BET award winner Charmaine Shamiso Mapimbiro, popularly known as Sha Sha, has teamed up with yet another power woman in music for her latest musical release “Give me something”, featuring Rowlene.
The two powerhouse vocalists come together on the fresh new track to deliver R&B melodies and their voices mesh creating a moving record.
“Give Me Something” is built around Sha Sha and Rowlene’s beautiful voices, soaring keys and the most subtle of beats that breathe life into a song about a girl going through a breakup but realising she has not moved on from the past, or her partner.
In a conversation with IOL Entertainment, Sha Sha said the journey to making the song was a long time coming, with its interesting journey from 2020.
Sha Sha created the song with producer Dakarai Gwitira when he was in South Africa and sat with it for a while before finding the perfect collaborator.
Sha Sha reached out to Rowlene through DMs, which is where a lot of great things happen. The two immediately connected and found themselves in deep conversation connecting about music, like old friends.
At the time Rowlene was in the UK, the two worked virtually together on the song and now it’s all come together.
Sha Sha’s collaboration with Rowlene comes shortly after her release of “Themba Lami” featuring Ami Faku, one wouldn’t be wrong to sense a pattern of Sha Sha leading with strong female collaborations for her upcoming album “I’m Alive”.
“I felt there aren’t enough women working together and from working on ‘Phakade Lami’ with Nomfundo I just made it like a thing that I would really like to work with more females and see what we can create,” Sha Sha said.
“Leading towards the album, you are going to be so shocked, there’s quite a diverse type of sounds in there. For me, one thing I've truly appreciated is how people have welcomed me and enjoyed my music,” she said.
Sha Sha on August 19 dropped the music video for her collaboration with Ami Faku, the video is on 158 061 views on YouTube.
Shooting the visuals was a full day of work, with people on set from 7am. However, when you are doing something you love and working with your friend, things tend to be fun.
“Everyone came together to bring such a beautiful body of work. We had Low come up with the really beautiful looks we worked with David Tlale and Yenzo killing it with film. It was such a busy day. Me and Ami are really good friends. We are out there joking around, it was a vibe,” she said.
While she does tap into other genres, Sha Sha has earned herself the title of the “Queen of Amapiano” but at heart she is an R&B head.
Her doing R&B now is just another way for her to express herself as an artist and show her growth. “It’s about me being able to express myself in different genres,” Sha Sha said.
“I feel like music is an outlet for me, a way I can express myself. I’m tapping into different spaces, different genres,” she said.
Her upcoming album “I’m Alive” has a title that makes a person pay attention, it’s a loaded statement, to say the least.
As her album title suggests, Sha Sha has undergone a “rebirth”, for three months she went silent on social media. When she returned to social platforms, she posted the album cover work for the album, dressed in a purple suit and durag announcing her return.
“It’s intense,” says Sha Sha before she breaks down how the album is broken into two parts telling her journey. With so much having taken place in her career and her personal life, she says the album was a form of therapy for her.
“It’s more of a reflection on my journey with finding myself, to my spirituality and love and those things are the most important things to me now,” she said.
“With ‘I’m Alive’ there are certain things that had to die, be it low frequencies, or things that I caught on with being famous.”
It’s hard to think of Sha Sha without DJ Maphorisa not coming to mind, the vocalist has worked with Blaqboy Music record label boss on several hits such as “Love you tonight” and “Akulaleki”.
Her music is being released through a joint venture between Sony Music and Blaqboy. She has left Lawk Communications and is now under Blaq Major.
As Sha Sha steps into her new chapter as a musician, her fans should expect her to be a bolder woman, who is in control and is owning who she is.
As we wrapped up our conversation, she said: “It’s good to be vulnerable sometimes, it’s good to tap into that space and feed that little girl. See how you as a woman can evolve to be the best version of yourself”.
“I’m Alive” is set to release on September 24 and “Give me something” is available on all streaming platforms.