South African music sensation Zahara was the toast of the night this past weekend at the final Mascom Live session.
As usual the song bird did not disappoint, as she set the stage ablaze with songs from her latest album Country Girl along with some from her past albums Phendula and Loliwe. Zahara must have felt like she was back home as everyone in the crowd sang every last word of Imali, Inameva and Ntombehle and others.
Speaking to Time-Out Zahara after the show, Zahara said she was surprised by Batswana’s reception of her music, “I thought I was coming here to introduce my new songs but I was blown away to see people singing along to my songs and even calling out some of them out for me to sing. I now feel like people understand the story behind Country Girl because it is all about my life,” she says. Reflecting on how much of a relief it was to see how she was embraced, Zahara said “People write stuff about me and say I’m broke, I’m not broke, I’m pregnant, I am getting married and all sorts of things. It’s like all mountains are falling on me; so to hear people sing along and appreciate somehow gives me comfort that there are others out there who still believe in me, my story and my music…”
About her craft, Zahara says she wants to continue making music that is authentic, which speaks about real life issues, “If you pay attention to my entire album you will notice that they are all interlinked. It is music that speaks about poverty, evil, money, love and these affect everyone. I want for my music to still be special 20years from today.”
For her next album, she says hopes to do collaborations with Botswana artists and other African artists, “I loved working with Fresh, and our song is beautiful. There is also a girl I have seen perform, Samantha Mogwe, I think she is amazing, I would love to work with her.”
To wrap up the show Zahara, performed with the talented Fresh Les ( Phemelo Lesokwane) a local Afro pop/jazz artist who released an all Setswana 8 track album titled Ntsha Nkgo in April this year.