When I first sat down with the ladies of BlackByrd, it didn’t feel like an interview. It felt like a catch-up with old friends — the kind where laughter flows freely, stories unfold with sincerity and hearts open without hesitation.
The trio — now made up of Tarryn Lamb, Tasché Burger and Tasha (Natasha Zaaiman) — radiates a warmth that’s rare in the polished world of pop and it’s that same grounded energy that threads its way through their music.
Their presence is disarmingly genuine. They talk over one another at times, finish each other’s sentences and dissolve into laughter when a memory resurfaces. It’s in that rhythm that is playful, supportive, unforced that you glimpse the essence of who they are.
And perhaps that’s why BlackByrd has resonated with listeners for so long — it offers not just catchy hooks and pristine harmonies, but a sense of intimacy, like being let into a secret between sisters.
BlackByrd is not a newcomer to South Africa’s music scene. Formed in 2012, and reformed last year with two new members, the all-female pop trio quickly rose to prominence.
Their slick harmonies and heartfelt delivery earned them instant recognition, radio play and a devoted following. Their debut album Strong became a success, spawning hits that dominated the airwaves and solidified their reputation as one of the country’s most exciting acts.
But beyond the charts, BlackByrd made history as one of the few female groups in South Africa to reach that level of mainstream success. Their blend of pop, country and soft rock, paired with soulful storytelling, set them apart in a market often saturated with formulaic pop acts. They weren’t chasing trends; they were carving out their own lane.
Over the years, they’ve won multiple accolades, including South African Music Award nominations, and have shared stages with international icons.
Their polished live performances and genre-blending sound have earned them both critical respect and a loyal fanbase across generations.
Now, more than a decade later, BlackByrd continues to evolve, staying true to their ethos of sisterhood, artistry and authenticity.
The band’s journey has been marked by growth, introspection and bold reinvention. Sitting across from them, it’s clear they are still just as hungry to create — but they’re doing it on their own terms.
“Our sound really evolved after watching a Boyz II Men concert,” Tarryn shares. “They inspired us, the way each member stood strong as a lead, but also came together in this beautiful harmony. That’s what we wanted — to create space for each of us to shine as individuals, while building something powerful as a collective.”
It’s a lesson they’ve carried into their identity as a group. In an industry that too often pits women against each other, BlackByrd stands as a refreshing counter-narrative.
“We wanted to show that women can uplift, support and celebrate one another,” Tasha adds, her eyes bright. “And we’re doing just that.”
This refusal to conform to the stereotypical “girl band” mould has been part of their magic. They aren’t about rivalry, but rather about sisterhood. They aren’t about trends, but about longevity. And as their sound evolves, so too does their message.
Their chemistry is undeniable. Whether you’re watching them on stage or chatting on a Google call, there’s a sisterly bond that pulls you in.
Tasha recalled meeting founding member Tarryn in 2018 during a TV production. One night, she and Tarryn found themselves sharing a quiet dinner and an unexpected connection was formed.
“That moment became the beginning of something magical,” Tasha says with a smile. “Since then, it’s been a wild ride.”
“We’re honestly like sisters,” Tasché echoes. “When we’re apart, even for a weekend, I miss them. It’s that deep.”
It’s this bond, equal parts friendship, family and artistry that gives BlackByrd its edge. The music is good, yes. But it’s the love between them that makes it unforgettable.
One of the most surprising things about BlackByrd is how deeply involved they are in their craft — not just as singers, but as musicians, writers and producers.
“We’re hands-on from the beginning,” Tasché explains. “From sitting with the producer to shaping the sound, we’re there. Each of us brings something different to the table.”
Tasché, for example, has a keen ear for production elements. Tarryn is the vocal mastermind. And Tasha brings that spark of creative energy that ties everything together.
Their studio sessions are collaborative, intentional and emotionally raw: “We always ask ourselves, ‘If we were hearing this song for the first time, would it move us? Would it connect?’” Tarryn says.
The result? Music that feels lived in. Songs that resonate not because they’re trendy but because they’re true.
Over the years, BlackByrd has shared countless stages, but a few moments stand out.
“Definitely our show with Bonnie Tyler,” Tasché recalls without hesitation. “That was unforgettable.”
For Tarryn, though, nothing compares to their very first live performance as BlackByrd. “It was a massive event with 50?000 people. We sang our first single on stage together for the first time and the crowd knew the words. It was surreal.”
These highlights reflect not just their success, but their joy in performance. As Tasha puts it: “Every show is different. It changes depending on how we’re feeling, what’s happening in our lives and the energy of the crowd. That keeps it exciting.”
The name BlackByrd is as striking as their sound. “We spelled it with a Y,” Tarryn explained, “because ‘byrd’ is like ‘girl’— a nod to our femininity and strength.”
The inspiration came during a period of searching. One day, Tarryn spotted a blackbird on the grass outside the window. “It felt like a sign. That moment stuck and the name just worked.”
BlackByrd’s latest single Home is a soulful, heartfelt ode to the people and places that anchor us.
