LISTEN | Nana Atta on her musical journey, with Zakes Bantwini as a mentor

22 May 2023 - 07:00
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Nana Atta says she held back a lot when starting out, but has now found her voice.
Nana Atta says she held back a lot when starting out, but has now found her voice.
Image: Total Exposure

She has slowly wormed her way into the ears and hearts of many who've heard her voice on songs making waves in the country and through her EPs U OK love and Emakhosini.

For the past eight years she has collaborated with artists such as Nandi Madida, Karyendasoul, Mampintsha and Zakes Bantwini, to name a few.

One of those working relationships translated to a long-lasting association with Mayonie Productions and mentorship for which she is grateful.

Nana Atta will join Zakes for the final leg of The Glenmorangie Experience at Max’s Lifestyle Village in Umlazi, south of Durban, on June 3. 

She says mentorship from Zakes was a no-brainer.

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“As someone trying to tackle the entertainment industry, you need people who are ahead of you to give you the ins and outs. These are the people who have experienced this firsthand; they are not gonna throw you in the dark. 

“The fact that I'm now performing with him at The Glenmorangie Experience event — and you know that's not my event, that's his, and he had no [reason to bring me along], so stuff like that. Building and making those kinds of connections, I've learnt all of that through him. I can confidently say he is the one person in the industry who has really laid out the carpet for me and said, do your thing Nana, this is how you do it. So shout out to Zakes.”

Starting her singing career when she was just 11, Nana said it was not easy to get to where she is now in a cut-throat industry

“I think in the past I was made to feel very small because apparently I'm too versatile, I can jump in different genres and fit right in, and for a very long time I held back because of that. I thought it was a bad thing, I really believed it was wrong, it was a bad thing and unacceptable because someone who was ahead of me told me that. I held on to that and I didn't know how to let people hear things in my head, I was very scared and fragile. It messed with my self-esteem, it affected me for a long time.”



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