‘Without you, I couldn't have this artistry' – Anele Zondo's love letter to her hair
Musical artist and actor Anele 'Ney the Bae' Zondo pens a letter to her hair and unearths a love, intimacy, friendship and a bouncy resilience that's stood the test of time, trends and some ill-fated decisions.
'I first became aware of you when I was in pre-school and had to go to a ballet performance. My sister was struggling to tie you up and Mom wanted to straighten you with relaxer, but Dad was against it.
He didn't want you ruined by chemicals and said we shouldn't go against our natural hair coils. He made me know and believe that nothing and no one should ever make me love you less or want to change you – the pride of my hair is its natural state.
My most memorable hairstyle was braids.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by 𝒩𝑒𝓎-𝓉𝒽𝑒-𝒷𝒶𝑒 (@anele_zondo)
In high school, I spent weekends learning how to do my own hair – spending time with myself and with you.
You're soft, long and bouffant in your natural state, and since I cut you, I've never used a relaxer or chemicals to get you straight.
You're unique, bold, cool and edgy, and the one time I relaxed, straightened and coloured you, I felt as if I'd betrayed you and your amazing naturalness.
It still amazes me that you have such a great texture (my favourite thing about you!) and you grow so quickly.
My fondest memory of our time together is when I cut you back when I was in high school. I had a pixie look, almost like Rihanna, but with just my natural hair, and it looked so good. I remember the effect that look had on me and those around me.
Long hair was a thing, but that style made me create a different reality for myself and for those who always thought that long hair was the only way to rock natural hair.
This memory is different from the worst time when I was younger and so desperate to put on a weave that I took one of my sister's weaves and stuck it on my hair with glue. Like, real glue for wood.
What a disaster! I should never have done that to my precious scalp.
As I'm an artist, actress and musician, you're my crown and one of the first things people notice when they see me.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by 𝒩𝑒𝓎-𝓉𝒽𝑒-𝒷𝒶𝑒 (@anele_zondo)
I love to personalise you or just have a look that suits my mood – especially now that I'm making music.
I'm excited to be able to show and express my hair journey in visuals. I definitely plan on doing more experiments with colour and with protective styles and just use more variety to express myself.
Without you, I couldn't have this artistry and the plans that come with it.
Love, Anele.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News24
an hour ago
- News24
He fought to the end: Darren Scott's ex-wife sheds light on radio DJ's last years
'Look, it's Daddy!' These are the words shouted by Darren Scott's two sons as they pass a giant billboard promoting their father's drive radio show on Hot 102.7 in Johannesburg. The picture of their dad is more tribute than advert now, but for Mark (13) and Matthew (11) it's still touching to see his face looming large over a busy Joburg street and know he's still part of the city. The boys live in the US now with their mother, Sarah-Kate Accetta, and they've flown over with her for their father's memorial service. Even though their dad fought cancer for four decades, his recent death still came as a shock, Sarah-Kate, Darren's ex-wife, tells YOU. 'We saw him just two months ago when he came out to visit us in Dallas,' she says. 'No one thought it would be the last time.' Sarah-Kate (41) and the boys are staying in Darren's house in Eagle Canyon, Roodepoort, which is a great comfort, she says. 'I really didn't want to stay in a cold hotel room. 'It's been a healing process for me and the boys. Last night we found a bunch of old photos in a drawer and we were just laughing and crying as we went through them.' The former Miss SA and Miss World runner-up and Darren were together for 12 years and married for six, weathering plenty of storms, including Darren's notorious sacking from SuperSport in 2011 and their eldest son's battle with kidney cancer. Mark was just a year old when he was diagnosed but he was declared cancer-free a year later after intensive chemo (YOU, 28 November 2013). Darren and Sarah-Kate divorced in 2015 but remained friends and committed co-parents. In the ensuing years she married Marc Accetta (63), an American motivational speaker she met when he was working in SA, and three years ago they moved to the US. 'It was actually Darren who wanted me to take the boys to America after he had a hijacking scare here,' she says. 'He was worried for their safety.' Despite his health issues and work schedule, Darren visited as often as he could. His last visit was 'the most special', Sarah-Kate says. 'We spent a lot of time talking and crying together. I could see he was tiring very quickly. He kept saying he just wanted to see his boys turn 21 Sarah-Kate Accetta But when he returned to SA, doctors discovered the immunotherapy he'd been on since 2022 was no longer doing its job. The treatment works by boosting the body's immunity to fight the cancer cells but, while it had bought him some time, things were looking dire. 'His oncologist called and told me Darren had just days to live,' Sarah-Kate says. Yet he hung on for weeks, drifting in and out of a coma in his hospital bed. In the end his body gave out. 