Neahtyah

South African Jazz singer, songwriter and performer Zintle Mbuyazwe fondly known as Ne-Ahtyah; began her musical journey in 2012, inspired by her love for Jazz and Xhosa traditional music. 

She was a lead vocalist in the highly acclaimed band “Highway to Heaven Alive” and later acquired a Bachelor of Music from the University of Fort Hare specializing in Jazz Vocals and Jazz Studies. As a curator and arts coordinator, she has served as a panelist in several music workshops including the Standard Bank Arts twitter spaces in 2022 alongside luminaries such as Nduduzo Makhathini, Simmy and Muneyi. 

She was also a part of experimental and meditative ensemble, Izanusi Zengoma, Roots Grown Deep and the Jazz Against Apartheid Homecoming Tribute for the late Johnny Dyani, who’s sextet comprises of icons such as Sakhile Simani, Sisonke Xonti, Sakhi Nompozolo, Lex Futshane, Chester Summerton and international musicians from Frankfurt Germany and London. Her notable highlights also include raising the curtain for Msaki at the Guild Theatre and Simphiwe Dana at the Zingce Arts Festival. 

With her first love being the stage, Ne-ahtyah is always influenced by the power of co-creating with others. Which is her approach in song-building as she works on her debut album “Emandulo”, also a theme for a series of concerts and dialogues on “ways of the old” and “ubuntu” she has been curating since 2019. 

The undeniable flourishing of this songbird continues in her belief of seeking for “truth” and to spread light to a depressed world.