DYK 21 April 2021
SZA
- Having grown up in a Muslim home, SZA says she was afraid to wear the Hijab after 9/11
- SZA was the most nominated woman at the 2018 Grammy Awards
- She trained as a gymnast for 13 years
- She is the only female artist signed with Top Dawg Entertainment, who reps rappers like Schoolboy Q and Kendrick Lamar
- her name is an acronym derived from the supreme alphabet, which is a system of interpreting a text by assigning meaning to letters of the Roman alphabet the religious belief system of the Nation of Gods and Earth.
MANQONQO
- He was born and bred in Adams Mission, KwaZulu Natal
- His song, Eyadini has over 2.6 million views on Youtube
- He says he inspired by local music heads like DJ Tira and DJ Cleo
- From the age of 10, it was clear that he was born to be a star
- The song ‘Eyadini’ was produced by 19-year-old Mlondi ‘Airic’ Ngubane
JUSTIN BIEBER
- Bieber is bilingual, speaking both English and French
- He once dreamed of being an architect if his musical career had not taken off at such a young age
- His favourite sandwich is tomato and mayo on wonder bread
- He was once late for a performance because he was visiting a fan who was suffering from leukaemia in hospital
- His fans are called ‘Beliebers’
CIZA
- The Afropop musician is only 20 years old
- He is the son of Mafikizolo’s Nhlanhla Nciza and SA music mogul Thembinkosi Nciza
- He started singing and writing songs at the age of 15
- He says his music is influenced by artists such as 2Face Baba, Maphorisa, Zahara, AKA, Mafikizolo and others
- He is signed under Top Boy records
TYLA
- She is born to a family of Mauritian and Indian descent
- Apart from singing, Tyla writes, paints acts and dances
- Her single, ‘Getting Late’ was one of the biggest trends on TikTok
- She is currently working on her debut project
- Tyla says she dreams of travelling the world and growing a platform that enables her to give back to communities in need
KOOLDRINK
- His real name is Munashe Kugarakuripi
- He is a South African DJ and record producer
- He started experimenting with electronic music when he was still little.
- He secured a resident DJ slot on the 5fm Ultimix at the age of 13
- He earned an international record deal after performing at the H20 Festival
ALESSIA CARA
- She grew up on the outskirts of Toronto where talents like Drake and The Weekend hail from
- She is Canadian born with Italian parents
- Alessia is incredible at celebrity impersonations
- She has only attended one concert in her life- a Justin Bieber concert.
- Growing up, she actually wanted to be a visual artist
MI CASA
- Micasa is a house trio based in Johannesburg
- Lead singer, J something came up with the name Mi casa which means ‘My House’
- The member met at a party in Sandton in 2010
- It took them 3 months to put together their whole album
- Mi Casa categorizes their music as soulful house
YOUNOTUS
- They are a German DJ and producer duo from Berlin
- The members are Tobias Bogdon and Gregor Sam
- In 2015, they featured alongside Alle Farben on the Anna Naklab pan-European hit ‘Supergirl’
- They were nominated for the German radio award in the category of ‘Best Dance Act’
- In 2019, they ended the year by playing in front of a huge international crowd at the official NYE party at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate
BRUNO MARS
- When he was 4, he broke the world record as the Youngest Elvis Presley impersonator
- The first song he ever wrote was titled ‘I love you mom’
- His fans are known as Hooligans
- When he was 15, he had a crush on his teacher and he gave her a love letter with his mother’s ring in, which he had stolen from her.
