Yvonne Chaka Chaka

What’s the highest podium? What’s the top box, the hotshot, the zenith any and every player in any field could hope to achieve? What comes after getting to the height of your game and becoming a star? Iconic status — that’s what! 

Who better to share the grace and guts required in becoming an Icon of the music biz? Who better to teach you the songs of your soul and the shape of an African woman’s power in an oppressed world, while keeping it real and paying it forward? Who better than the Princess of Africa, Yvonne Chaka Chaka. 

This is the story of her home run: the Playbox that’s out the box, into the heart and over the fence of fairytale fortune. Yvonne Chaka Chaka shares it all: how she vibrato’ed her way into a league of her own, and has the trophies to prove it.

It’s a name as iconic and historic in South African culture as Brenda Fassie, Miriam Makeba and even Madiba. While it’s not her birth name, “Yvonne Chaka Chaka” has served as both a moniker and a passport to stages, spaces and places beyond Yvonne’s wildest dreams. 

Learn about the real backstory of a superstar’s name: how it happens, why it happens and to what extent your stage name will make or break your identity as a rising star.

Growing up with an adoring father that loved music, Yvonne reminisces about a sacred time in her childhood and takes you through the house she remembers on a Saturday morning. She shares the art of making fire: what it means to own it, light it up and bring it into your performance. 

Learn the real hacks that’ll catapult you to Icon Status early in your career, long before the flames burn out.

Welcome to “Singing 101” with Yvonne Chaka Chaka. Is that even possible? Our iconic songstress digs her notes in deep during this nuts-and-bolts episode of singing like a pop star. From owning your vibrato to having the courage to cross genres to develop your unique style, Yvonne takes us on a journey of breath and basics – and then some. 

Learn her secrets to holding a note the iconic way – and get in on Yvonne’s Top 5 must-haves that’ll raise the stakes and shoot you higher. 

What’s the one note that always rings true inside us; that one thing that spurs up from the deep and leads us right or left? 

Yvonne answers a burning question in the industry that has seen the rise and fall of many stars, based on one crucial star quality: the inner ear. And what does it have to do with ear training and musicality? Not one thing. Take it away, Princess!

If you really want to know fire, flames, heat and the unparalleled sensation of thrill in a stadium filled with over 100 000 screaming fans, there’s no better woman to teach you “how” than the Princess of Africa herself, Yvonne Chaka Chaka. For decades she has wowed crowds worldwide with her show-stopping energy, performance and prowess. 

In this episode, the consummate professional shares her insider tips on what it means to master your stage presence, warm the mic, captivate the fans, and do it all — with style and grace — even when you stage dive.

A critical part of performing live on-stage is to have a knock-out band behind you. Learn how Yvonne really feels about singing with a band, and what efforts she makes to ensure the right musicians and backup vocalists are in her corner. 

Discover what it takes to travel with a band, sing with a band, camp out with a band and earn respect from a band. These are the jewels, right here, from the iconista herself – the shiny things that matter in a singer’s career and the journey that leads to band and singer joining in an “all-for-one-and-one for-all” harmony. Ngca!

It was only when Yvonne felt comfortable with songwriting that she picked up her pen and wrote her own. Prior to that, she had remained humble enough to let the pros do what they did best — the writing — while she focused on singing. When it comes to writing songs, where do you find the inspiration? And how do you know when your song is singable? 

Sharing the backstory to some of her most profound lyrics, Yvonne Chaka Chaka helps you break it down, sing it proud and discover the truest form of lyric legacy.

The Princess of Africa takes us back to Friday nights in the 70s, on the streets of Dobsonville, Soweto. Reminiscing on the musical imprint left on her soul from the township, she fast-tracks to the present and to the future in a collaborative segment with her first-born son and producer, Themba. 

Proving that age is no limit to your art and craft, Yvonne Chaka Chaka sings, not tells, all. You can’t miss this set!

Icon. It means the best there is; the top of the rock, and the pops. It means hitting the stars and the moon and the hard-to-reach places of universal acclaim. ‘Icon’ means you’ve made it. And at 56, with a dream come true and a life built on a music career – she most certainly has. 

Yvonne Chaka Chaka shares her legacy life rules on becoming and maintaining iconic status. Understand, finally, what all the fuss is about and… what it should never be about. Yvonne invites you to step in close and see her – really see her - and get to know the real gems that hover backstage, in this icon’s world. Oh, the truth you’ll learn…

In this heartfelt finale, Yvonne leaves you spellbound by her ode to a life fully lived. What does it mean to pay your dues and still reap your glory? Yvonne shares her generosity of spirit, and the pearls that make the performer. 

If you’re looking to replace fear with love, performance with purpose and expectation with inspiration, the secrets to your success are all here – held, shared, designed, and handed down to you, with love from Yvonne.

The personification of star quality, Yvonna Chaka Chaka brings her one-of-a-kind Playbox to a close with a private rendition of her chart-topping “Keep Looking At Me” that’s guaranteed to get your foot tapping and hands clapping to the beat. 

See the Princess of Africa doing what she does best and get inspired to dance, sing and groove along with her, as you begin your own journey to the top. It’s your time to shine!

But wait… there’s more. More magic, more memories, more Chaka Chaka! In this bonus episode, featuring exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, we share some of the most special moments filming with Yvonne. 

Watch as the South African icon has a few giggles, answers some of the crew’s burning questions, shares never-before-heard stories about her experiences as a dancer, and talks about her love of hot milk with her cereal. You’ve never seen Yvonne like this before!