Either one falls in love with her voice or her stunning beauty! But whichever way, there is just no escaping the 24-year-old’s immense talent that flavours JK’s latest hit song Kapilipili (the Bemba language word for 'hot chilli pepper').
Salma Dodia is truly the hot chilli flavour in JK’s song that literally sweeps fans off their feet everywhere it plays.
The Education Post took some time to chat with Salma, who is also the daughter of chairperson for the Private Sector Development Association and Post newspaper columnistYusuf Dodia.
The 24-year-old is currently pursing a diploma in Law at the National Institute for Public Administration (NIPA) and a Bachelor of Law’s degree at the Zambia Open University.
“I met Jordan (JK) through Vatice, a photographer at INZY Studios. He (Vatice) asked me if I could feature in Kapilipili, I agreed and we made arrangements to meet in due course,” she explains.
She says the agreement was for her to feature in the video only.

“After successfully shooting the video, I thought all was done. A couple of days later, I received a call from Vatice asking me if I would like to sing in the song because JK had agreed to let me feature after knowing I could sing. And wow! What a great experience it was working with JK,” she says.
Having featured in the song, the former St. Mary’s pupil confesses that the Kapilipili production has rekindled her passion for music.

“I used to sing a lot in the school choir and I had stopped singing. But after working with JK, I realised that I was actually sitting on my talent and I am hoping to release my own album this year, in December,” Salma says.

She says singing her part in Bemba was a challenge as she finds the language difficult.
“I hardly know Bemba and I found it very difficult to sing my part. People that know me do not recognise that I am the one who featured, knowing very well that I cannot speak Bemba. I only managed because I am good at grasping words,” she notes.

Apart from singing, Salma reveals that she is also a model.
“I have been modelling for some time now, but I am not signed to any modelling agency. I have done adverts for MTN and other companies,” Salma says.

Salma also presents the hit TV 2 singing competition The Ultimate Slinger.
“The show is all about us looking for the best performer but we were on recess due to the World Cup. We will soon resume with the show and the winner will be selected. Presenting the show is great and it is always fun,” she says.
Born to an Indian/Zambian father, Yusuf Dodia and a British/Zambian mother, Melele Dodia, Salma is the third born in the family of four.

“I like to call myself a cocktail, because a cocktail is made of different ingredients. I have different types of blood flowing in me. My father is an Indian Ila man, while my mother is a British Tonga woman. That makes me a very proud Indian, Ila, British and Tonga girl,” Salma proudly says.

Salma says being of mixed race has its own challenges as she has had to face racial discrimination.
“It was hard growing up coloured (mixed race), as most people (especially the young people) would tell me that I did not have an origin, it hurt me because I was young. But I remember the comforting words of my mother, telling me that I was special and that the people tormenting me were just jealousy that I had many homes to go to and despite me being neither black nor white, I was a beautiful girl,” Salma recalls.

She adds: “However, being who I am is great because I have different families to go to. I can go to India, the United Kingdom and I can stay right here in Zambia where I was born and bred.”
Salma says she is happy that the different races in her family accept her and want her to be herself.

“I am blessed with a beautiful family and that makes me versatile. When I go to my Indian family, I cook Indian food and I act according to my Indian tradition. And my Zambian family expects me to be Zambian and they also want me to have a kitchen party when I want to get married which I will do because it is my tradition. On the other hand, my British family is just simple because they do not have that much of tradition,” she says.

Salma says being born in a mixed race family has taught her to appreciate every human being regardless of their race or skin colour.

“I believe it is a blessing that I have all these people in my life, being coloured has shown me that people will always judge you by your skin colour. People think coloured people are stuck-up (arrogant) or naughty people. That is however not who I am, Salma is just a loving person who enjoys seeing other people happy,” she notes. “I have learnt to respect every person without looking at their skin colour because I have different races in my family. When I look at people, I do not look at them as black or white but as human beings.”

The young featuring artist who is also a mother says being a mother has helped her make the right decisions in life.

“Oh my God! There is nothing more special in the world than motherhood. I love my son so much, he is everything to me. There is never a day that passes without him putting a smile on my face, he is just adorable. And despite his dad and I not being together anymore, we have maintained a good friendship because we love our boy and we want what is best for him,” she says with a smile.
She adds that her mother inspires her to be the best mother to her 2-year-old son.
“My mother is my biggest inspiration, the wonderful person that she is and the kind of mother she is to me and my siblings, makes me want to be a good mother to Shaan (her son),” she calmly says.

“Because of the love I have for children, I studied teaching in 2003 at City and Guilds, an examination body which was a sub section of the University of Zambia. After that I worked as an assistant teacher at Baobab College. Working with children is my passion and one day I want to adopt an underprivileged child so that I can give her or him a better life.”

Salma recalls her teaching career’s memorable moment.
“In 2004, I worked with a girl that came from a poor background and an American family wanted to adopt her. She had no education, so it was my duty to start from scratch teaching her. I am happy to say that despite the challenges, the girl learnt to read and write. And that is something I will always treasure because the girl is now in America,” she recollects.

Upon completion of her studies, Salma intends to work as an advocate for children’s rights.
“I want to do anything that is related to children especially in the legal field. I will work so hard until I go up to PhD level. I know I will get to that level because hard work for me is important. I get that from my dad who has always told me the importance of education,” she says.
Salma advised young people to be focused and put education first.

“Achieving what you want is not easy but you also need to be tough. Never give up on anything, just put in your best. You should not care how long it takes; you just keep going until you achieve it. And remember that education should be your first priority,” advises Salma.
Off music, school and TV presenting, Salma likes to spend time with her friends but she says she mostly enjoys spending time with her son.

“I love reading a lot so I do that when I am free. And I love spending time with my girlfriends. But what I enjoy the most is staying home with my son, I do that only when he is not with his dad,” Salma says.
In her early education, Salma went to Little Horn Nursery School. She later did her grade one to four at Nkwazi Trust School. She left Nkwazi and went to Licef School where she did her grade five to seven. Completed her grade 12 at St Mary’s’ Secondary School in 2002.