Songstress and music producer Zonke Dikana is back and proving that talent will always keep you afloat. The musician released the second hit single from her highly anticipated upcoming album yesterday and it has shot straight to number one on digital music streaming platforms within a couple of hours after its release. Zonke’s latest single titled Oko is a melodious neo-soul sound about a consistent love story.
Read more: Zonke Chatted To Tbo Touch About Her Latest Work And Here’s Our Recap
The artist took to her social media and shared this feat with a screenshot showing her hit single “Ok” holding the number one spot for the most streamed single in the country beating songs from artists such as Psy, Amapiano princess Uncle Waffle’s Tanzania, and Master KG’s Dali Nguwe featuring Nkosazana Daughter and other artists.
On Thursday afternoon, the star sat with Tbo Touch at Metro FM studios for a radio interview where she spoke about her upcoming album, both singles released, and a bit about her personal life including her current career change which is in aviation.
The R&B and Afro Soul musician holds a versatile catalog under her belt where she’s dabbled in genres such as Jazz, Kwaito to Soul. She deliberately takes four-year breaks between every body of work she releases and that helps her ground herself and focus on producing high-quality music. She told Tbo Touch, “So I release every four years, so there’s always an absence of mine every four years and then I’ll come back on the 5th year and release.”
She added that her whole musical career is modeled after her idol Sade who maintains a stellar exclusivity in the entertainment industry. “By the way, my business model was kind of modeled after my icon and inspiration Sade. I feel like we have similar personalities, I do not have an out there personality, although I am a nice person…” she continued to mention how her exclusivity has helped her career, “I know I can have a career in this industry without being out there. I am exclusive but I still perform at sold-out concerts every time.”
The artist also mentioned that her love for music is beyond just money, she says she does it for her fans and her undeniable passion for music. However, she still exclaims that artists are not making enough money in the country, she adds that musicians should be able to pay off their houses, cars, and overall lifestyles from their musical careers.
Moreover, Zonke shared with over 6 million listeners that she has never had someone write her songs throughout her musical career. When Tbo Touch asked if Zonke would use a song written for her she responded, “Nobody has ever written me a song. I’ve never asked for songs…” she continued, “in my entire existence I’ve made my own music, I have my own studio at home and I compose my own music.” She added that she’s also responsible for the production of her albums as well.
“The last album that was produced by anyone else was my debut album by Kalawa music. After that, from Ina Ethe to date has been produced by me. I don’t sleep when I am not the one working on my own music.”
She said she asked Oskido on her second album to be the one that works on her music and he never approved at first. She said she threatened to leave and it all worked out for her in the end. Zonke is now an independent artist.
She hasn’t announced an official release date for her upcoming album but teased that it will be available by the second half of the year with a feature from her late sister Lulu Dikana.