Critics called her the new Miriam Makeba before her second album came out. Simphiwe Dana’s debut, Zandisile, released in 2004, went platinum in South Africa and announced a singer who blended jazz, Afro-soul, rap and traditional Xhosa music in a way no one else was doing.
Transkei
Dana was born in 1980 in the former Transkei, in what is now the Eastern Cape, and grew up in Lusikisiki. Her father was a preacher, and she sang church music from childhood.
Zandisile
Zandisile was released by Gallo Records. It sold more than 40,000 copies, earning platinum status, and won her awards at the South African Music Awards, including Best Newcomer.
Bantu Biko Street
Her second album, The One Love Movement on Bantu Biko Street, named after the anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko, won Album of the Year and Best Female Artist at the SAMAs. Its songs dealt with identity, history and African consciousness.
Her voice
Dana sings mainly in isiXhosa and English. Her voice is deep and flexible, moving from jazz phrasing to traditional styles. Comparisons with Miriam Makeba and Dorothy Masuka reflected both her sound and her sense of cultural mission.
Kulture Noir
Her third album, Kulture Noir, came out in 2010, and a live album won a SAMA for Best Live DVD. Her fourth studio album, Firebrand, was released in 2014.
Activism
Dana is outspoken on social media and in interviews about race, culture, gender and politics in South Africa. Her views have sometimes sparked controversy, but she has insisted that artists have a responsibility to speak.
Influence
Younger South African singers who blend jazz and traditional sounds often cite Dana as an influence. She showed that a modern artist could sing in an African language and reach a mainstream audience.
Post-apartheid sound
Dana’s rise came a decade after the end of apartheid, when South African artists were exploring what a new national culture could sound like. Her music offered one answer: rooted in the past, open to the world.
The Eastern Cape
The Eastern Cape has produced many of South Africa’s political leaders and artists, including Nelson Mandela and Steve Biko. Dana’s roots in the region, and her decision to name an album after Biko’s street, connected her music to that heritage of resistance and pride.
Being called the new Miriam Makeba is a heavy compliment. Simphiwe Dana has spent two decades showing that she is, above all, herself.
