Kumalo shares stories from her career as a singer, storyteller, voice artist, and children’s performer, including how she came to work with Paul Simon’s production company and meet her husband, bassist Bakhiti Kumalo. She also talks about singing with artists such as Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, and Chaka Khan, and contributing a song to the Grammy-nominated children’s album All One Tribe.
The conversation turns to her 2014 MS diagnosis and the months she spent in a Bronx homeless shelter. Kumalo describes the creative work she’s pursuing now—including her podcast, a children’s book about chronic illness, and a film—and offers a hopeful perspective on reinvention without sugarcoating the challenges.