Confident, sassy and a go-getter. That pretty much sums up, Anele Zondo.
The KwaZulu-Natal-born model, actress and presenter made a big impression on viewers as the presenter of "Massive Music" on Mzansi Magic as well as Faith in the homegrown soapie, "The River".
And, on Thursday, she will be seen on SABC1 as the host of "One Mic", a reality show seeking out South Africa's finest rap and hip-hop talent.
Zondo is chuffed about bagging this gig.
Anele Zondo (aka Ney the Bae) is the host of the third season of SABC1’s "One Mic'.
Picture: Supplied
She said: “I am ecstatic to the point where I don't have words to describe it. I mean I love presenting and I've always wanted to be a part of talent discovery show. I'm excited for people to see the talent from the beginning to the end, the fashion, the culture and the Zulu Bae vibes.”
On creating quite a stir with her character in "The River", she admitted: “What’s crazy is that I've never thought that I would love acting so much, it’s such a different ball game, which I enjoyed every single moment of. I love playing make-believe and stretching beyond myself and living in a different world for a minute. Hopefully, I'll get to do more and one of a predominately Zulu role soon.
Modelling hasn’t been put on the back burner, either.
Zondo confirmed: “Nothing has been put on hold as I put all my expertise in to use in different ways in everything that I do and I hope to be on billboards soon.”
As for how she is finding her feet in the industry, she revealed: “As we know #openuptheindustry is a real thing and I'm grateful that the industry is opening up to me and trusting me to do more. I honestly choose all my projects according to what I see myself doing and performing to the best of my abilities.
"This is also influenced by the activities and gigs that are not on a larger scale, which the world never gets to see but it helps me perform better every time.”
Every individual in South Africa has felt the impact of the lockdown in similar and dissimilar ways.
Given Zondo’s large following on social media, she offered: “It has really impacted everyone and social media maintains the contact with all my fans especially through my live stories. I show them the things that I love the most such as what I'm currently reading, what I love eating, watching and listening to”.
The break from a manic schedule has also given her a lot of “me time.”
She added: “I've learned to be cognizant of how far I’ve come and to be grateful and excited for how far I’m still going to go and grow because I'm definitely where my 16-year-old self has always seen myself. I just have bigger dreams…”
Back to "One Mic" and why viewers should tune in, she said: “All that I have to say is season 3 is out of this world. Everyone will get to see my personality more, I drop bars here and there so I'm excited for everyone to hear that.
"The whole production, the talented contestants, the fashion and the culture, as a whole, is next level. You need to see it for yourself to know that it’s real cause real recognises real.”
*The third season of "One Mic" airs on SABC1 at 6pm.