Berita (Gugulethu Khumalo): age, life story, boyfriend, parents, songs, profile
Berita, aka Gugulethu Khumalo, is a household name in the music industry in the southern part of Africa, particularly South Africa and Zimbabwe. Berita has tremendously grown as a millennial singer and songwriter that has been gracing our screens with her melodious voice and great stage performances.
Source: Instagram
Berita traces her music passion back to when she was eighteen years old. She was practising in a church choir at Zhombe while still living with her parents. Besides being a singer and a songwriter, this multi-award winner is a guitarist and a music producer. Gugulethu has penned many hit songs and released albums that have catapulted her to where she is today. Below is all you need to know about the music star.
Berita profile summary
- Birth name: Gugulethu Khumalo
- Date of Birth: June 27, 1991
- Birth Place: Bulawayo City, Zimbabwe
- Nickname: Gugu
- Stage name: Berita Gugulethu Khumalo
- Berita age: 29 years
- Nationality: Zimbabwean
- Languages: Xhosa and English
- Height: 1.62 m
- Career: Songwriter, singer, guitarist, and music producer
- Years active: 2009–present
Gugulethu Khumalo biography
Berita was born in Bulawayo in Zimbabwe. The Afro-pop songstress is the firstborn in a family of five children. Berita parents, Mr Khumalo and Mrs Berita Khumalo, from whom she derives her stage name, were both school teachers. The singer many years in Bulawayo and Zhombe with her parents who worked in Rio Tinto. She got primary education in Rio Tinto.
The family later moved to New Zealand where they sought greener pastures from the harsh economic and political climate in Zimbabwe. In early 2012, her parents moved her to South Africa to pursue tertiary education at Walter Sisulu University located in the Eastern part of Cape Province.
She later enrolled at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University for Bachelor of Commerce degree and graduated. At this time, she started doing live performances and recordings, which turned out to be her lifetime career.
Source: Instagram
Early life and musical career
Having been born in a Christian family, she participated in the choir at their local church. She was staying with her parents while in school, but during school holidays, she often stayed with her grandparents.
Her social and networking skills with people are attributed to the fact that her parents exposed her to different people with different backgrounds. According to her mother, Berita had no interest in music until after she completed her A-levels in New Zealand.
However, after learning how to play the piano, her love for music was born. At the age of 18, she penned a few songs and bought a guitar. At first, her parents were against this sudden passion and decided to send her back to their motherland to study.
Despite all these, the guitarist sneaked in with her new musical instrument to Zimbabwe and proceeded to make a debut. She released her first album Conquering Spirit, which made her an award-winning artist. Since then, she has been living her life on stage.
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Music debut
While in Zimbabwe, Berita Gugulethu Khumalo was introduced to music scene through the renowned secular sounds of her music “father” Oliver Mtukudzi. Other notable influences were made by Andy Brown and Chiwoniso Maraire in the then-popular genre, the urban grooves.
Here are the Berita songs that became very popular:
- Thandolwethu
- Tell Me You Love Me
- Sukundishesha
- Notyatyambo
Berita albums
Apart from her debut album, Conquering Spirit, that catapulted her to fame, she has other albums including one with her most recent song as listed below:
- Songs in The Key of Love (2020)
- Songs of Employment (2014)
- Uthuthand’Umuntu (2011)
- Eyodidi (2015)
- Berita (2017)
Berita videos
The Tell Me You Love Me hitmaker has also done several videos which are claimed to be the supporting reasons behind her musical prowess. These videos include:
Source: Instagram
- Berita
- Berita Afro Soul
- Thandolwethu
- Ndicel’ikiss
- Makoti
- Nontytya
- Sukundixhesha
Berita awards and nominations
As a musician and talented guitarist, the popular songstress has been granted several honours within and outside her country. Some of her awards include:
- Music artist of the year - Zimbabwe Achievers Awards: 2019
- Best Female - Eastern Cape Music Awards: 2017
- Music artist of the year - Zimbabwe Achievers Awards: 2016
- Songwriter of the year - Wawela Music Awards: 2015
- Rising Star of the year - South African Afro Music Awards: 2015
- Best African pop album - Metro Fm Music Awards: 2013
The songbird was a nominee in the category of Best Afro-soul Artist at the hotly contested 8th annual SATMAs.
Love life
After the much-publicized 2018 heartbreak, the star finally revealed the man behind her rebuilt happiness. According to a recent interview, Berita boyfriend has done enough to rejuvenate her life both romantically as well as her career.
Source: Instagram
Through her last year’s tweets, the Ndicel’ Kiss hitmaker admitted going through a lot of regrets but recently, the singer has been gushing about her newfound love although she has decided to keep his identity private. She said in an interview with Sowetan live:
I am being taken care of (by my boyfriend), and he is very good for me and creates an environment for me to work well. Although I am not mentioning names, he makes me very happy.
Social media
Like other celebrities, the guitarist also meets her fans on the social media platforms with over 68 thousand followers on her Berita Instagram page @beritaafrosoul. On Twitter, the musician identifies herself as @BeritaAfroSoul.
In 2019, the Zimbabwean Achievers Winner lashed out at TNS, one of the renowned music producers in South Africa for using her vocals without permission. In an angry tweet, Berita called out the Umona musician for taking her voice in a song titled Ouna. The matter was later resolved.
Frequently asked questions about Berita
These are some of the most common questions about the star.
Is Berita from Zimbabwe?
Berita is a Zimbabwean-born living in South Africa. Having been taken to school in South Africa, she familiarized herself with the Eastern Cape Province where she traces her musical career.
Is Berita Xhosa?
Berita is not of Xhosa origin. However, having lived in South Africa for long, she developed an interest in speaking Xhosa, and her fluency in this language is what has brought this confusion and made South Africans claim her.
Berita Gugulethu Khumalo is a Zimbabwean musician known for her love of playing the guitar and live performances. She is a beautiful songstress and pop singer who is gifted with the melodious voice which has made her a sought-after entertainer globally.
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Source: Briefly News
