Zonke Dikana (born 11 October 1979), known simply as Zonke, is a South African singer-songwriter and record producer. Her rise to stardom came in 2011 following the release of her third album, '' Ina Ethe'', which was certified double platinum and was nominated at the 18th South African Music Awards. In 2013, she recorded and released '' Give and Take Live'', which was certified gold just two months after its release and earned her a place in the

Channel O Channel O is a South African-based music channel which first started transmission in 1997. Its main concept is African music in Africa and the diaspora. Channel O can be accessed via DStv, a satellite pay TV service for pan-African households. T ...

list of "Africa's Top 10 Female Singing Sensations". In September 2015, Zonke released ''

Work of Heart ''Work of Heart'' is the eleventh studio album by English folk / rock singer-songwriter and guitarist Roy Harper and was first released in 1982. History The original album was released on Harper's own label, Public Records, formed with Mark T ...

'', her fifth album, to critical acclaim with nominations in several categories at the

15th Metro FM Music Awards The 15th installment of the annual Metro FM Music Awards is an award ceremony that celebrates excellence in the South African music industry by honouring musicians who did exceedingly well in their field throughout 2015. The show first aired on SAB ...

and

22nd South African Music Awards The 22nd Annual South African Music Awards was held on 4 June 2016 at Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre, Durban, South Africa and was hosted by Somizi Mhlongo and Thando Thabethe. The nominees were announced on 21 April 2016 ...

. She signed a record deal to

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...

in 2013. On 15 June 2018, she released '' L.O.V.E'', her fifth studio album, with

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professiona ...

Early life and education

Zonke was born in KwaZakhele, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Her father, Vuyisile Dikana, was a drummer for a group called Black Slave and the Flamingo while her late stepmother Anneline Malebo was a singer for a musical band known as Joy. She is an alumna of the

University of the Free State The University of the Free State is a multi-campus public university in Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State and the judicial capital of South Africa. It was first established as an institution of higher learning in 1904 as a tertiary se ...

, from where she graduated with a degree in human resource management in 1997.

Career

1996–2007: early beginnings, ''Soulitary'' and ''Life, Love 'n Music''

During Zonke's early years as a singer, Anneline Malebo introduced her to several artists, including Ringo, Joe Nina and Deborah Fraser, who she worked with either in writing or vocal capabilities. Zonke had her big break when she wrote a song titled "Africa, My Motherland" for the band Jazzkantine, based in Germany. The band later became known as Culture Clan after Zonke and the rappers Mandla and Mzo. In 2003, Culture Clan released an album titled ''Africa''. It was released in Germany, winning awards from the

and

Metro FM Music Awards The 15th installment of the annual Metro FM Music Awards is an award ceremony that celebrates excellence in the South African music industry by honouring musicians who did exceedingly well in their field throughout 2015. The show first aired on SAB ...

. During her time in Germany, Zonke's first studio album, '' Soulitary'', was released by Upper Street Records with distribution in Germany, Japan and Italy in 2004. In 2007,

Kalawa Jazmee Records Kalawa Jazmee Records is an independent record label based in South Africa. The label is known for its contribution to the development of the Kwaito genre of music in South Africa. Artists * Oskido * Professor * Mandla Mofokeng * Trompies ...

released her second album, '' Life, Love 'n Music''.

2008–13: ''Ina Ethe'' and ''Give and Take Live''

In June 2011, Zonke left Kalawa Jamzee for TMP Records and started to record '' Ina Ethe'', her third studio album. Preceding the album's release were two singles, "Jik'Izinto" and "

Feelings Feelings are subjective self-contained phenomenal experiences. According to the ''APA Dictionary of Psychology'', a feeling is "a self-contained phenomenal experience"; and feelings are "subjective, evaluative, and independent of the sensations ...

". ''Ina Ethe'' was self-produced and was released by TMP Records to critical reviews. The album did well commercially, going double platinum. On 25 October 2013, Zonke recorded a live album at the Lyric Theatre in Goldreef City, Johannesburg, released by

as '' Give and Take Live''. The album achieved gold status within two months of its release. ''Give and Take Live'' also won two category awards at the 20th South African Music Awards.

2014–2017: ''Work of Heart''

Following the death of Zonke's older sister

Lulu Dikana Lungisa Dikana, (18 December 1978 – 3 December 2014), was a South African recording artist and vocalist. Her music career shot to limelight in 2008 following the release of her debut album ''My Diary, My Thoughts''. She died on 3 December 2014 ...