'He was too weak but he fought until the end.' View this post on Instagram A post shared by SARAH-KATE ACCETTA (@ Darren, who worked at many of SA's biggest radio stations, was best known for his biting humour and unfiltered opinions. But his tongue cold land him in trouble too. The most controversial incident was when he called a SuperSport colleague the k-word during an outing at a bar while he was working as a presenter for the rugby show Boots & All. The backlash was fierce and Darren was fired from the TV channel and booted off Jacaranda Radio. He issued a public apology and the incident took a heavy toll on him, Sarah-Kate says. 'I was on suicide watch with him at the time. He absolutely hated himself – he had such remorse.' Darren fell into a depression and started hitting the booze and their marriage suffered badly, Sarah-Kate says. Their divorce was a result of 'stacked decisions', she says, but their bond persevered nonetheless. 'I used to joke that me and Darren were way better as friends than we were as husband and wife. He was my best friend,' she says. On his career she says, 'Radio was always the love of his life, but his kids gave him life. Being a dad shifted something in him.' Last year Darren was inducted into the Radio Awards Hall of Fame in SA after marking four decades behind the microphone. Beyond his professional achievements, he was also committed to charitable endeavours and spearheaded initiatives such as Wings of Change and Hot Cares, aiming to uplift and support those in need. In 2022 he moved to the US to be nearer his boys and his dad, Harry Scott (90), who has dementia. 'He was very close to his dad and after Harry remarried and moved to the US, Darren wanted to spend time with him as his dementia was progressing.' In 2024 Darren returned to SA after being offered the afternoon drive slot at Hot FM. In his last TV interview before his death, Darren shed light on his situation. 'I live alone here now and I work radio to cover my bills,' he said. 'It's not my first rodeo.' Darren was diagnosed with an aggressive form of melanoma back in 1986, a result, he said, of all the years he spent in the sun. In the ensuing years it spread and he had multiple surgeries, including the removal of parts of his lung, chin and lymph nodes. Darren's biggest worry was his medical costs, Sarah-Kate says, and he didn't have medical aid. Immunotherapy costs around R80 000 a session and is needed every three weeks, and it was 'a merciless merry-go-round'. Earlier this year she went against Darren's wishes and started a BackaBuddy campaign to help raise funds for him. 'He absolutely didn't want me to do it – he was too proud. But I did it anyway.' The irony was he was the first to help others but wouldn't take help himself Sarah-Kate Accetta On Facebook, she didn't hold back on the urgency, making it clear it was no vanity project but a bid to stop the cancer before time ran out. 'For every shared post, every kind comment, and every donation – you are the ubuntu that the USA will never know!' she wrote. On 14 May a benefit concert was held in Joburg to help raise funds for Darren and on the bill were artists such as Just Jinger, Jesse Clegg, Kurt Darren and Louise Carver. Sarah-Kate says she believes there's 'a great radio show happening right now up in heaven' featuring Darren, Mark Pilgrim and Jeremy Mansfield, all veteran radio DJs and pals who succumbed to cancer. Darren's spirit lives on in their boys, she adds. 'Matthew looks like Darren and has a lot of his mannerisms, but Mark definitely has his confidence and gift of the gab.' She recently entered the workplace again, signing to a modelling agency in the US after being a stay-at-home mom. 'The boys are getting older now and they don't need me as much.' SA will always be home, she adds, and they plan to return as often as possible. 'There are so many memories here for us.'
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
‘Friend of Mine' Co-Producer Jon Bellion: Rihanna's New Single Resulted From ‘A Bunch of People Having a Blast'
At first blush, Rihanna's 'Friend of Mine' does not sound like a single from a kids movie. Unlike the superstar's previous soundtrack work for films like Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Home, which tended to veer toward sweeping pop balladry, 'Friend of Mine' is a thumping club track, with Rihanna's voice positioned as an elliptical refrain over a house beat. Jon Bellion, who co-wrote and co-produced the track last year, was initially surprised to hear that the song would be featured in the upcoming Smurfs film, in which Rihanna is voicing Smurfette. Then he considered the sonic profile of 'Friend of Mine,' and understood its mass appeal. 'From a product standpoint, I don't think you get such major chords and such a positive [message] over a dance record that doesn't sound like a kids movie too often,' he tells Billboard. 'So when do you nail the feel-good, family-friendly, high-taste, deep '90s nostalgia, that can also be played into the kids movie? Shoot it out into the world!' More from Billboard Nessa Barrett Announces 2025 Australian Arena Tour Sombr Announces 2025 Australia and New Zealand Headline Tour Eddie Vedder Covers Springsteen's 'My City of Ruins' After Trump Clash That's exactly what Rihanna did on Friday (May 16) with 'Friend of Mine,' which precedes the Smurfs soundtrack (out June 13 through Roc Nation Distribution) and her star turn in the Smurfs film (in theaters July 18). Three years after her last music release, Rihanna has offered 'Friend of Mine' as a long-awaited check-in with fans, and an unexpected song of the summer bid. The song came together during one of Bellion's writing camps at his vacation home in the Hamptons last summer, with the studio veteran producing the song with Pete Nappi and Fallen, and all three receiving co-writing credits along with Elijah Noll, Elkan, Tenroc and Rihanna. That group of writers and producers are part of Beautiful Mind Projects, Bellion's management, publishing and label company, and Bellion — who's helped artists like Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus and Maroon 5 score pivotal hits in recent years — says that the energy heard on 'Friend of Mine' is a reflection of his collective's collaborative spirit. 