Yvonne Chaka Chaka (born Yvonne Machaka on 18 March 1965) is an internationally recognised South African singer, songwriter, actress, entrepreneur, humanitarian and teacher. Yvonne was born in Dobsonville in Soweto. She became the first Black child to appear on South African television. In 1981 “Sugar Shack”, a talent show, introduced her to the South African public.

In 1985, a guy by the name of Louis Hlophe took Yvonne to Dephon Records where he was working and they were doing singing auditions. When they got there, at the Dephon Records, Phil Hollis, the music producer and songwriter, played her the beat of “Mr DJ” and “it is raining in the city” and asked her, to sing over and after that he asked her, if she liked the beats and he said to her, she must come back on Monday, Yvonne thought of not going back there, but her conscious said to her, she must be honest and she went back and the rest was history, her début album was recorded, called “I’m in Love with a DJ’ . She went on to record songs like “I’m Burning Up”, “I Cry for Freedom”, “Sangoma”,”Motherland” and the ever-popular, “Umqombothi” immediately ensured Chaka Chaka’s status as a star on South Africa’s music scene.Yvonne said, she never had a beef with Brenda but one time, they were chilling, Brenda poured her with alcohol and she settled with her in an African way. Yvonne said, Brenda was naughty, sometimes. Yvonne said to Brenda, they should come together and make their own conglomerate record company but Brenda said to her, “uphambene” (you are crazy). Yvonne, she praised Brenda for giving black girls that hope and being an inspiration to black girls. She said, she grew up in International Pentecost Holiness Church, (IPHC) and she had convulsions when she was young, and her parents took her to IPHC. In 1981 she was at the IPHC church in Oskraal with a group of children singing, Modise the founder of the church singled her out and prayed for her and he said to her “God is showing her this child will travel the world, she will sing for the Kings and Queens,”and she said, she was only 14. By that time she didn’t dream about being a singer and she never thought of traveling and she wondered why and how. And she got healed from the convulsions and she says till this day, she is an IPHC at heart even if she is not going to the church at more.