Berita’s journey with music began when she was a child, as a result of her love for the radio. She says that she fell in love with the local Zimbabwean music she heard on the radio while growing up. Her influences ranged from Oliver Mtukudzi, Chiwoniso Maraire, Lovemore Majaivane, and Urban grooves to name a few. Having grown up in Bulawayo her holidays were punctuated with the likes of Brenda Fassie, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Lucky Dube, and Bongo Muffin. Eventually, she graduated to international artists who would go on to also inspire her music style.

“When I was 16, I moved to New Zealand with my parents who found work as dairy farmers while my siblings and I studied. Around this time, I started listening to pop music by artists like Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran.  On my dad’s off days; he would play music from Paul Simon, Bra Hugh Masekela Miriam Makeba, and Thandiswa Mazwai. It is at his point that I discovered Afropop music.”

When her first hit, Thandolwethu, became a success she was only in the second year of her university studies. Like more and more millennial artists she chose to stay in school despite her career taking off. She did this because of a promise she had made to herself and her parents.

“I believe that when you start something you should finish it off. I am the firstborn of five children, and I promised my parents that I would get an education first before I ventured into music. Therefore, I had to keep that promise. It also helps me now because initially, I was balancing being a student during the week and an artist during the weekend, now I’m balancing being a businesswoman and an artist.”

Yes, not only is she a graduate and a multi-award-winning artist but she is an entrepreneur as well. What is her business? Herself. After a few years under a record label, she decided to venture out and start her own record label and thus becoming an independent artist. She says that this was inspired by two things; firstly, she was inspired to own the rights to the music that she records, writes and produces. Secondly, she wanted to follow in the footsteps of the women in her family; that took the bold step of forging their own paths.

“My grandmother on my maternal side was widowed at the age of 24, and she had four children at that stage. I can’t imagine how difficult that was for her. I look at myself now at 28 and I don’t even own a pet let alone have a whole family to take care of. She decided to start a vegetable garden in order to fend for her family. I don’t know of many women in the 60s who decided to be entrepreneurs and managed to provide for their children. My grandmother on my dad’s side was a domestic worker who supplemented her income by sewing and selling clothes in her neighbourhood. Although I never got to meet her, I hear she was a fierce woman. That is why after releasing 3 albums I decided that I wanted to take ownership of my brand just like my grandmothers, that is why I named my company after the both of them. My grans may not have been big powerful entrepreneurs, but they were independent and bold enough to take charge of their lives and chase after what they wanted.”

Of course, entrepreneurship is not all sunshine and roses for anyone let alone an independent artist. She says that what keeps her going is the knowledge that this is a legacy for her grandmothers and the people that work for her. She must work hard because she knows that her team must put food on the table and take care of their families.

A lot of people probably wonder why the star sings her songs in the isiXhosa language when she is isiNdebele speaking. She attributes this to the university that she went to, which was in a predominantly Xhosa region. Thus, her first audience was Xhosa speaking and she wanted to be relatable to them, and it worked.

“I moved to South Africa for university because I grew up listening to so much South African music, I knew that if there was a place where I had shot at being successful it would there. I never consciously made the decision to sing in isiXhosa, I just happened to go to an isiXhosa speaking university and as such my first audience was isiXhosa speaking, I wanted to make music they could relate to. I also realized all Nguni people are one people so there is nothing wrong with me mixing my isiNdebele with isiXhosa because this represents who I am as an artist.”

A particularly interesting aspect of Berita’s career is the time that she spent with the late legend Oliver Mtukudzi.

“Ubaba uOliver Mtukudzi played a fatherly role in my life from the moment I released my first album.He invited me to Harare for my first big concert, sharing the stage with him and his late friend the legendary Hugh Masekela. I am the only artist to have a project with both of them. I am glad that through me they managed to complete a part of the project they had been working on. This project was an album that they didn’t manage to finish due to the unfortunate passing of ubaba uHugh Masekela. That song will now be a legacy for them as legends. “

“Initially we naturally gravitated towards each other because we thought the same way and eventually, we took more intentional steps to support each other as female musicians. I think that It’s important that we create our own table instead of constantly begging for a seat at the table. My first step towards this was having an event with an all-female line up; from the musicians, the MC, to the DJ. Everything was all about girl power!”

She’s had a very difficult journey in her career because not only is she a woman, but she is very young in comparison to the other people who are currently prominent in her industry. This is all too familiar to all of us, not being taken seriously because of our age and our gender, is something most young women face in all spheres of life. This is exactly what makes Tamy relatable because when we look at her, we see ourselves, both in her struggles and her success.

“You know how it is to be a woman in any industry, you have to work ten times as hard in order to receive the same accolades as the men. The lack of unity amongst some women isn’t exactly encouraging either because while we compete amongst ourselves the men keep progressing. Being young hasn’t made things easier for me as a lot of the times older people are given preferential treatment because they feel that you still have a long way to go anyway so they will focus on you later.”

We have all watched her grow up with us and in front us; recently she went through a major rebrand that was both unexpected because of how daring it is but also well received. She attributes it to her growth both as an artist and as a woman.

“I believe that an artist should never be confined to one thing because once they do that they limit who they are and what they are capable of. It is important for me to express myself accordingly during the different stages in my life, from what I write about to what I sing about. I think that the rebrand was inspired by my growth as a person, as a musician and as an artist.”

She says that it’s quite ironic that when she felt her darkest that’s when she wanted to be her brightest in terms of her visuals. This has been therapeutic as well because it’s been a difficult phase in her life where she has been trying to figure herself out and find her place as an artist. She describes this stage as an experimental stage where she is trying to figure out who she is.

When you listen to her music it is not very difficult to hear the theme of positivity and encouragement in her lyrics. What the reason behind this? Well, she says that she usually writes those songs to encourage people but when she listens to the music, she realizes that she was saying those things to herself.

“I’ve never actually said this out loud, but I am my own therapist. I often realize that when I say things to encourage other people, those things are usually what I wanted to hear at that moment as well. Like I said, this is the age where you question a lot about life.”

Tamy says that her mother has been her biggest influence because of how fierce and independent she is. She taught her how to stand her ground and to be confident in her dreams. She is also inspired by Tiwa Savage’s success both on the continent and internationally. Particularly what a well-rounded artist Tiwa is as a singer, songwriter, and content creator. She hopes that one day she will have the honor of collaborating her. Most of all, she loves Beyoncé, that’s a no brainer because, who doesn’t right?

The music industry is tough but sometimes we are our own stumbling block in our journeys. According to Tamy the biggest challenge she has faced has been overcoming self-doubt. She says that she is her biggest critic to a fault because sometimes it ends up crippling her. It seems unlikely that someone we all admire could be plagued by self-doubt, but imposter syndrome is very common among a lot of people and even the brightest of stars are not immune from it.