Lily Tembo (20 November 1981 – 14 September 2009) was a critically acclaimed Zambian recording artist, songwriter and journalist.

Born in Kabwe, Zambia and brought up in a music-loving family, Tembo was greatly inspired by her parents. While her father always played the bongo, her mother and sisters sung in the church. Her debut album Lily T hit the charts in 2004, followed by Osalila in 2006. As she remained original to old African instruments, BBC Africa recognized her as a promising celebrity.

After a Best New Artist nomination at the 2005 Koala Awards, Tembo received both the Best Female Recording Artist and Best Music Video Award at the 2007 Ngoma Awards. After all of this recognition Tembo had been working on a third album.

In April 2009, Tembo led worshippers at a world malaria day commemoration in Lusaka, in order to provide malaria awareness in her country.

At the age of 27, September 14 2009, Tembo passed away 6:30 PM. Prior to her sudden passing, she had been suffering severe gastritis and developing aenemia. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.