‘I Didn’t Focus On My Struggles, I Didn’t Give Up’: South Africa’s Grammy Winner Nomcebo Zikode

Published 11 months ago
Nomcebo Zikode, image supplied

Nomcebo Zikode, the multi platinum-selling South African singer-songwriter who won the Grammy in February for Global Music Performance with Wouter Kellerman and Zakes Bantwini, will be performing at the pan-African welcome celebration of the Forbes Under 30 Summit Africa in Gaborone, Botswana, on April 23.

The artist, who is the founder of the Nomcebo Zikode Foundation, was also at the eighth annual FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Leading Women Summit on March 8 in Pretoria, South Africa, where she spoke on stage about her tough journey to becoming a successful singer.

She outlined her trials and triumphs before performing the foot-tapping hit song Jerusalema and evoking tumultuous applause and cheers from the audience at the SunBet Arena.

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She also won the 2023 FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Entertainer Award at a glittering ceremony in the evening on the same day.

Speaking to FORBES AFRICA after the win, she said: “You know, people have read everywhere about my struggles. But I did not focus on my struggles – I kept on pushing. That is why today, [I am] the woman who is a Grammy winner, because I didn’t give up. I kept on pushing. I am so happy as an African woman.”

From being a backing singer to an artist receiving recognition, Zikode is a part of South Africa’s burgeoning music landscape.

“There’s so much that is happening in this industry – when I say so much I mean going through so much. So, for me as a woman, to be recognized by FORBES AFRICA is great,” Zikode added in March.

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Zikode worked with Master KG on the 2019 hit single Jerusalema and later remixed with Burna Boy, the song debuted at Number 1 on Billboard Music Charts. It became an anthem in South Africa and across the world as “a feel-good” song during the Covid-19 pandemic.