Malawian star Zeze Kingston on how amapiano changed his life

‘My success is because of the authentic sound I learned in South Africa’

26 February 2024 - 14:36
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Malawian star Zeze Kingston on the impact the amapiano genre has had on his music.
Malawian star Zeze Kingston on the impact the amapiano genre has had on his music.
Image: Supplied

Malawian star Zeze Kingston has recorded music with some of Mzansi's biggest stars and was recently shooting his reality TV show while on local shores, and said he has the amapiano genre to thank. 

“South Africa is home to me. I first came here in 2018 and tried to push my music and work with people. But things were not going well for me. In 2022 I left and went back to Malawi, and played around with the amapiano sound. My career really took off,” he told TshisaLIVE. 

“My success is really because of the authentic amapiano sound which I learned in South Africa. I owe a lot of my success to this country and the influence it had on my sound.”

In the past, he has worked with Mzansi’s Afrobeat sensation Ciza, X Duppy and PH Raw. During his recent trip to South Africa, Zeze recorded a song with Makhadzi and Heavy K and another with XDuppy and PH Raw X, and will be doing his final track with producer AirBurn Sounds and singer Dinky Kunene. 

“The opportunity was amazing. There is not a single person who does not want to be in the same studio as Makhadzi and a track produced by Heavy K. For me, that was magic. It flowed. We recorded the song in a few hours and we were in sync.”

Zeze, real name Robert Ching'amba Junior, wants to leave a mark in the entertainment industry on the African continent and plans to collaborate with more artists to make that happen. 

“There are a lot of people I want to work with, Maphorisa, Kabza, Lady Du and many others. I also want to go to Mozambique, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Tanzania and collaborate with other artists on the continent.

“I am the biggest artist in Malawi. I won every award I’ve been nominated for. I have a reality show with my fiancée, and I plan to do more.”



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