Written during a whirlwind of touring, when the trio often lived out of suitcases and hotel rooms, the song is a reminder that home isn’t always a place — it’s a feeling.
“It’s about coming back to the people we love,” Tasché says. “It’s that anchor, that softness, that safe space.”
Each member has a lyric that resonates deeply with them. Tasché’s favourite: “Overdosed on all the feels I’m feeling for you.” Vulnerable, clever and real. Tarryn’s pick: “Long for a good life where love measures first.” A reminder to centre love over success. Tasha’s: “Out in the darkest street, you chase the ghosts that shadow me.” A testament to the power of being seen.
Through Home, BlackByrd extends their own sense of belonging to their listeners, inviting them into the warmth they’ve built together.
I asked them each to define home.
Tasché: “Home isn’t a place — it’s a feeling. It’s love. It’s peace.”
Tarryn: “It’s the little joys of everyday life. That’s home.”
Tasha: “It’s not the four walls. It’s the people. It’s knowing you can come back to love, no matter what.”
Their answers, like their music, point to a central theme: connection.
So what do they hope fans feel when listening to Home?
“I want people to feel seen,” said Tasha. “To know they’re not alone. We make music to connect, to serve, to be a mirror.”
Tasché added, “Sometimes we forget to show love to the people who mean the most. This song is a reminder to nurture those relationships. Love them while you can.”
And Tarryn closes it with what I think is the heartbeat of BlackByrd’s message: “In a world that often feels too filtered, we want to give people something real.”
As our conversation wraps up, I feel a sense of gratitude, not just for the time these incredible women shared with me, but for the music they create with such honesty and love.
BlackByrd isn’t just a band. They’re a movement, a sisterhood and a sound that stays with you long after the last note fades.
So whether you’re listening from your car, your couch or on the long road back to the people you love, let Home be your anthem. Let it remind you that love, connection and belonging are never too far away.
Anglo American Zimele is reshaping and instilling hope in the future of Kuruman Youth:
Hailing from Kuruman villages in the Northern Cape, Lesedi Salvation Monyolo is a testimony of dreams do come true as she boarded a luxury Silversea cruise liner in Cape Town on 22 February 2025, a cruise ship allowing her to see the world from the lense of an ocean as a culinary specialist. The air on deck was thick with salt and possibility. Boasting about Anglo American Zimele initiative Monyolo has achieved beyond her peers.
“I couldn’t believe I had reached my dream, always wanted to work on a ship. It became true because of Summit and Anglo American Zimele. It wasn’t simple, but I made it. Now, I’m living the dream.”
At 25 the assistant chef, Monyolo has sailed through 11 countries the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Malta, Montenegro, Croatia, Greece, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. His ambitions are already stretching beyond the galley. Having returned home on 15 August she has great hopes of becoming an executive chef in her own hospitality.
“I believe I will become a sous chef or even an executive chef. One day, I want to have my own hotel. At home, I’m the one who provides for everything. This opportunity changed my family’s life. We no longer struggle financially.” She ecstatically remarked.
Opportunity lies on International Waters
Monyolo’s journey is part of a partnership between Anglo American Zimele, Summit, and Silversea, designed to give unemployed young South Africans from rural and disadvantaged backgrounds an entry into the global hospitality industry.
Head of Anglo American Zimele, Larisha Naidoo says such initiatives curb the rise of unemployment through opening opportunities for young people to be mentored in resourceful skills
“Youth unemployment remains one of the major challenges South Africa is facing, this partnership is one of the ways we are helping reduce unemployment and poverty in our host communities through impactful skilling.”
Participants receive hospitality training, personal development coaching, and international placements. For many, the experience is a string of firsts: first job, first flight, first time leaving the country.
More Than Just a Paycheque
Placement Supervisor at Summit Dineo Phasha, youth must see beyond employment.
“This is not just about employment; it’s about reclaiming identity. Many of these young people come from communities where poverty had swallowed hope. Now, they are travelling the world, earning international salaries, and believing in themselves in ways they never thought possible.”
Opportunities given through Zimele allow participants to become breadwinners, breaking the cycle of poverty as they send money home, pay school fees for siblings, building houses, and in some cases, start businesses.
Behind every polished uniform is a backstory of resilience. One woman who had dropped out of school due to financial pressure now works in Europe, funding her siblings’ education. Another man who had never seen the ocean now wakes up in Mediterranean ports, picking up new languages between shifts.
Coming Home With More Than Memories
Post the programme the participants are rehabilitated through branding and marketing masterclasses to facilitate career growth. These sessions, already underway in Limpopo and Rustenburg to help participants articulate their stories, update their CVs, and plan for long-term success whether in hospitality, entrepreneurship, or other industries.
Beyond Inspiration
The statistics on youth unemployment in South Africa are stark 62.4% for those aged 15–24. Programmes like this do not erase those numbers, but they offer something equally important: proof that with targeted investment and a commitment to real skills transfer, transformation is possible.
From the dry streets of Kuruman to the ports of Europe, young South Africans like Monyolo is challenging what it means to come from a place that is often left off the map. They are working, earning, saving, and seeing the world in the process rewriting the story of rural youth.
