Inspired Zamajobe to hit stage in EL

AFTER a four-year hiatus in the music industry, award-winning Zamajobe is making a comeback and East London music lovers will get a taste of her new sound on Sunday.

The Ndawo Yami hitmaker will perform at the Velvet Jazz Lounge.

Speaking to the Daily Dispatch yesterday, Zamajobe said she had needed to take time off making music to regroup.

“I needed to disappear for a while. I wasn’t getting a sense of where I was going with my music. This was a journey of self-understanding and regrouping,” she said.

Zamajobe made her debut in the music industry in 2003 at the age of 19 as one of the top 10 in Idols SA.

Her hit single Ndawo Yami brought her the best newcomer award at the South African Music Awards in 2004.

Now, at the age of 32, she said she knows where she wants to take her music. “This is something I want to do for the rest of my life; I will be that old granny still making music,” she said, adding that she was now working as an independent artist.

“There’s been a lot happening in my life. I recently finished my contract with my label Sony Music. I was asking myself a lot of questions – do I want to sign another deal or work on my own? I decided to open my own company.”

Zamajobe said she was not planning to sign any artists under her Afrofunk stable, but aimed to grow her brand.

“I don’t want to be in the entertainment industry, I want to be in the music business and know what’s happening behind the scenes. Being just an artist limits a person. You record music and you get a small percentage from that, and I have learned that one must take ownership of one’s music,” she said.

Zamajobe is now doing things her way. “I was young when I came into the industry and I didn’t know what I know now. It has been a journey of growth and understanding what happens behind the scenes.” She said her sound had evolved. “People will get to experience who Zama is, and also the sound is different. I can’t be giving people the same thing I gave them when I made my debut. The sound is mature.”

Zamajobe will be singing some of her classics as well as her latest single, Sobabili. “This is my way of reminding people who I am. They will hear some of their favourites and also the new single.”

Zamajobe will be joined on keys by award-winning Nduduzo Makhathini. Tickets cost R100. To book, call 084729-8162. —