News & Articles 
The ‘Princess of Africa’ on Idols, motherhood, and the dangers of performing live
Yvonne Chaka Chaka KNOWN all over the African continent as the Princess of Africa, South African music icon Yvonne Chaka Chaka now wants her voice heard in other ways. As a Goodwill Ambassador to Unicef, she travels the world raising awareness around health issues and the rights of women.
Today, all South African kids are born into freedom, but they also have a sense of entitlement. The cry is “my friends have it, why can’t I?” You have to teach your children they don’t have to compare themselves with any other family.
Being a mum to four boys — Ningi 29, Themba 26, Mfumu 21 and 17-year-old Mandla — has to be the hardest job in the world. It’s much harder than being a performer. There’s no script. But one thing we knew for sure, my husband Tiny (Mhinga) and I, was that the boys must follow their own dreams. Only Themba, thank goodness, wants to be in the music industry and he’s already doing well.
My mother, Sophie Machaka, was a domestic worker. And although she had very little education, she was smart. Really smart. My father died when I was 11 and my mother was left with three girls to bring up — no easy task. She desperately wanted me to become a lawyer — to have a solid qualification and be able to support myself.
I went to varsity but after failing Afrikaans three times and knowing I could sing, my life took another course. But my mother’s wish was always on my mind, so eventually I studied adult education, local government and administration as well as obtaining a certificate in speech and drama from Trinity College in London.
When I was growing up, there was a wonderful old lady, Mrs Ratebe, who lived across the road from us. Each week, she’d round up all the kids in the area and march
us off to her church to read, sing, dance and most importantly to debate. Above all, this woman taught us to love ourselves and want to go forward with our lives.
Colour doesn’t matter — it’s what’s under the skin. I went to The White House as a guest of Mrs Bush, I’ve met Queen Elizabeth and Oprah and many other great people. But what I’ve learnt most is that we ’re all just human beings.
I’ve never felt overwhelmed by anyone. Whether I’m with royalty or the people in Alexandra township — they’re people. The main thing is to believe in yourself. It doesn’t matter what background you come from — that shouldn’t stop you from becoming the best you can be.
You can’t start out qualified for marriage. When you go to school, you leave with a certificate. When you go to college or university, you leave with a certificate. With marriage they give you a certificate before you even start. Now isn’t that stupid? Nobody explains that marriage needs understanding and a lot of give and take.
When I met my husband, people said our marriage wouldn’t last three months. He was a doctor and I was, horror of horrors, a musician! Even if he’d been a bus driver, it wouldn’t have made any difference.
I’m so aware of the many blessings I’ve received in my life and have always wanted to give back. By being made a Goodwill Ambassador for Unicef I’ve been given a tool to reach people. I wanted to make a difference and teach people about malaria, which kills so many people, especially young pregnant women in Africa. This is unacceptable in this day and age.
I started my own charity. It is the Princess of Africa Foundation, which raises awareness around the fact that malaria kills almost a million Africans a year, most of them children.
Idols gives young performers a showcase. I’m really happy that there’s a showcase for these young musicians. Not everyone is academic and at least this gives them a chance to show what they’ve got.
Performing can be dangerous. Last year during my Motherland Tour performance at Sun City, with all my family in the front row, nogal, I had to do a quick change while Abigail Kubheka and Dorothy Masuka were on stage. This meant tying on a boob tube, which I did, upside down. Only when I got on stage and was into my first song did I realise that at any moment I would expose myself to the nation.
Love and respect yourself. My mother always said the best thing you can do is to love and respect yourself, so others can share and respect you.
I’m really happy with myself at 45. In fact, I feel as though I’ve come alive. Time marches on and I accept that — but I certainly don’t want to be 35 again. After all, today’s 60 is yesterday’s 40, so I’ve got a lot to look forward to. — Marion Scher
