BET nominated singer earns Chamisa praise… “Incredibly proud of our very own Sha Sha”

By Thando Kanye

After her nomination for this year’s BET awards, songbird Sha Sha has got support from fans across various social spheres, with the latest to lend his support being the leader of Zimbabwe’s main opposition, MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa.

“Incredibly proud of our very own Sha Sha who has earned a nomination for the prestigious BET Awards. The sister is flying our flag high. I have voted, let’s all vote for her and help her bring the gong home #PROUD,” Chamisa tweeted yesterday.

Sha Sha will battle it with Rema (Nigeria) Celeste (UK), Young T & Bugsey (UK), Hatik (France) and Stacy (France) to see who is the best new voice in world music.

This is the SA based Queen of MaPiano’s major international award consideration after a highly successful 2019 which saw her widely acknowledged as one of Mzansi music’s finest newcomers and best vocalists.

Celebrities and high-profile individuals have been taking to social media to heap praise on the songbird.

“Nothing invisible is recognisable. Recognition is an acknowledgement of visibility. Congratulations ShaSha for your nomination. It speaks volumes to the work you have done and it is good for Zimbabwe. We need such good news in these dark and perilous times. You have won already! Isu Mabhanditi tinewe mavhoti edu takanda kare nhaika,” dancehall chanter Seh Calaz tweeted.

Sha Sha’s nomination also sparked a tug of war on social media as Zimbabweans and South Africans both claimed her.

“We are excited and it is unfortunate the awards ceremony will be held online, therefore we can’t travel. It is already a win to us. Sha Sha is signed under Sony Records in South Africa and they have been helping in pushing her music career.

“Her EP has done so well. We are happy with the support we got from every corner. We met with the NACZ director and also visited Minister Kirsty Coventry’s offices and they congratulated us,” her manager Fungai Kush Zvirawa told a local daily.

Sha Sha, real name Charmaine Mapimbiro, is a singer born and bred in Zimbabwe. Despite touting Mutare as her home town, she spent some of her life in Bulawayo and South Africa because of the separation of her family. This helped her proficiency in isiZulu.

A chance encounter with a cab driver led to her discovery by prolific South African producer DJ Maphorisa.

“I would do a lot of gigs at night and I had a cab driver and one day he asked me why I was always moving around at night and I told him it’s because I sing.

“Turns out he also drove DJ Maphorisa now and then so he introduced me to him. I sang for him and he liked my sound,” she told South Africa’s Independent last year. Nehanda Radio