American club music-influenced production.

[1] Shimkovitz also played material from the album on his Awesome Tapes from Africa DJ sets around the United States, Europe, Canada and Australia, where audiences greeted it with an overwhelmingly positive reaction.

[16] The label then issued a worldwide re-release of Shaka Bundu on vinyl, CD, cassette and as a download on November 12, 2013.

[15] Milo Miles of NPR noted the re-release exemplified the larger trend of Western labels bringing vintage African pop to new audiences.

"[10] Fact Magazine wrote that the album boasts "a pleasantly rough feel, but Penny and his producer Joe Shirimani keep things sufficiently hooky and beefy to impress.