Afro-soul singer, songwriter, and guitarist Zahara was born Bulelwa Mkutukana on November 9, 1987, in East London, Eastern Cape, South Africa. She began singing in school choirs when she was six and, within three years, was asked to join the senior choir on the strength of her voice. She began busking on the streets of East London, singing in both Xhosa, her native language, and English. Signed to TS Records, she released her debut album, Loliwe, in 2011. The album was so popular that it sold out its first pressing in 72 hours. The album went on to reach double platinum status in South Africa and led to the release of her 2012 concert release, The Beginning Live. The album went platinum in one day and Zahara went on to win eight awards at the 2012 South African Music Awards including Album of the Year and Best Female Artist. The following year, she released her sophomore album Pendula, which went on to win three more South African Music Awards: Best Selling Album, Best R&B, Soul, and Reggae album, and Best Female Artist of the Year. After performing a private beside performance for Nelson Mandela, she wrote the song “Nelson Mandela” and issued it as an EP in 2013. After the murder of her younger brother, Zahara took a short break from her career before returning with the album Country Girl in 2015, which earned her two honors at the Eastern Cape Music Awards. Her fourth album, 2017’s Mgodi, hit gold status in six hours. Zahara then toured in the US and Canada on the Africa All Star Music Festival. After a break of four years, she returned with the 2021 album Nqaba Yam, which included the singles “Nyamezela” and the title track. Two years later, she embraced the amapiano genre, a sub-genre of South African house music, and issued the single "Guqa Ngedolo" (2023). However, Zahara suffered from liver disease and was admitted into a hospital in November 2023, where she died on December 11, 2023, at the age of 36.
