Naima Kay on reclaiming her place as 'vocal royalty' with new single

Almost five years since Naima Kay stole Mzansi's hearts with her soulful voice, the songstress now wants to remind people that she belongs at the top of the musical food chain.

Naima has gifted Mzansi with music that keeps her name on the tip of the tongue even when she's scarce on the scene. Speaking to TshisaLIVE Naima said she hasn't been hiding, she's just been hard at work.

"My focus is mostly on making music, I do attend some of these red carpet events, especially when they are music related. I make sure I come up to Joburg for them because this is where they mostly happen and I stay in Durban."

Songs like Lelilanga and Shayizandla are still very popular to date even though they came from Naima's debut album, proving how timeless her music is. She said the songs were hits because they were a reflection of how hard she wanted the world to feel her fire.

Naima set the bar very high for her future in the industry because from the very beginning she came for everything. The singer won Best Newcomer at the Samas with her first album.

"Lelilanga and Shayizandla are from my debut album, this is when the drive to make it in the industry is on it's maximum level. When I had to work ten times harder to show that I really want my spot and to make my mark in the industry. I also had the pressure to prove myself to my record company to show them that they have made a right choice for selecting you out of a thousand demo's of hopefuls they receive who also wants this."

Five years later she still enjoys support like she's just entered the industry and she believes it stems from the effort she puts into releasing quality music.

Naima took a young break from releasing music and even though she also became a rare sight for Mzansi paparazzi, she explained it was all for the music.

"I actually didn't realise that I have been scarce, but I took a break last year from releasing an album. But I've have been working with other artists like Lasandra, Prince M, DJ Sammy K from Touch Africa Records and have also been writing new music for my 4th studio album that I am currently recording.  So there really was no hiatus, it's been work work work!"

Along with the song that Robbie Malinga gifted her with before he died, Naima has plenty of new music to share, starting with her single Soka lami from her album Queen Kay.

"My album can be expected at the end of September. Queen Kay is the title of the album, We decided on that title after the sad passing of the legend Robbie Malinga who I have been working with in all my albums together with Mjakes, a well known music producer."