Singer-songwriter Kim Makumbe has released “Wait”, the single she teased during her performance at Unplugged, a song about the long, uncertain stretch between wanting someone and having them. The track went live on all major streaming platforms on 25 September 2026.
Musically, “Wait” blends Afrobeats and Afro soul while keeping the R&B identity that has anchored Kim Makumbe’s sound. It also gives equal weight to two voices. Makumbe shares the track with Melyssa, and the release credits both singers with the raw, emotive delivery at its centre. Her team describes the single as a bold new chapter following the success of her earlier work, and as proof of her ability to write melodies that stay with a listener long after the song ends.
The song’s origins lie in a writing camp rather than a solo session. Music Connects Africa hosted an international songwriting camp that brought together a group of creatives, and all four people credited on the record were in attendance. By the end of a long first day, Makumbe said, most participants were either exhausted or emotionally spent. She and a fellow writer, Jason, decided to use that mood and write about yearning love.
The song took shape quickly once the wider team got involved. “We had the best A&R personnel on site, who contributed to the wording and arrangement of the main hook of the song,” Makumbe said. Melyssa then wrote the second verse, and Tapiwa added what Makumbe described as some sugar and spice to the beat. “Just like that, WAIT was born.”
For Kim Makumbe, the result is as much a statement about process as about the song itself. “It is a true testament to the power of collaboration and how creativity with the right team is magical,” she said. She added that other projects came out of the same camp and that she is eager for audiences to hear them. “Wait is only the beginning,” she said.
Thematically, the single is built around patience in a culture that she believes has grown sceptical of lasting love. It covers three situations: the longing of a long-distance relationship, the anxiety of waiting for someone to commit fully, and the wait for love itself to arrive. The release describes this ground as the “love waiting room”, a place where the experience is bittersweet rather than simply sad.
Kim Makumbe has been open about wanting the song to meet listeners wherever they are. “The beauty of art is how it is subject to interpretation,” she said, adding that she hopes anyone in one of those three situations will recognise themselves in it and find some healing while they wait. “Wait” was produced by AyoJase.wav and co-produced by TAPIWA. According to the release, the production leans on lush instrumentation and a dynamic arrangement designed to frame Makumbe’s vocal range and leave room for the emotion in her delivery.
The collaborative approach is consistent with the path she has followed so far. Makumbe began her musical career in 2019 and has since released singles on a range of themes. In an earlier interview with Zimbabwean daily NewsDay, she said her style lets her experiment with new sounds, pointing to the trap Jiti elements on her song “Must Be Love”. The same article noted her appearance on “Mashoko”, a track from the urban groover ExQ’s album Enoch, where she was the only female artist alongside names such as Jah Prayzah and Holy Ten. She said then that she was determined to strengthen the position of Zimbabwean music on the international stage.
“Wait” now offers a fresh test of that ambition. It pairs a writing process rooted in a pan-African industry initiative with a theme that needs no translation, and it arrives with the promise of more material to come from the same camp. The single is available now on all major streaming platforms.
