Zombo
Encyclopedia
Zombo was a South Africa
n singer, songwriter
and music producer, best known as a member of kwaito
group Abashante.
in South Africa. Later releases included “Settlin’ The Score”, “Ayoyo” and “Intwenjani?”.
After leaving Abashante, Zombo worked as a music producer and started his own record label. As a solo artist and as a member of new group Collabo he failed to emulate his former success as a performer, though his album “Zombo” earned a nomination for Best Rap Album at the 2003 South African Music Awards
. By 2008 he was living in poverty, complaining in a newspaper interview that he lacked even the money to feed himself properly.
Zombo died of AIDS
-related causes in February 2008, a month after revealing his HIV
positive status to the media. Fellow South African musicians said at the time that his talents would be sorely missed. According to singer Preston Sihlangu, “He was a versatile singer. Zombo was a producer, songwriter and singer. He could start a song from scratch and produce it himself. That skill is very rare.”
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n singer, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
and music producer, best known as a member of kwaito
Kwaito
Kwaito is a music genre that emerged in Johannesburg, South Africa, during the 1990s. It is a variant of house music featuring the use of African sounds and samples. Typically at a slower tempo range than other styles of house music, Kwaito often contains catchy melodic and percussive loop samples,...
group Abashante.
Biography
Zombo earned fame as a rapper with kwaito stars Abashante in the 1990s. The group, which also included vocalists Nestum and Queen Sesako, were known for their energetic dancing routines. Their most successful album was their 1996 debut, “Girls” (released before Zombo joined the group), which went platinumMusic recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
in South Africa. Later releases included “Settlin’ The Score”, “Ayoyo” and “Intwenjani?”.
After leaving Abashante, Zombo worked as a music producer and started his own record label. As a solo artist and as a member of new group Collabo he failed to emulate his former success as a performer, though his album “Zombo” earned a nomination for Best Rap Album at the 2003 South African Music Awards
South African Music Awards
The South African Music Awards are an annual award ceremony, run by the Recording Industry of South Africa , where accolades are presented to members of South Africa's music industry. Winners receive a statuette is called a SAMA. The event was established in 1995...
. By 2008 he was living in poverty, complaining in a newspaper interview that he lacked even the money to feed himself properly.
Zombo died of AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
-related causes in February 2008, a month after revealing his HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
positive status to the media. Fellow South African musicians said at the time that his talents would be sorely missed. According to singer Preston Sihlangu, “He was a versatile singer. Zombo was a producer, songwriter and singer. He could start a song from scratch and produce it himself. That skill is very rare.”