By planting roots in Toronto, Zaki Ibrahim's stardom is destine to grow

Countless artists throughout recent history have been dubbed ‘destined for stardom' by the music media, only to have their careers falter a short time after.

Indeed, one of the cruel realities of the music business is that very few artists ever actually attain such extraordinary levels of success. And despite one's best efforts, it is impossible to accurately predict how the industry will react to a particular performer. So, for Toronto urban singer Zaki Ibrahim, the fact that many critics are both watching, and predicting her climb to fame only adds to the pressure she must deal with already.

But Ibrahim's not worried, and the pressure seems to only motivate her to do better. She does admit, though, that with having so many critics ushering her into stardom it does get a bit weird.

“It's like...who really does know what will happen in the years to come, and where it'll go,” explained the up-and-coming hip-hop artist. “It's humorous a little bit, but then sometimes I just think, ‘woah, let's see what happens.”

Perhaps what separates Ibrahim from many of the artists whose careers ultimately decline is that she has the skills to back up her confidence. In fact, her unique style of music has given her the chance to perform on stages across the country, sometimes with North America's best hip-hop and urban acts.

Trying to define her musical style, however, would be comparable to taking apart the ingredients of a recipe - the separate parts can be evaluated on their own, but when they come together, they create something new and entirely different.

For instance, one could mention the soulful, roots sound of Ibrahim's voice, found in predecessors Lauren Hill and Erykah Badu, or one could speak of her innate pop sensibilities comparable to those in earlier Nelly Furtado work. One could even draw parallels between some of Ibrahim's vocal phrasing and melodies to early jazz pieces, but such comparisons are nearly impossible unless you listen to her music, which, by the way, anyone can at www.myspace.com/zakiibrahim.

Part of her wide variety of influence is also due to the fact that Ibrahim has experienced the life of several different cultures, in both North America and South Africa, where she lived for several years under apartheid rule.

Such experiences have been an important influence on her music, but aside from visiting her family, she's not sure she'd want to live there any time soon.

“[Toronto is] my base right now. My mom's in B.C., my dad's in South Africa, and my brothers and sisters are scattered, so there are a bunch of home bases,” Ibrahim said. “But I'm feeling like I'm kind of digging my feet in Toronto right now.”

And for as long as she's willing to stay, Toronto, and Southern Ontario will benefit from her incredible presence.

Ibrahim will be performing as part of Canadian Music Week at Fanshawe, on Thursday, March 27th at noon in Forwell Hall, and on Friday, March 28th at 9 PM in the Out Back Shack.