Kay Figo

Born 23 July 1985, Kay Figo (real name Cynthia Kayula Bwalya) is one of the best female artists to emerge out of Zambia. Kay is short name for Kayula and Figo means freedom. She was born to Benson Bwalya and Melody Mukupa in a small mining town called Luanshya. Her music is a fusion of ragga, Rnb and pop rhythms. She is also famous for the Zambian music style called dunka dunka. At the age of nine, she was already showing signs of loving music. She started singing at a very tender age of 9. At the age of 14, she founded a music group called PAK WV which comprised of her two friends. PAK WV won several talent shows.

Her career was on the rise when she completed high school and began doing solo performances. In 2010, she released a single called ‘Chachilamo’ (meaning it’s too much). The song was well-received and it had a massive airplay from local radio and television stations. This saw her being nominated in the Best New Artist at the Born & Bred Music Video Awards.

Kay never stopped recording. She went back in the studio to record her album called ‘Kanyelele’. The album included hit songs such as ‘Kanyelele’, ‘Phone’, ‘Chachilamo’ and ‘Wandowa’. It reportedly sold over a thousand copies. In 2012, her single ‘Shelle’ won her the ‘Best Female Video’ category at the Born & Bred Music Video Awards. In 2013, she was nominated at the Zambian Music Awards in the Best Female Album Contemporary category.

This was followed by the launch of her single titled ‘Nto Nto Nto’ (meaning bit by bit).