Yvonne Chaka Chaka and Karen Zoid collaborates on a Shona song

They recently worked together on the single Kana Uchema, a song named after the Shona phrase meaning: “when you cry, I feel the pain”..

Music legend Yvonne Chaka Chaka is not the first person you would expect to hear had collaborated with Afrikaans star Karen Zoid, but the pair has released a potential chart-topper.

The song is available on iTunes but you probs have loads of questions about it, neh?

How does an idea like this even get hatched?

Ma Yvonne told TshisaLIVE that the idea for the collab happened when Karen invited her to a KykNET show to perform. Ma admitted that, at first, the idea seemed a little crazy and a strange fit.

“When I was invited, I thought ‘but this is in Afrikaans. How many Afrikaners know Yvonne?'”

‘I felt bad because it was a Shona song’

When Karen asked her if she would work with her on a track, Ma Yvonne suggested a Shona song and crossed fingers that Karen would be game.

“I felt bad because it was a Shona song, but I was so surprised. She sang so well. I had gooseflesh. In fact, we had one rehearsal and when I got there she knew all the words and was very impressed.”

‘I didn’t understand a lot of the Afrikaans’

The star admitted that the collab was not something you would usually expect but she enjoyed the experience. She even shared a moment where her phone was blowing up because of all the love the song was getting, even though she didn’t understand it all.

“It is not something that you would expect and even when the song first aired I was in Tanzania reading tweets about myself in Afrikaans. My notifications were going and I thought ‘What have I done?’ I also didn’t understand a lot of the Afrikaans so some of my Afrikaans friends were calling me to tell me what was being said.”

‘We used to fight for freedom, now we fight for an education’

Yvonne recently released a new album, Keep Looking at Me, which again features her singing about issues close to her.

“My music is inspired by what I feel and what I experience. I tell my story through it. For years we used to used to fight for freedom, now we fight for an education and service delivery. I hope that my music will inspire people to take a stand against the failure to deliver services. Music is not about entertaining anymore, it is about educating.”

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