express yourself
SAY HELLO TO ZINDZI OKENYO: ACTOR,
MUSO AND PLAY SCHOOL PRESENTER.
Wor d s Emma Do
Zindzi Okenyo is a busy woman with a lot on her plate. If you
didn’t believe it when she spat out those exact words in her catchy
song “Woman’s World”, just have a glance at her ongoing projects:
there’s Zindzi Okenyo, the long-time theatre actor, currently
playing Beatrice in Bell Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing;
OKENYO, the aforementioned singer and rapper, who recently
toured with electro-pop icon Christine and the Queens; and Zindzi,
the affable Play School presenter who sang “Little Peter Rabbit”so
nervously in her audition that she thought she’d never make thecut.
The Zindzi Okenyo we speak to on the phone has just got backfrom
Kenya. She’s trying to find words to describe her trip, where shemet
family for the first time, but it’s too fresh to articulate just yet.“I’m
still processing a lot of things,” she says. “I didn’t want to puttoo
much pressure on the visit – whatever I received there wouldbea
bonus. But people were saying stuff like, ‘You’re going to be changed!
What’s your music going to be like when you come back?’ I thought,
‘I don’t know; it might not be different, or maybe it will.’”
Her parents split when she was young and, having being raised
by her white Australian mum, Zindzi never had a connectionto
the Kenyan culture on her dad’s side. Still, exploring her identity
has always been a priority. “I’ve never wanted to be narcissistic,”
she laughs, “but as an artist, I think it’s important to understand
yourself.” When it comes to creativity, she wasn’t “one of those kids
whoputon shows for the family”, but her acting ambitions started
earlyand she knew innately she wanted to tell stories.Fast-forward a couple of decades: Zindzi’s graduated from the
prestigious drama school NIDA and landed herself a role with the
SydneyTheatre Company. She also happens to be going through
abreak-up at the time. It turns out to be the catalyst for her first
seriousbatch of songs. “It was a way for me to express myself in
anothermedium,” she says of her foray into music. “Sharing those
songswith other people was a whole other thing to discover.”Overtime, Zindzi found that being vulnerable in her music fed into her
acting,too. “Music has allowed me to get closer to my authentic self,”
sheexplains. “As an I actor, I feel like my job is to represent humanity
thebestI can, so the more I’m OK with myself and know where
Istand,the easier it is to be someone else.”Zindziacknowledges that being yourself doesn’t come easily, though.
It’spartof why she feels a genuine responsibility to speak up
aboutissues that are close to her, and in turn, other people who
identifyas black, queer or a woman. She’s spoken openly about the
painthepostal vote brought upon the LGBTQI community; the racist
pressures she’s felt in film and TV; and the lack of women on music
lineups.There’s power, too, in just being ‘different’ in the spotlight.
“Itwasamazing to witness Christine and the Queens performing, but
stillbeso utterly herself,” Zindzi says. “I could see people who felt
likeoutsiders really needed that.”
Ifthelatest OKENYO track is anything to go by, we’re about to
witnessa bold new phase for the musician. A clear break from the
melancholic songs of her first EP, “Buckle Up” sees Zindzi rapping
withanew-found confidence, cheekily sidling up to her on-screen
crushina music video that’s more outwardly queer, tongue-in-cheek,
carefreeand joyous than anything we’ve seen from her before.
“Ialwaysjust thought of myself as a singer,” she says. “But looking
back,my earliest influence was Missy Elliott, and it makes total
sense.I’m excited to explore my more extroverted side.”PhotoIndiana Kwongmusic talks