American singer Doja Cat said her first trip to Africa made her nervous and scared at first. She said the fear faded once she reached Johannesburg, a city she now says she loves.
The Grammy winner spoke about the trip on The Jennifer Hudson Show, IOL reported. She talked about visiting countries including Rwanda and South Africa.
“It was scary the first time that I got there and then we went to Johannesburg and it was amazing. It was, I love Johannesburg,” she told Hudson.
Her real name is Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini. Her father’s family is from South Africa, which made the trip more personal for her.
“So half of my family is from Africa, like my father’s side,” she said on the show.
She said her own history with her family made the visit hard to face. Her first stop was Rwanda, and she did not know what to expect there.
“So it was kind of nerve-racking considering my history, but I just know that, like, I started in Rwanda and I was like, I don’t know what it’s gonna be like. Yeah, and I, you know, did my best, but it was nerve-racking,” she said.
The singer had spoken before about never having been to South Africa. She visited the country in March 2026.
During that visit she performed at the SunBet Arena in Pretoria. The show was part of Global Citizen’s Move Afrika project, according to IOL.
Her father is South African actor and dancer Dumisani Dlamini. He became well known for playing Crocodile in the musical film Sarafina
He also acted in local TV shows, including Yizo Yizo and Isibaya. He met Doja Cat’s mother, American artist and designer Deborah Sawyer, while working on the overseas run of Sarafina
After the show ended, he stayed in the United States for a while. He later went back to South Africa.
Doja Cat was mostly raised by her mother. She grew up without a close bond with her father, IOL reported.
In a 2023 interview with Apple Music presenter Ebro Darden, she said she had never met her father in person. She praised his talent as an actor and dancer, but said the two were not close.
The distance between them has sometimes played out on social media. In May 2024, she called her father a “deadbeat” in her biography on X.
The line in her X biography read: “My dad’s a deadbeat, but I did well.”
Source: this article is based on reporting by IOL Entertainment. Image: IOL Entertainment. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Entertainment desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Rirhandzu Baloyi writes about entertainment for Tzaneen Voice. Rirhandzu covers South African music, film, TV, streaming, awards and celebrity news, from amapiano and local soapies to Showmax and Netflix releases. Stories stick to what happened, who was involved and when fans can watch or listen.