Zama Qambi was born in Nyanga East, Cape Town, but grew up in Durban. He is a multi-talented performer who has traveled internationally for his work. In 1998 after returning to Cape Town he joined Ilitha dance Group, where in 2000 he went to perform with them in China when Archbishop Desmond Tutu was awarded a peace award. In 2002 he joined the UCT school of dance where he majored in African Dance, in that same year he became part of Ama-Mbush marimba band where he ran workshops and did performances around the Western Cape and in Johannesburg. Zama is resident performer and percussionist at Lingua Franca Spoken Word Movement, he was part of the group that traveled to Chicago (Northwestern University and Poetry Foundation) in April 2018, for a two weeks residency, to deliver lectures on Lingua Franca’s pedagogies and performances at the university and around the city of Chicago.