Tunakie

Born to Namibian parents in Angola, Tunakie is a traditional musician who began singing when she was a teenager. Her parents moved back to Namibia when she was eight. She was raised by her grandmother in Ontananga village. She started singing and dancing for a music group called Kakulu Kadhi Mungunda in Ontananga. She was the lead singer of the group and soon stood out. In 2004, she was offered a recording deal by a local record label in Oshakati, which she signed to.

Her debut song, ‘Wameme’ won her the first Sanlam-NBC award. She later moved to Windhoek, where she began working with session musicians to fuse her Oshiwambo traditional music with contemporary music. In 2005, she released her debut album ‘Ombwila’. It was followed by ‘Going Back to My Roots’ in 2008. Her other albums include ‘Ondjila’ and ‘Endunge’. In 2014, the Shambo queen was nominated at the Kora Awards in the Best Southern African Artist of the Year category. Apart from Namibia, Tunakie has performed in the US, UK, Czech Republic, Spain and Austria.