The name on everyone's lips is Zee Nxumalo
“In terms of rewriting the classics, I’m someone who came into the industry having looked up to the classics, the likes of Brenda Fassie and Babes Wodumo. I’m the new age of the classic,” says the amapiano supernova.
Image: Steve Tanchel
Business up front with a party in the back! That’s the vibe-check when amapiano supernova Zee Nxumalo steps onto the set of her SMag cover shoot an hour behind schedule. She is the epitome of “sexy” dressing.
From the front, her outfit’s demure silhouette is simple — until she turns around. Boom! Her breezy open-back top puts a slither of glowing skin on display. Peeping from her peekaboo style is a fine-line tattoo dripping down her spine. It demands my full attention.
Combining artistry and positive affirmation, the words “maphupho fezeka” are inked on her spine all the way down her lower back. When I point out that the script looks freshly tattooed and still slightly puffy, she confirms that her daring body art is only a month old, if not less.
Directly translating to “dreams come true”, the tattoo is a gentle reminder of the incredible time the 22-year-old singer had in 2024. “Last year was crazy, a dream,” she says, almost as though she’s doubting that this is her life. “But now it’s no longer a dream, it needs to be maintained. I’m at a stage where everything is possible and we can even elevate it further — it’s work now.”
No kidding, there is no stopping Nxumalo. After entering the music scene in late 2023 she has already name-checked collaborations with industry titans DBN Gogo (Funk 55), Kabza De Small (Ucingo), Dlala Thukzin (Ama Gear), Master KG (Mfazi Wephepha), and Pabi Cooper (Thula Mabota). Put Nxumalo’s light-lyric soprano on an infectious amapiano beat and you have an instant hit.
“In terms of rewriting the classics, I’m someone who came into the industry having looked up to the classics, the likes of Brenda Fassie and Babes Wodumo. I’m the new age of the classic,” she says.
Speaking of classics, there can be no doubt that the 2024 smash hit Ama Gear has written itself into the history books. “It’s still going to play in 20 years and some people are still going to go, ‘Why we were sleeping on this song?’, she says with pride. “It’s going to get sampled and we are going to get more money. Ama Gear is relatable to everyone from the age of four to 40.”
So how did the magnetic bridge and sing-along chorus for Ama Gear come about?
“It was a freestyle and we did it in one take,” she recalls. “It was Thukzin’s studio camp and I was having so much fun. They played the beat and I gave it a try. Thukzin was by the pool and he heard it, stood up, and just started chopping it.”
She notes that music lovers are obsessed with the pre-chorus, especially the line “zee mabhodlela…”, which alludes to popping bottle and creating great vibez. But at the heart of the track is the inspirational message of a young woman seeing her dreams come true right before her eyes.
“Each song I do relates to the era that I’m in. I was in an era where I felt as though my dreams were coming true,” she explains. “Thukzin flew me to Durban just for a studio session. To me it was crazy that they had booked accommodation and flights just for me to sing. ‘What if I don’t give you a hit? How can you risk all that money and time, just for me to come and sing?’ The lyrics speaks to that, how we have switched into a new gear and are on another level.”
Nxumalo, who was raised in Alexandra township in northern Joburg, says she had a typical ’hood experience with her parents, grandparents, and extended family members. “I’m big on family. I have always loved everything to do with entertainment and fashion. I’ve always been that girl who entertains people and dresses nice.”
One of her biggest achievements came late last year when she was named as one of Puma’s local ambassadors.
“I knew I would be here even before it started, even with my Puma collaboration,” she says. “In 2021, when I was still in high school, we went to the Puma store in Braam. I asked my father to buy me a pair of shoes that were R1 500 and he kept giving me the runaround. So, I loved going to that store and just fantasising about what I would buy and how I would rock the tights. Two years later, I got the Puma contract. But the funny thing is, now that I have the access, I hardly go. It’s funny how life works.”
When I ask her what is next, she sums it up in two words: “The stars,” she quips.
