Afro-pop and R&B artist Flavour Shediva, real name Chaze Ndubano, is on a mission to make her mark in the music industry.
The Katima Mulilo-born singer (27) made her debut in June with the release of two singles: ‘By Fire By Force’, featuring Kavango’s Tkb, and ‘My Story Line’, featuring S.I.S and Lee Rose.
‘My Story Line’ tells her life story, including the challenges she faced being raised by a single mother.
“It has been a tough time for me – especially the past four years of my university life. It was difficult having family members who could have seen me through my struggle but didn’t. I did the song expressing my feelings about how I thought we could live if we were there for each other as family,” she says.
Flavour Shediva says life as a musician can be strenuous at times – especially when people react negatively to her music.
“You get people who actually love your songs, but don’t support you. Sometimes you advertise your songs and people promise to support you, but they never do. I have learnt that as artists we shouldn’t follow everything people say on social media. I have also experienced people comparing me to other artists. This may not always be a bad thing, but for me it depends on who they are comparing me with,” she says.
The lack of fairness when it comes to airplay saddens her, Flavour Shediva says.
“In some cases DJs have their favourite musicians, so they will always play their favourite songs. This does not help promote upcoming artists.”
Her interest in music was inspired by South Africa’s biggest reality talent competition, ‘Idols’.
“Every time I watched the show my love for music kept growing. The show uplifted and excited me. A while later my best friend, Deonte Mathe, made me listen to her songs. I liked her work and told myself if she can do it, I can too.”
Flavour Shediva says she was a shy child who would never have dreamt of standing in front of a crowd singing. In 2013 she stepped into the studio and recorded her first song.
Her first studio experience brought about mixed feelings, she says.
“I was scared because I had no clue how it works, but in the end I was filled with happiness because it felt so good listening to my own voice.”
Her first track was a gospel song, but the artist says she is more into Afro-pop songs now.
“I really like to dance to my own songs. Music is such a beautiful thing. It is something that calms me down when I’m upset or depressed. It heals me when I’m broken. Music is like medicine to my soul,” she says.
Besides her music career, Flavour Shediva is also a final-year student at the University of Namibia (Unam) in social sciences and English.
In her spare time she enjoys being at home, being a mother and catching up on her favourite series and movies.
