‘I am still the queen of Amapiano’

Bruce Ndlovu, Sunday Life Reporter

ZIMBABWEAN songbird, Sha Sha, believes she is still the Queen of Amapiano, despite the emergence of a new crop of singers that are potential challengers to her throne.

Since 2019, when Sha Sha emerged alongside DJ Maphorisa and Kabza De Small, Sha Sha has been credited as the queen of a genre that continues to grow from strength to strength around the globe.

However, over the last few years, there have been rumblings that Sha Sha, born Charmaine Mapambiro, is no longer the undisputed queen of the genre, as more vocalists continue to take aim at her throne, especially when she was no longer releasing music on a regular basis.

While it was critically acclaimed, Sha Sha’s last album, 2022’s I’m Alive, did not have an earth-shattering impact on the Amapiano genre, with the hits contained on it falling short of her debut efforts.

While her work with Maphorisa and Kabza De Small changed the face of the genre, making it a commercial success, the songbird had seemingly moved from beneath the wing of the Scorpion Kings, who in the meantime have gone on to propel other vocalists to superstardom. Boohle, Ami Faku and Mawhoo are just some of the vocalists that have taken Amapiano by storm in the last few years.

In an interview with German television station Duetsche Welle while on tour, Sha Sha, who is based in South Africa, said she believed she had done enough to keep her crown as the queen of the popular genre.

“I believe I have. I have been putting out those hits from yesterday. The songbird said her experiences on tour had also showed her how widespread her music really was. It’s very humbling to see how people receive my music. I have been touring and performing and having to see how people sing back my music even when I am on stage, it is so crazy,” she said.

Sha Sha said while women face a lot of trials and tribulations in the music industry, she had been lucky to find herself backed by a team that had her best interests at heart.

“I live my life in a way that, I hope to God, it touches somebody and they are able to emulate. Not necessarily to emulate exactly who I am but to find their true selves and I believe that’s also exactly what

I put out with my music as well. I sing music for the soul and I believe that finding your true self and true identity is the best place you can ever start.

From there the sky is not the limit,” she said.

With alleged drama between her and former boss Maphorisa, there had been fears that Sha Sha might find her career sidelined in a genre that is sometimes harsh on female performers that get on the wrong side of influential figures.

While she acknowledged that hardships were an ever-present hurdle for women in the music industry, Sha Sha said she was lucky to have a team safeguarding her best interests behind her.

“I would say that for myself, I have been lucky that I have had a beautiful team from the time I started and yes, it is true that women go through a lot in the music industry, but I have been lucky enough to be surrounded by people who actually genuinely care about me.

These are people who care about my wellness and I would advise other women out there who want to get into the industry to have that for themselves,” she said.

While competition between female musicians is stiff, Sha Sha said she would continue to champion the cause of other women in the music industry.

“It’s important that we empower each other and help each other with the smallest things. We should help our sisters with their own crowns and embrace them. I feel like sisterhood is so important and personally I have a lot of sisters so, I emulate that with my work or whoever I meet.

We definitely have to tell each other how gorgeous we are and what queens we are,” she said.

Whenever she found herself confronted by the harsh realities of the world of music, Sha Sha said she always turned to God, as she was a deeply religious person despite being a circular artiste.

“Firstly, the music industry is definitely hard but I would say to any young girl who wants to step into this world, I think first, you need to know what you want, you need to know who you are and from there, as I said earlier, you need to surround yourself with the right people.

For me, I am spiritual. I pray and I pray hard. God will always meet you halfway. You have to work and God will show up with that supernatural grace,” she said.