Erna Chimu

BIO

Erna Chimu was born in Ondekaremba Farm in Namibia. She grew up with her grandmother in a strict Khoe-Khoe setting. Her love for music is attributed to Shemyetu, an influential Namibian reggae artist. In 2007, Chimu was one of the Namibian musicians to perform at the 2008 Old Mutual Jazz Encounters in South Africa, where she shared the stage with Lira and Sipho ‘Hotstix’ Mabuse. She made her second appearance at the Old Mutual Jazz Encounters in 2010, where she also shared the stage with South African acts such as Freshlyground and Vusi Mahlasela.

In November 2009, the songster released her debut album, ‘Imamakunguwe’. It earned the artist a number of awards, including Best Khoe-Jazz at the 2009 Ma/Gaisa awards and Best Traditional Song at the 2010 NAMAs. In 2014 she released ‘Hai Serute’, which earned her awards for Best Instrumental ( Jazz), Best Traditional Song and Female Artist of the Year at the 2014 Namibian Annual Music Awards (NAMA).
She is a leader of a band that comprises of Gerson Doeseb (keyboards), Samuel Batola (guitar & vocals), Jean Pierre Ntsika (bass guitar), Manneckey Khoe-Aob (cagon & percussions), Guichont Bikomou (drums), Onai Patricia Mutizwa (mbira & vocals), Lebohang Mothabeng (drums), Avo Emilio (backing vocals), Piu Fernandes, Afron Nyambali (bass) and Tayo Kasinda (bass).