From riches to rags: The fall of South African Afro-fusion musician Zahara from glory

Undoubtedly, she was dupped as the next big thing to ever happen to Mzansi’s entertainment industry, but she had a fall from glory. Years later, after her thrust into the limelight, Zahara has become unpopular and has been making headlines for the wrong reasons.

She made all sorts of headlines back then in 2011, but her talent quickly fizzled out and left Mzansi wondering what might have gone wrong. Bulelwa Mkutukana is a celebrated South African Afro-pop fusion musician known as Zahara.

Zahara
Zahara – Source: Instagram
In 2011 she became South Africa’s darling after signing to TS Records. After being signed under TS Records, she released her debut album Loliwe. The album was a complete success as it reached double-platinum status in the year of its release. Two years down the line, she went on drop her second studio album. Like Loliwe, her second album topped the charts and saw her winning big on local and regional awards.

In 2015 she dropped her third album, Country Girl, before calling it quits with TS Records. Years later, after their fallout, the bubbly musician has it that she was not paid her royals and add-ons despite dropping three albums which reached platinum statuses with the record label.

From riches to rags: The fall of South African Afro-fusion musician Zahara from glory
She went on to join the international record label Warner Music. Two years after leaving TS Records, she released her much-anticipated album Mgodi in 2017. Like any other album, it was certified platinum and best selling album. In 2021 her fifth album Ngaba Yam became number one on iTunes. In the wake of her newfound fame, she has managed to win 17 South African Music Awards. However, apart from those accolades, she also scooped Metro FM Awards.

 

 

 
Zahara with her SAMAs
Zahara with her SAMAs. Image: Instagram/Zahara
She also managed to win away from home at the Nigeria Entertainment Awards and even made it into BBC’s 100 women list. However, of late, she has been reported to be broke, and several videos of herself drunk in public have flooded social media. A few months ago, she was halted before the Johanessburg Commercial Crimes Court in Palm Ridge Magistrates Court.

She was nabbed for contravening South African Tax Laws after she failed to provide revenue payouts for the years 2017 and 2018 to the South African Revenue Service (SARS). The musician was also seen begging for money whilst performing in one of her performances. In the mix of things, Mzansi blamed her PR managers for not coming on board in the wake of her financial woes. Rumour mill has it that she has lost several valuable assets if late due to debts and legal fees.