- He admits that he hates his hit, ‘The Lazy Song’
ANDERSON. PAAK
- Before he became Anderson Paak, he went by the name Breezy Lovejoy
- Before he got famous, he used to work on a marijuana farm
- In 2015, He was selected to work on Dr Dre’s first album in 16 years
- He used to be a drummer for American Idol contestant Haley Reinhart
- In 2014, he joined Jhene Aiko on her ‘Enter the void’ tour
SILK SONIC
- The group is composed of Bruno Mars and Anderson. Paak
- The group released their debut single, ‘Leave the door open’ in march 2021
- Their debut album has been announced to be released soon
- In 2017, Paak was the opening act for Bruno Mars at the 24k Magic World Tour
- The group made their television debut at the 63rd Annual Grammy awards
DOJA CAT
- Her real name is Amalaratna “Amala” Zandile Dlamini
- Her father is South African actor Dumisani Dlamini, best known for his role as Crocodile in Sarafina!
- Her fifth single ‘Say so’ on her second album spawned a number of TikTok dance challenges
- She scored her first batch of Grammy nominations in 2020
- Doja was spotted on Empire’s first season
CHRIS BROWN
- Breezy was said to launch his Onlyfans account
- He owns 14 burger king restaurants
- According to Website Celebrity Net Worth, Chris’ net worth is approximately $50 million
- Before he was famous, he used the stage name C-syzle
- He was just 16 years old when his career took off
YOUNG THUG
- His real name is Jeffery Lamar Williams
- He is originally from Atlanta, Georgia
- He was featured on the front cover of Daze in 2015 wearing a Gucci lace top and sheer tulle dress
- He became a Grammy award-winning artist in 2019 for his work on Childish Gambino’s ‘This is America’
- He shouted out that Lil Wayne was his favourite rapper
LIL TJAY
- His stage name is derived from the first letter of his name and the first 3 letters of his middle name ‘Jayden’
- In 2018, he was signed to Columbia Records
- In 2017 he began releasing music on sound cloud
- In March 2038, he competed and won first place at the Coast 2 Coast Live NYC All Ages Edition
- He reached Billboard top 100 with his single ‘20/20’ which peaked at number 94 on the chart
6LACK
- He attended Valdosta State University but dropped out after signing a record deal in 2011
- He released a remix of PARTYNEXTDOOR’s “break from Toronto’ in 2014
- He has a daughter named Syx
- His name is pronounced ‘BLACK’
- He was born in Baltimore, MD
LITTLE MIX
- They are a British girl group formed in 2011
- The group consists of 4 members who are Jade, Perrie, Leigh-Anna and Jesy
- They were put together for the 8th series of UK’s X Factor, where they went on to win the competition
- All members auditioned as solo artists on The X Factor
- Originally the group was names Rhythmix
NICKI MINAJ
- She is of mixed heritage and is one-quarter Indian
- Her single ‘Anaconda’ has over a billion views on Youtube
- In 2016, she released her own mobile game ‘Nicki Minaj: The Empire’
- She has starred in a number of films like “Barbershop: The Next Cut” and “The Other Woman”
- She has always looked up to JayZ and sees him as a role model
SHEKHINAH
- She is a Durban born R&B vocalist and songwriter
- She made it to the Top 32 of Idols 7th season and then again the Top 6 in the 8th season
- She was nominated for a Metro Music Award for the song “Back to the beach”
- In 2017 she released her debut album ‘ Rosegold’
- She won 3 SAMAs in 2018 for Album of the year, Best female artist and best newcomer
CASSPER NYOVEST
- He dropped out of school in 2006 to pursue his career in hip hop
- He started off as HHP’s hypeman
- He has filled up multiple stadiums in South Africa, including Moses Mabhida and Orlando Stadium
- He was the only SA hip hop act nominated in the 2018 BET awards
- In 2015, he paired up with AG Mobile to release a phone that was inspired and partly designed by him
BUSISWA
- She featured on Beyonce’s recent album ‘Black is King’
- When she was 15, she developed an interest in poetry and began writing poems
- Her song ‘Lahla’ has over 2 million views on Youtube
- In 2016, she was a choirmaster on the 4th season of Clash of the Choirs alongside Kelly Khumalo, JR, Ifani, Sifiso Ncwane and Anele Mdoda
- In 2019, she was nominated for Best Dance Album at the 25th SAMAs
