Mpumi

Nompumelelo Claudia Mzobe, otherwise known as Mpumi, is a South African singer and songwriter. She was born on 19 January 1982 at Ndwendwe, KwaZulu-Natal. Her music is best described as House and Afro-Soul. 

She grew up in a disadvantaged household in rural KZN with her four siblings and her mother. She enrolled at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) to study video technology. Unfortunately, after completing her first year, she had to drop out due to financial difficulties. She caught her lucky break in 2001 when she joined Mbongeni Ngema's Committed Artists on a learnership and got professional training in music, dance and acting. The experience inspired her to fully commit her future to music and entertainment, but she first wanted to complete her educational journey. In 2002, she decided to re-enrol at DUT and graduated with a Diploma in Television Studies. She then went on to work as a post-production sound mixer at the SABC. 

Her music career truly took off in 2013 when she featured on Heavy K’s album called Respect the Drumboss. The song “Wena”, which featured her, was a hit and was a big factor in propelling her career. Within that same year, she featured in another hit song by Euphonik (now Themba) called “Love High”. She has gone on to release more music throughout the years.