UNITED KINGDOM-BASED Zimbabwean Afro-pop songbird Valee Music has mastered the art of collaborations as she makes inroads into the cut-throat music industry. Born Valerie Menyiwe Sibanda in Bulawayo before relocating to the UK at the age of 14, Valee Music has scored a first following he collaboration with American singer Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter. Valee Music reckons that being multilingual enabled her to penetrate the international music scene as she caters for diverse markets both locally and internationally. She sings in English, Ndebele, Zulu, Shangaan, Sotho and Shona — blending pop with Afrobeat. She says her passion for music was driven by her late uncle, Tymon Mabaleka who was a music producer and co-founder of Gallo Records and a well-known Highlanders Football Club player. Her music has been featured on platforms such as BBC Africa, Vox Africa, Blogs in America, Canada, Kenya, South Africa and the United Kingdom. NewsDay Life & Style (ND) senior reporter Winstone Antonio recently caught up with Vale Music (VM) for an exclusive interview. Below are the excerpts. ND: You have worked with American singer Beyoncé on the song Black is King as well as producer for the late Michael Jackson, Ian Copeland Green. How was the experience? VM:  Beyoncé is a graceful lady and artiste that many of us look up to. Her team was very professional and I can only say that being a part of any project with her is an absolute pleasure. I am honoured to be mentioned among many talented artistes and contributors to the Black is King project on Disney. On the other hand, working with Ian Copeland Green was such an honour. A man who has worked with great people, practically household names like the late Michael Jackson, American singer-songwriter and actress Madonna Louise Ciccone and projects like the Matrix. His talent, his production is incomparable and I feel like God led me to work with him because thereafter, a whole lot of other doors opened for me. ND: How have you managed to penetrate that international market? VM: I am blessed to have the type of background that I have. Because of my language and culture, I am able to cross over and penetrate many music markets in the international sphere. From southern Africa, the song Sondela was number one in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, to Europe and west Africa. I feel like with west Africa even in London we are quite exposed to the Afrobeat genre and meeting artistes of that background here has really allowed me to tap into that market. Very early in my career I was also interviewed by BBC Africa for my song Mina Nawe after that, I feel like I got exposed more to many new followers around the world who have since followed me on my music journey. ND:  How is it like making music in a foreign land? VM: For me the United Kingdom is not a foreign land. We are fast becoming a global village especially with technology and social media. United Kingdom is home to other successful artistes in the diaspora like Shingai (Elizabeth Maria Shoniwa), Donel Mangena, (Blessing) Annatoria who won,