, Zonke started working on her fourth studio album, ''

'', by releasing the singles " Reach It" and "Meet Me in My Dreams". In an interview with Katlego Mkhwanazi of ''The Mail & Guardian'', Zonke said that the album was inspired by everything that happened to her. The album contains 13 songs and was released on 11 September 2015 by Sony Music Entertainment. ''Work of Heart'' was nominated in the Best Female Album and Best African Pop Album categories at the

. It was also nominated in five categories at the

, winning one. On 14 July 2016, it was certified platinum. At 2017 South African Afro Music Awards, she was nominated for; Best Afro Female Artist, Best Adult Contemporary, Best Afro Album, Best Afro Producer and won Best Afro-soul Album award.

2018-2019: ''L.O.V.E''

Her seventh studio album, ''L.O.V.E'', was released on 15 June 15, 2018. It is a 9-track album featuring

Kwesta Senzo Brikka Vilakazi (born 11 August 1988) known professionally as Kwesta, is a South African rapper and songwriter. Born in Katlehong, Gauteng, a township also known as "K1". In 2003, at the age of 15, he and his friends formed a rap group ...

on a song titled "Soul to Keep". In April 2018, Zonke released the lead single "Tonight", which had platinum sales. The album was certified certified gold with sales of 25 000 units. ''L.O.V.E.'' was nominated for Album of the Year, Female Artist of the Year and won Best R&B/Soul Album at the 25th annually ceremony

2020-present: tours, ''Enigma''

Zonke embarked on Zonke: The Evergreen In Concert on February 19 in Cape Town, Grand Arena, GrandWest; the tour included 10 dates that ran through to February 29. In October 2021, her single "Lady" was released as album's lead single. On April 22, 2022, she announced that her upcoming album ''Enigma'', has done recording it, scheduled to be release on May 27. In April 26, she teased an art cover of her second single "Oko", via her Facebook. The song was released on April 29, 2022. It debuted number one in South Africa.

Tours and notable performances

On 5 July 2013, Zonke performed and recorded her live album ''Give and Take Live'' at a sold-out concert at the Lyric Theatre in Johannesburg after it was postponed following the death of her sister Busisiwe Dikana. On 20 March 2016, Zonke performed at the Ticketpro Dome in Johannesburg alongside American soul singer Lionel Richie, who was touring South Africa as part of his "All The Hits All Night Long" tour.

Artistry

Zonke Dikana is a versatile singer who sings in English and

Xhosa Xhosa may refer to: * Xhosa people, a nation, and ethnic group, who live in south-central and southeasterly region of South Africa * Xhosa language, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, principally spoken by the Xhosa people See als ...

language. During her time as a Kalawa Jazmee Records artist, her genre of music was mostly house music before she switched to

afrosoul Afro-soul is a music genre that has African characteristics of soul music. It has emotional vocals, especially of the lead singer. There is a very strong link between Afro-soul and other genres like Zimbabwean jazz, Afro-Jazz, Amapiano, and Afro ...

and

neo soul Neo soul (sometimes called progressive soul) is a genre of popular music. As a term, it was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from soul and contempo ...

on signing to TMP Entertainment. Her musical influences include Busi Mhlongo,

Miriam Makeba Zenzile Miriam Makeba (4 March 1932 – 9 November 2008), nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, and civil rights activist. Associated with musical genres including Afropop, jazz, and world music, she w ...

and

Brenda Fassie Brenda Nokuzola Fassie (3 November 1964 – 9 May 2004) was a South African singer, songwriter, dancer and activist. Affectionately called MaBrrr by her fans, she is also known as the "Queen of African Pop", the " Madonna of The Townships" or s ...

Discography

Live album

Studio albums

Singles

Television appearance

In July 2014, Zonke was announced as one of three celebrities to act as judges in the first episode of the ''X Factor SA'' which was broadcast on

SABC 1 SABC 1 is a South African public television network operated by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) which carries programming in English and Nguni. It was created in 1996, after the SABC restructured its television channels. SABC ...

between September and December 2014.
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Awards and nominations

Zonke's contribution to the South African music industry has earned her several awards and nominations in music award events including the

South African Music Awards The South African Music Awards (often simply the SAMAs) are the Recording Industry of South Africa's music industry awards, established in 1995. The ceremony is held annually, usually in late April or May, with the judging process starting in N ...

, the Channel O Music Video Awards and

MTV Africa Music Awards The MTV Africa Music Awards (also known as the MAMAs) were established in 2008 by MTV Networks Africa (now Viacom International Media Networks Africa) to celebrate the most popular contemporary music in Africa. The 2008 and 2010 events took pla ...

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control 1979 births Living people South African singer-songwriters People from the Eastern Cape University of the Free State alumni 21st-century South African women singers Xhosa people South African women record producers