Mhlanga has produced albums by Thomas Mapfumo, Nigerian King Sunny Adé, and South African Vusi Mahalasela. A former theater director, Mhlanga ran Zimbabwe's Ethnomusicology Trust, where he was in charge of developing national teaching programs for traditional and contemporary Zimbabwean music. He also spent a year in the Netherlands. As the musician-in-residence at the Royal Dutch Conservatory of Music, he taught African guitar courses and recorded albums with bassist Eric van der Westen, one of which also included Malian guitarist and singer Habib Koité.