Lu Dlamini

Lu Dlamini is a South African singer and composer. A product of the esteemed Inanda Seminary, Lu Dlamini moved to Johannesburg in the 1980s and enrolled at Fuba Arts College to study music. It did not take the Johannesburg music fraternity long to realize that this was an exceptional voice. Soon she was in Kamazu’s band, then with Ali Katt, then with Brenda Fassie, where she stayed for three years. At the same time she was acting in 'Zikhethele 3', a popular TV youth series.

This was followed by a 10-year stint in the band of Sipho 'Hotstix' Mabuse. With this band Lu toured all over the world and gained vast amounts of experience on stage as well as in the recording studio. When her schedule with Hotstix allowed, she would also work with Sankomota and Mango Groove, among others.

Frequent touring in Europe, America and Japan fostered in her a healthy patriotic fervor, which led to a period running cultural exchange programs which are ongoing under the auspices of her artist outreach programme ‘Art Knows No Boundaries'. In 2010, producer Ian Osrin of Digital Cupboard introduced Lu to the world-renowned guitarist Steve Newman. They immediately decided to work together in the studio, culminating in the 'Jikanelanga' album project.

Internationally Dlamini's experience attests to her talents as a backing vocalist. While a backing singer for renowned trombonist Jonas Gwangwa in the resident band for Dali Tambo’s 'Night Moves' show on M-Net, she also backed foreign stars such as Mick Hucknall from Simply Red and Grace Jones. In 2011 she sang on songs by Beyonce, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Coldplay for Grammy-winning American producer Kenny Young’s 'Rhythms Del Mundo' project. But the call of the KwaZulu-Natal's South Coast, where she grew up, was too strong and she moved home in 2012. Today Lu continues to compose her own music, with lyrics in isiZulu, Portuguese and English. In 2016 she released a new album, 'Ulimi-Lami', at the Playhouse in Durban.