Yvonne Chaka Chaka
South African musician · South Africa · Musicians · Born 1965 · age 61
Yvonne Chaka Chaka is read about 75 times a day, in 21 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 22 October 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 397 days, one point a day.
Something wrong?She became the first Black child on South African television in 1981, then spent three decades turning bubblegum pop and mbaqanga into a pan-African sound that made "Umqombothi" a household anthem from Johannesburg to Lagos.
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In their own words 6
, I think believing in myself and knowing what I wanted. From day one, when Phil Hollis came to me and said he wanted to make me a superstar, I knew I wanted to do things my way.
Growing up in Soweto, I never thought I’d one day wear a red robe, let alone from a wonderful institution such as Rhodes University
When I was little I would strum an empty tin and blow into a broomstick pretending it was a microphone. I sang in church choirs, I loved singing.
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About this person
Born Yvonne Machaka on 18 March 1965, she broke through as a young performer in apartheid South Africa and built a catalog - "I'm Burning Up", "Thank You Mr. DJ", "I Cry For Freedom" - that carried across borders and made her a draw in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, and a dozen other countries. A 1990 tour earned her the title "Princess of Africa", and the nickname stuck. She shared stages with Queen, Bono, Angélique Kidjo, and South African legends Miriam Makeba and Hugh Masekela, and performed for Queen Elizabeth II and Bill Clinton. Nelson Mandela chose her as the first ambassador for his children's fund. She became a champion for The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, a UN MDG Envoy, and in 2012 the first African woman to receive the World Economic Forum's Crystal Award. She now teaches literacy part-time at the University of South Africa and runs the Princess of Africa Foundation alongside a schedule of board seats and advocacy work.
Musicians from South Africa 6
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