“Thank you, Anglo American Zimele, for giving me the opportunity of a lifetimes. “At home, I used to wake up wondering if life would ever change. Now, I wake up in a new country, with a purpose I never knew before,” Monyolo added.
How dogs join the fight against rhino poaching:
Anti-rhino poaching efforts in nature reserves are being scaled up as poachers and syndicates continue to target the animal for their horns.
One of them is the 60 000 hectare Klaserie Private Nature Reserve near Hoedspruit in Mpumalanga, which has no fences between it, the Kruger National Park and surrounding parks, allowing wild animals to roam in a larger area.
On a visit to Klaserie on a hot August, many of the animals took refuge under shaded trees or thickets.
Rhino poaching is rife in South Africa, and although there are ongoing efforts to capture and convict syndicates, more innovative methods are needed.
During the first three months of 2025, 103 rhinos were poached in South Africa, averaging 34.33 rhinos a month, according to statistics released by the department of forestry, fisheries and the environment in May.
South African National Parks, which manages 21 parks, recorded the highest number of losses, with 65 rhinos poached, compared with 88 in 2024. KwaZulu-Natal reported 16 cases, followed by Limpopo with 10, Free State with five, North West with four and Mpumalanga with three.
“While these figures reflect a persistent threat to our rhino populations, they also highlight the effectiveness of targeted interventions in certain regions. The absence of poaching incidents in four provinces is a testament to the dedication of our rangers, law enforcement agencies, and community partners who work tirelessly to protect our natural heritage,” the department said.
Environmental experts are more concerned with the failure to recognise how the syndicates operate — and what more needs to be done to stay ahead of the curve.
“In 2018, during the peak of rhino poaching, all the reserves were actually impacted, so everybody just upped their security and gates in terms of that,” said Marian Viljoen, of Klaserie’s K9 unit.
“Organised crime in South Africa is very imminent, but it went so far at the end we had to make the unfortunate decision to start with the dehorning. The thinking is we would rather have a live rhino without a horn than a dead one without a horn. We started with dehorning which is also part of trying to keep the species alive.”
Klaserie’s K9 anti-rhino poaching protection unit has successfully traced and tracked poachers as well as the illegal contents in their possession, which ranged from rhino horn and the bullets they use to kill the animal to ivory and pangolin scales.
“If there is an incident of poaching, they will do a crime area search where they will be sent in first because we don’t want to contaminate the area with prints,” Viljoen said.
“We send them in to see if they can find anything left behind by the poachers, like empty cartridges, which can be ballistically or forensically traced back to a weapon.
“Sometimes the poachers panic and they just throw the weapons into the bush and they are on the run, and sometimes they will hide the horns somewhere to come back and fetch it. The dogs will not only scan the area of the crime, they will go further, so they can see what they can pick up.”
On an overcast morning on one of the open fields in the reserve, three dogs: a German shepherd, a Dutch shepherd and a floppy-eared doberhound were ready to demonstrate their skills.
Twenty cylinders containing either a piece of a horn, elephant tusk, a firearm magazine, bullets or empty bullet cartridges were placed around the field. The dogs were let out individually to demonstrate how they use their strong sense of smell to find illegal items.
It took a second to sniff a cylinder before hurriedly moving on until they found the item. They either sat in front of the cylinder or put their paw on it to show their successful find — and were rewarded with their favourite toy before doing it again.
The observers volunteered to hide a piece of rhino material in the vicinity and the dogs were sent out to look for it. It was fascinating to watch them trace and walk towards the item with complete conviction before alerting their handler.
“Sometimes the handler will read the dog’s behaviour when they detect the item but can’t retrieve it, and the handler will have to check what they are looking for,” said Viljoen. “That’s why it’s important for the handler to be with the dog all the time.”
In a separate exercise, three volunteers hiked away into the bushes to hide — playing the role of poachers — while the dogs and their handlers sought to find them.
It is the responsibility of the handler to identify the tracks on the sand and determine which direction the people moved — which can be tricky in grass and weeds — and then bring the hound in that direction to then trace the scent. One handler confessed that he could not identify the tracks and let the canine take over with its sense of smell.
“Our scents are unique, so everything that you touch is like a pen leaking ink: every blade of grass or things like that. They go for that, and they can also follow a distinct track, so even if a hundred other people have walked over your track and they put a dog on your scent, it will follow your scent,” Viljoen said.
On a long leash, the dog moved in a linear direction — with leaps of excitement every so often — before circling and following the scent of the volunteer poachers. They were found on a hill about 200 metres away from the starting point in no less than 10 minutes.
Impressed by the hound’s success, the group applauded as a sole hyena appeared nearby, unfazed by our presence, while in the distance a cackle of more hyenas settled into their den.
It was all in a day’s work for the K9 unit joining the fight to save rhinos.
The journalist’s trip to Klaserie Private Nature Reserve, stay at Last Word Kitara and the K9 experience was sponsored by Last Word Intimate Hotels and Safari Camps.
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