adminBruce Ndlovu Showbiz Correspondent
Zimbabwe and Bulawayo in particular has always boasted an array of notable artistes showcasing their skills and talents in neighbouring South Africa.
While Berita Khumalo has been the most recent and notable artiste to take the music scene south of the Limpopo by storm, other artistes from the country have been making steady inroads on the Mzansi music scene. From the deep voiced Diliza’s grabbing appearance on the Alaska hit, Shaker Mntwana, to Nadia Nakai’s lyrical display on Riky Rick’s Amantombazana, Zimbabwean artistes have been steadily making a name for themselves in the neighbouring country.
Another Bulawayo-born artiste who has been steadily climbing the ladder of superstardom on the South African music scene is Gigi Lamayne.
With two South African music hip-hop awards already in her bag and her new video for her single, Ice Cream, featuring Khuli Chana proving popular on MTV Base and Channel O, Lamayne seems to be the latest gem to emerge from the city.
While other rappers struggle to break into the dog eat dog world of South African hip-hop, the 21-year Lamayne has found herself nestling under the wings of superstar Khuli Chana, who is grooming her as his heir apparent to his Motswako rap throne. The duo’s video managed to amass over 65,000 views on YouTube.
In an interview with The Chronicle Showbiz this week, Lamayne who was born to Zimbabwean parents but grew up and lives in neighbouring South Africa, said that Chana had pledged to help push her career on an upward trajectory as he saw her as his successor. The two are both signed to Dream Team SA, an artiste management juggernaut that also houses Tsotsi actress Terry Pheto, Thembi Seete and DJ Ms Cosmos.
“He’s a great artiste who doesn’t pressure me into doing things that the industry wants but instead he allows me to look and be who I want to be. I’m really heartened by the fact that he saw something in me because he sees me as a person that can make a name for myself and go on to be his successor in future,” she said.
The rap prodigy, who has bagged two female artistes of the year awards at the annual South African Music Awards, said that the single with Chana had already started getting her attention from other artistes.
“It’s been really amazing because I’ve been getting a lot of inquiries from artistes that previously had no interest in working with me,” she said.
Lamayne said due to his background and history with Bulawayo, working with Chana felt like destiny as she also has deep roots in the city. She said despite having set anchor south of the Limpopo, she still comes to the city every year to stay with relatives from Nkulumane, Luveve and Burnside.
Chana last month revealed his ties to the city, saying that he fell in love with the genre when he visited relatives in Bulawayo in the late 90s.
“Working with him feels like destiny because he has roots in Bulawayo and it seems wonderful that people with a similar background can come together and create great art. It’s like he was always meant to be my mentor,” she said.
Lamayne said that unlike other rappers, Chana did not put emphasis on her gender, a fact that she appreciated as she wanted to be known primarily for her skills on the mic.
“I don’t like being called a female rapper but I happen to be a female who also happens to be a rapper. In future I would like to be nominated in some of the male dominated awards because I believe that I’m also at that level,” she said.
Lamayne paid tribute to Bob Marley, Brenda Fassie and her mother who she says were among the figures that have inspired her.
The rapper who has already worked with Bulawayo kwaito and hip hop producer, Polite Sithole and DJ Naida on the all female remix of Reason’s No Sleep, said she hoped to work with more Zimbabwean artistes in future.
Online Reporter