South African Afropop singer Zee Nxumalo started doing cover songs to post on social media to gain followers. But when her posts went viral, she knew she was on to bigger things.
Over the past four years the cover song, “AmaBlesser” by Mlindo The Vocalist, racked up more than 1.4 million views on YouTube.
“I really just wanted to gain followers. It worked and today my social media is booming. After the ‘AmaBlesser’ cover people were now asking me, ‘What's next?’ so I dropped another cover, which also did well. That's when I became an official artist. I still do covers to this day,” said Nxumalo.
Talking about her musical journey during lockdown she said it was a time of introspection.
“It was a time to go back to the drawing board and see if I am making the right direction. I saw it as a breather. During Covid, content and pushing (it) online was the best resource that artists had, so I think it also allowed us to elevate our content curation.”
Nxumalo’s biggest inspiration throughout her career has been singer Kelly Khumalo, Kwesta and Mlindo The Vocalist, whom she now has the pleasure of working with and will be releasing a song featuring him in the near future.
“Recently I got a verse from my role model Mlindo The Vocalist. I've never had a song where I feature someone, and it just so happens that my first feature is the person I look up to, it’s so fitting,” she said.
Despite all the noise that can sometimes overwhelm her, she stays grounded by constantly reminding herself of why she is doing what she’s doing.
“I know that I love making music. I have passion and God-given talent, that’s what gets me through the rough days. The industry is tough, but patience is a very, very vital thing to have. You never know when you're going to make it,” she said.
Nxumalo will be celebrating Youth Day by pushing youth culture through the gigs she has lined up.