Nombongo tells the tale of how music chose her: “I think as a kid I’d dreamt of many things, but music was not one of them and considering it a career has been a recent development.”
This 24-year-old jazzy soul musician started writing music in 2002 when she was in high school. She moved to Pretoria in 2004 where she met Hakeem, a popular MC on the Pretoria circuit, who introduced her to the Pretoria hip-hop scene. While studying at Tshwane University of Technology, she quietly developed her skills and sound which she describes as semi-jazzy soul blues. “I grew up listening to a lot of RNB records, although recently I’ve really just enjoyed the sounds of jazz, soul, blues, rap, gospel and so forth.”
She describes herself as an eccentric people’s person who is interested in people, cultures, values and people’s interactions with each other. “I feed of what makes human beings tick and what actually brings them together. I also enjoy being with my family or hanging out with my friends. I am a sucker for those relationships!”
In 2005 she was featured on a compilation called White Label released by Toxic soul from Mamelodi. She has also worked with Rowick Deep from Multiracial Studios on two of his compilations, featuring songs like “People with bullets” and “Want you”. Besides working on launching herself as an artist, Nombongo has recently worked on two remixes on songs off hip hop artist Zubz’s latest project, Choclea.
Nombongo, who has been influenced by the likes of Busi Mhlongo, Nina Simone, Sade and Siphokazi, has recently started working with Outrageous Records on establishing her name and says that her interactions at the latter have impacted positively on her music career.
