Cici Gets Candid

After a 13-year HUSTLE, singer CICI, 28, has become a runaway SUCCESS, bagging AWARDS with a HIT SINGLE and a spot on a soapie.

- Yonda Diko

“Go down the list now, and you’ll see that all great music careers began in a recording studio. Because ultimately, it is your love for the craft – not because you went to the right parties or knew the right people – that will make and sustain your career.”

This is the wisdom that singer Cici, armed with a single runaway hit song, aptly called Runaway, likes to share. She has appeared on the South African music scene like a whirlwind, driven and determined to succeed.

Almost everyone seems to remember their first encounter with Cici at the studio. Some of our top producers echo Cici’s words as they explain that establishing synergy with an artist in the studio – so that you can just touch the button while he or she makes magic behind the microphone in the booth – is what hits are made of.

“When I chose 999 I wanted to work with someone who understood my vision as an artist and knew where they would like to place me as a brand,” she says. “Arthur Mafokate is a marketing guru who has built brands over years, so 999 became the obvious choice. I love that they allow me creative freedom because most artists who are not independent don’t necessarily have that freedom.”