Every generation has its music icons; artists who come into the scene, dominate and etch themselves as cultural figures for years to come. Miriam Makeba, Abigail Kubheka and Busi Mhlongo were the girlies in the 70s while Brenda Fassie owned the 80s. Then the 90s broke out with a new era of kwaito music groups that birthed stand-out artists such as Lebo Mathosa and Thandiswa Mazwai. The 2000s saw another wave of artists making their mark, in which Zonke belongs. An award-winning creative mastermind whose songs, both written and sung by her, serve as great soundtracks in special moments for fans.
It’s 9am on Good Friday in Joburg and the cover shoot is about to start. Zonke is doing her make-up and I’m beside her, ready to fire away with questions for this interview. She is one of the country’s most introverted celebs who keeps to herself, and whom outside the music we know little about. She likes it that way and is honest in saying she models her career to that of legendary, media-shy Nigerian-British singer and songwriter Sade Adu, who has made her career and fame strictly about the music with nothing personal known about her. Additionally, she blesses us with music every 10 years. And on cue, just like her role model, Zonke released her sixth album, Embo, on 24 March - five years after her last.
Back to her roots
Embo means “origins” in isiXhosa, a fitting title to the
