Yvonne Machaka who is popularly known as Yvonne Chaka Chaka is a South African female music artist, singer, songwriter, entrepreneur, humaitarian and also a teacher who has gained international recognition for mainly because of her music and has been at the forefront of the South African popular music for close to 27 years.
Yvonne Chaka Chaka was born in a place called Dobsonville which is found in Soweto in South Africa. Yvonne Chaka Chaka had a very rough childhood while growing up.
Her mother is a domestic worker who managed to bring up her three daughters on the small income that she earned as a salary of 40 South African Rand.
At the age of 11, Yvonne Chaka Chaka lost her father who was an aspiring music artist and now it was upon her mother to take care of her and her other siblings. Yvonne Chaka Chaka started doing music when she reached the age of 19.
This was after her talent was spotted by Phil Hollis of Dephon records back in 1984 in the South African city of Johannesburg.
Yvonne Chaka Chaka studied at the University of South Africa where she graduated and obtained a diploma in Adult Education and then later enrolled in the same university and got her degree in local government, management and administration.
In 1997, Yvonne Chaka Chaka studied speech and drama at the college called Trinity College which is found in London.
Yvonne Chaka Chaka who was nicknamed the Princess of Africa experienced a meterioric rise to becoming a music star as a result of her infectious pop melodies and dance music at the time when apartheid was at it's highest point in South Africa.
Yvonne Chaka Chaka's first music album was called "Iam in Love with a DJ" and this album had songs like Iam burning up, I cry for freedom, Sangoma, Motherland and also the ever popular Umqombothi which made Chaka Chala become a household name in South Africa and also all over Africa as a whole.
In 1987,Yvonne Chaka Chaka reeased another album that was called Sangoma and it was worked on by the Mercury Records. Some of the songs that are found in that album are Sangoma, Come a little bit closer, private lover, Save me, Stimela, and Iam gonna stop loving you.
As a result of her musical success, Yvonne Chaka Chaka has been able to meet a number of people and one of these was Nelson Mandela who called her his daughter and said that Yvonne Chaka Chaka's music gave them hopw while they were still in prison in Robben Island.
Yvonne Chaka Chaka was invited to perform at the 85th birthday of Nelson Mandela in South Africa.
She has also been able to meet people like Oprah Winfrey the American media mogul and also Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom.
Yvonne Chaka Chaka is also a business woman and she owns a music label and also a production company alongside a Limousine company with her husband who is called Dr. Tiny Mhinga.
Yvonne Chaka Chaka has been involved in humanitarian activities and has become champion of an organisation called Global Fund whose mission is to fight AIDs epidemic, Tuberculosis and also Malaria around Africa and the world as a whole.
She was appointed as the Good Will Ambasador for the Roll Back Malaria partnership.
Yvonne Chaka Chaka also became a board member of Information Technology companies, Human Resource Development and Sandown Motors.
In 2001, Yvonne Chaka Chaka became the face of First National Bank (FNB) and in 2006, Yvonne Chaka Chaka decided to start her own charity organisation which she called The Princess of Africa Foundation. Yvonne Chaka Chaka has also served as an honory colonel in the South African Air Force.
In 2015, Yvonne Chaka Chaka was able to sign a one campaign letter that was sent to German chancellor Angela Merkel that was urging the members of the G7 to focus their efforts on women as they serve society.
She has also joined the initiative that is helping to support orphaned students across Africa to get access to quality tertiary education.
Yvonne Chaka Chaka has been an inspiration and a great role model the youths in South Africa and all over Africa especially the women and girls out showing them that it is possible to achieve success irrespective of where you come from or your skin colour or where you were born.
She continues to be an inspiration to all.
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