Zahara gone, but her music lives on

South Africa yesterday woke to the news of the death of award-winning songstress, composer and guitarist Zahara, who added to a long list of music sensations who died while at their prime.

Zahara, 36, was phenomenal. Born Bulelwa Mkutukana in 1988 in an informal settlement in East London, she started singing at church at the tender age of six and, later, taught herself to play the guitar.

She eventually landed in Joburg, where she was to shine brighter than most in the dog-eat-dog music industry.

ALSO READ: ‘South African music is poorer without Zahara’ – Lesley Mofokeng, RISA

Starting off with her debut album, Loliwe, in 2011, she released four more offerings – Phendula in 2013, Country Girl in 2015, Mgodi in 2017 and Nqaba Yam in 2021.

All these albums made their mark, but it was Loliwe that made her the darling of music lovers.

It not only reached double-platinum, it also saw her dominate the SA Music Awards the following year, when she bagged eight awards.

ALSO READ: Zahara’s former bosses DJ Sbu and TK Nciza dragged after singer’s passing

That festive season, everywhere you went, young and old sang along to the title track. When she died on Monday night in hospital, she was also battling her record company.

Just recently, she told a podcaster she was fighting for millions of rands in royalties she said were owed to her by TS Records.

Thank you for the music.

ALSO READ: ‘You healed our souls’ – SA mourns the death of musician Zahara