About Lizha James
Hometown
Mozambique
Born
December 12, 1982
Genre
Afro-Pop
One of the most popular artists in Lusophone Africa (the Portuguese-speaking African countries), Mozambique's Lizha James has a signature sound that combines marrabenta, reggae, Afro-house, R&B, hip-hop, and the regional hybrid rhythm and singing style dzukuta pandza. Breaking into the mainstream in 2005 with the release of her sophomore effort, Rainha do Ragga, James has remained at the fore of the Lusophone music scene, issuing chart-topping singles like "Chocolate" and "Quem Ti Mandou," while incorporating elements of kwaito, house, and dancehall into her sonic arsenal.
Born Elisa Lisete James Humbane, James developed her love of music singing in the church choir. At 14 years old, she joined a local house music group, but by 2000 she had decided to break out on her own. After releasing her debut album, Watching You, James spent the next few years as a successful print model. She returned to her music career in 2005 and released Rainha do Ragga, which featured the hit "4 All Ya." The video for the single took home multiple awards and helped build momentum for her third long-player, the dynamic Sentimentos de Mulher, which housed the chart-topping singles "Lutas Entre Familias" and "Aniguiri" and adopted a more marrabenta and reggae-forward style. Singles like 2011's "Nandi We" and "Stop Trafico" saw James tackling social issues like domestic violence and child trafficking, and in 2015 she found international success with the Afro-house hit "Chocolate." James continued to refine her sound on subsequent efforts like "Filho Pródigo" (2018), "Ni Txati Mina" (2019), and "Mais Um Beijo" (2020), the latter of which featured South Korean rapper G2. ~ James Christopher Monger
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