The first time I saw Zamani perform was at a summer barbecue. She along with her cousin got up and did a few renditions ‘on the fly’ as if this was just an everyday thing. The crowd cheered loudly throughout the performance.

There would be many more occasions like this in the coming two years – a basement performance at her house with her dad on guitar and several other musicians in tow, a performance at East Coast Music Awards, OBEY XII and most recently her performance at Halifax Jazz Festival 2019, where she took home the Stingray Rising Star Award!

Snapshot – Zamani’s Story-Book ENT. interview

Zamani’s music has been described as many things ‘captivating, soulful, refreshingly pure’ and each time I witness her perform I’m blown away by the talent of this young woman, who just recently turned 18.

As part of the launch of Story-Book Entertainment, I made Zamani a top priority to feature. We recently sat down in a one-on-one interview, that came on the heels of her Halifax Jazz Festival performance and chatted on a great deal..

Here’s a snippet of the interview below.

Zamani’s Interview (Snippet)

1.  Story-Book Entertainment (SBE): What brought you to performance?

Zamani: My parents are very musical. I grew up around a lot of different types of music – Jazz, R &B, gospel..  also, my father is a guitar player and my mom’s a singer (acapella), that kind of transferred onto me and became a huge part of who I am.

2. SBE:You mentioned that you first performed at Halifax Jazz Festival at 14 years old, how did it feel to perform today?

Zamani: It felt like coming full circle. Last time my dad had a gig and he just brought me up for one song. Now, it’s the other way around. I had the gig and brought him up and it’s like a milestone in my musical career, so yeah.

3.  SBE:How inspires you as an artist?

Zamani: Musically, when I produce my music and tracks, I would say a big inspiration would be Tyler, The Creator. Another would be Beyonce, Daniel Caesar. Vocally, Beyonce has had a major influence on the way I sing, as well as Mariah Carey. I listen to them a lot and try to practice their sound to improve my skills.

However, when it comes to performance, I like watching a lot of old school videos (smiles), I love watching Stevie Wonder and a lot of girl groups as well …

Stay tuned for the full video feature on our website & social media platforms in a few weeks!

Be sure to follow Zamani on:

SoundCloud – https://soundcloud.com/zamanifolade

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pg/zamanifolade/posts/

Photo by Lauren Dial