'It was a bunch of people having a blast, doing a music camp together, jamming on some DJ s–t and playing chords and just having fun,' he says. 'And I think that that's probably why it ended up sounding so new. It just felt like a natural thing, with a bunch of guys who like being around each other and want to make great s–t.' 'Working with [Jon] is always exciting because you know you're going to walk away with a real song,' the producer Fallen, who's also worked with artists like Doja Cat and Summer Walker, tells Billboard in a statement. 'He sees things through. He's the kind of person who will spend an entire week on a single track if that's what it takes. We spent about three days on 'Friend of Mine,' just refining and dialing it in. Coming from the hip-hop world, I'm used to making five songs in a single session, so this level of detail was new for me. But it's been the most valuable lesson I've learned working with him.' One of Bellion's earliest hits as a co-writer was 'The Monster,' the 2013 smash from Eminem and Rihanna that topped the Hot 100 chart for four weeks. In the decade-plus since that breakthrough, he's stayed in touch with Rihanna's team, and says that he's contributed 'a couple songs' to her camp over the years that have yet to be released. Considering that Rihanna's output has been scant since her 2016 album ANTI, Bellion was uncertain that 'Friend of Mine' would see the light of day, but the spontaneity of the track's creation stood out in his mind when it came together last year. 'The song is raw — like, she didn't really mix it further than the two track that we sent out,' he says. 'We [sent] it out, and I had it on my phone for a few days, and I just remember, every morning I'd wake up listening to it. I'd listen to it in the shower, like, 'This is kind of jamming!'' Bellion couldn't recall another Rihanna single that sounded quite like 'Friend of Mine' — and he says that, at some point after the song was finished, the realization hit him that unexplored territory was exactly what she had been searching for. 'She's not looking for 'We Found Love 2.0,' or 'Work 2.0,'' he says. 'The arrangement and the feel feels all very new — very cutting-edge, in front of what the next wave will be, because she usually tries to do that every time she puts something out.' 'Friend of Mine' arrives shortly before Bellion's third studio album, Father Figure, is released on June 6; the project marks his first solo full-length in seven years, and features guest turns from Luke Combs, Pharrell Williams and Jon Batiste. While Father Figure includes deeply personal reflections on fatherhood and its challenges, Bellion is glad that 'Friend of Mine' has arrived a few weeks beforehand, to give him a chance to pull off something he has yet to accomplish professionally. 'My whole career, I've wanted [a song] that plays at all the events — all the baby showers and sweet sixteens and wedding and Bar Mitzvahs,' Bellion says with a laugh. 'I don't think I've ever really had one of those, so it feels great, and hopefully it does well.' Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
Forbes
16 hours ago
- Forbes
Rihanna's Classics Return As Her New Single Vanishes Almost Immediately
Last week, the world was treated to a new song by Rihanna, which is a fairly rare occurrence these days. The singer is otherwise preoccupied with being a mother and running her massively successful cosmetics brand, Fenty Beauty, but she does deliver a track or two here and there, and they are usually associated with film projects. "Friend of Mine" is set to be featured in the upcoming animated Smurfs film, which is expected later this summer. While there was plenty of excitement when the tune was announced, it didn't prove to be a massive commercial success. Just days after its debut, the cut has already faded, while several of Rihanna's time-tested smashes are back. Two of Rihanna's most popular songs reappear on the Official Hip-Hop and R&B Singles chart this week. The pair rebounds together and sit side-by-side, as "Don't Stop the Music" reenters the list of the bestselling tracks in those genres at No. 36, while "Love the Way You Lie," one of her collaborations with Eminem, is back at No. 37. "Don't Stop the Music" and "Love the Way You Lie" rank among Rihanna's 14 No. 1s on the Official Hip-Hop and R&B Singles chart. Nearly half of the 33 tracks she's pushed into the top 10 on the genre-only tally have spent time in the highest spot, and most have racked up more than one frame on the throne. Rihanna currently fills three spaces on the 40-rung roster. "Stay," her collaboration with Mikky Ekko and a former runner-up, dips from No. 24 to No. 27, and is joined this frame by both 'Don't Stop the Music' and 'Love the Way You Lie.' "Friend of Mine" didn't reach the Official Hip-Hop and R&B Singles chart, as it was classified under a different genre by the Official Charts Company. Instead, it launched at No. 19 on the Official Dance Singles chart — but it can no longer be found on that ranking. In fact, even though "Friend of Mine" opened on four song rosters across the U.K. just days ago, it now appears on none of them. The tune started at No. 72 on the Official Singles chart, No. 75 on the Official Singles Downloads list, and No. 79 on the Official Singles Sales ranking. It only managed one frame on each tally, at least so far. That's quite a stark contrast when compared to tracks like "Stay" and "Love the Way You Lie," which have both racked up more than 100 weeks on the Official Hip-Hop and R&B Singles chart.
