Artist Highlight: Marsha Moyo

Born in Lusaka Zambia and the second of four children, at 3 months old Marsha travelled with her mother and elder sister to join her father who at the time was studying. There she began her education and later between Zambia and the USA for secondary school and university respectively.

After her studies in marketing at Rutgers University NJ, she returned to Zambia and there set up Ad. Track, the first media monitoring company in the country. Alongside this business, Marsha was hired as Marketing Services Manager of one the largest blue chip companies in her country and there she worked for four years.

In between these 2 employment areas, in 2001 Marsha authored Zambia: Women Celebrated (2001 UNFPA, Royal Norwegian Embassy) on the achievements of several women in her country. Still, always remembering her childhood dream to one day sing professionally, in 2002 she resigned from the corporate world, sent a demo to Sheer Sound record company in South Africa and captivated by the her talent, was signed within days. That year, she recorded and released her debut album – DARK CHILD. The album garnered her nominations for a SAMA (South Africa Music Awards) as BEST AFRICAN ARTIST and two KORA All Africa Music Awards for BEST FEMALE ARTIST – SOUTHERN AFRICA and REVELATION of the YEAR.

In 2004, she released her epic song WOMEN CELEBRATED which earned her two KORA Music Award nominations for BEST FEMALE ARTIST – SOUTHERN AFRICA and BEST AFRICAN VIDEO. In the accompanying CD booklet , are biographies of five internationally renowned women synonymous with the lyrics of the song. The foreword is graced by Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan of Middle Eastern and North American heritage, while the women featured are European Scientist Jane Goodall PhD, DBE, internationally heralded writer South American Marjorie Agosin PhD, one of Africa’s most renowned freedom fighters in Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and Australian sports person extraordinaire Kay Cottee, AO with a page dedicated to Asian politician and Nobel Peace Laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

The song and its video earned Marsha two KORA Award nominations for BEST AFRICAN VIDEO and BEST FEMALE ARTIST – SOUTHERN AFRICA and an unprecedented a cappella performance of the song at the music award ceremony.

“A moving vocal composition…it tells of our tenacity, resilience and dedication to work as partners in the progress of our communities…may this vocal composition inspire women to greater heights” – HER MAJESTY QUEEN NOOR OF JORDAN

In 2006, Marsha released her sophomore album THE FINE PRINT for which she received an NGOMA Award for BEST VOCAL RECORDING. Among several notable performances, she is the world’s first recording artist to have performed for three months at the 7-star BURJ AL ARAB hotel in DUBAI and her country’s first artist aired on MTV.

In 2008, the UNITED NATIONS appointed Marsha to advocate for the 2015 Millennium Development Goals. The appointment saw her become the first-ever celebrity jointly appointed by all UN agencies in a single country and her country’s first UN honorary appointee. In 2011, Marsha received a lifetime appointment as a TOURISM AMBASSADOR for ZAMBIA becoming her country’s first female to receive this appointment. In addition to music, Marsha has authored three publications WOMEN CELEBRATED (UNFPA 2001, 2011) and WHEELS of CHANGE (SADC, UNECA, 2009).

Despite her background as a member of the academic honor society at her alumnus Rutgers University and later as a corporate senior marketing executive, Marsha was determined to one day pursue her childhood dream of being in the entertainment industry and today is becoming one of the most revered recording artists in the urban adult contemporary genre.