WATCH: From shebeen music to Kempton’s latest pop star

Sprouting from her roots in Durban, pop artist Zameka Nkumanda recently moved to Kempton Park as a mainstream artist to flourish on our local soil.

After having featured in numerous artists’ songs and music videos, she is now on her way to release her own music.

“I like Kempton. The people here are welcoming, exciting and the vibe is nice,” said the rising star.

“It’s close to the airport and I’ve been working with artists from Jo’burg. I’m busy with my new EP which is being mixed here, so I felt it’s best I’m here.”

Having built a good repertoire, she has featured in artists’ music, including the likes of Prince Kaybee’s Storyteller. Followed by a collaboration of Let it Flow with Rude Boyz, which climbed the Top 40 charts on Metro FM, Zameka eventually featured in a music video aired on MTV Base, Trace and Channel O.

She’s about to release her seven-track EP titled Drum Queen 90’s. This follows her solo single titled Found You.

One of Zameka’s notable achievements in 2017 was when DJ Fresh compiled her debut single Kiki Riki on his Fresh House Flava Volume 9, which proved she was on the right musical path.

“The song got a lot of airplay on mainstream radio stations and it was my first very own music video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GRw1y08-7Y

“There have been many breakthroughs and also dark times in my career. However, the good times were quite consistent and I had an amazing support structure of fellow artists, family and friends. I couldn’t have done it without them.”

Originally raised in Soshanguve, she grew up in a shebeen her father owned. There she learned to love and adopt music for herself from her father’s jukebox, to eventually work her way up the charts on multiple radio stations.

When asked how she taught herself to sing, she said with quint giggles that she loved to perform from a young age.

“Whenever there were guests at home, I’d demand their attention and sing for them. I quite enjoyed their attention. When I was 13, I heard live music coming from our surrounding area and wondered what it was. It turned out to be a music studio.”

One day after school she decided to go there to see what it was. “I rocked up there, introduced myself and told the guys there I could sing. They told me to sing for them and they liked it so much they asked me to record something with them.”

She is a self-taught singer and joined forces with friends as a teen to form a band called Souls Deformed. They released a single titled Sunday Afternoon.

“My band mates where a lot older than me and it was such a privilege to have worked with such creative minds. It was a time where I really grew, refined and expanded my skills as a songwriter.”