George Da Soulchild-kaufela, co-host of our Sunday night radio show on Zambezi 107.7 fm, reports:

Scarlet: Joss Stone, Jill Scott, India Arie, Maureen Lilanda, Yvonne Chaka Chaka all rolled into one!

Scarlet (real names Jemimah Lerato Chulu) was born on the 6th July 1987 in Lusaka Zambia, to Zambian parents Wonder and Felicity Chulu. She is the first born in a family of seven girls. She grew up in Lusaka attending Nkhwazi Primary School and Mpelembe Secondary School up to 2002. She completed her O’ levels in 2003 and then went on to attend the University of Zambia from where she graduated in 2008 at the age of 21 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, with a major in Linguistics. In 2010 she began to study for a Bachelor of Laws degree which she is yet to complete.

Her first experiences with music involved singing hymns with her mother as a little child. She has clear memories of the jazz music her father played in the house when she was young. Scarlet first sang in church when she was 14 but her real experiences with music began in 2010 when she took part in the reality show, The Ultimate Slinger produced by Chali Mulalami of Slingbeats in Lusaka. After the show ended she began recording at So’ Good Entertainment founded by her uncle Lukundo Siwale and family friend Chifumbe Sikazweh, as their first female recording artist.

Initially managed by Jamiel Banda, formerly known as “A Deejay Called Scratch” of Radio Phoenix Zambia, she went on to record a number of singles that enjoy considerable airplay on local stations. It was under his stewardship that she began to perform on different platforms and formed the afro jazz, soul and oldies band called Black Note. Scarlet also began work on her first studio album containing songs written in English, French, Nyanja, Bemba, Nsenga, Zulu and Shona, to be released this year titled “Unforgettably Yours”. She wrote most of the project herself but was assisted on the vernacular tracks by her producer James Sakala.The first single off the album titled “Tino Fara” was released in May 2012 and the second, “MunisungileBanja” in August and the third titled, “Heartsong”is scheduled for release in October.

Scarlet has since completed work on the album which is scheduled for release later on this year. She is now working on becoming a recognised part of the live music circuit in Lusaka before she ventures into the other areas of Zambia and abroad. Other endeavours in the pipeline include television appearances and radio shows. She is currently managed by her mother and has partnered with the promoting skills of Duncan Sodala who is also the manager and promoter of the renowned Zambian rap group Zone Fam.

Scarlet is currently an ambassador for the Maureen Lilanda Art Beat Centre, the Girls Stand Up Mentorship Program based in Livingstone and is a judge and talent scout on the reality television series Dreams, produced by Power Media Zambia in partnership with the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC.) Other upcoming projects include a women’s radio show on one of Zambia’s biggest radio stations and other television appearances.