Topline: Multi-award winning South African-born Comedian and The Daily Show host, Trevor Noah, will be hosting arguably the biggest night in music at the 2021 63rd Grammy Awards at the end of January, the Recording Academy announced on Tuesday. 



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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">We’re thrilled to welcome <a href="https://twitter.com/TheDailyShow?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheDailyShow</a> host, Emmy-winner, and GRAMMY-nominee <a href="https://twitter.com/Trevornoah?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TrevorNoah</a> as the host of the 63rd <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GRAMMYs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GRAMMYs</a>! We can’t think of a better person to serve as Master of Ceremonies for Music’s Biggest Night. 🎶 <a href="https://t.co/vbFqPbXfgl">pic.twitter.com/vbFqPbXfgl</a>&mdash; Recording Academy / GRAMMYs (@RecordingAcad) <a href="https://twitter.com/RecordingAcad/status/1331233988535435265?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 24, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h3>



<ul><li>Before the 2021 Grammy Nominations were announced, the Recording Academy announced that Grammy-nominated comedian, Noah, would be hosting the award ceremony that will be held on Sunday, January 31, 2021.&nbsp;</li><li>This will be the first time Noah hosts the awards, which Harvey Mason jr., Chair and Interim President and CEO of the Recording Academy say will be an unforgettable and incredible evening as Noah has a “knack for keeping viewers engaged and entertained.”&nbsp;</li><li>“Trevor&#8217;s comedy talents, engaging energy and unique perspective make him the perfect host for the Grammys,&#8221; said CBS Entertainment Group President and Chief Executive Officer George Cheeks added in a statement.&nbsp;</li><li>Noah’s “Son of Patricia” scored a Grammy nomination in 2019 for his comedy album. However, the award ended up going to Dave Chappelle’s “Sticks &amp; Stones.”&nbsp;</li></ul>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">Crucial Quote</h3>



&#8220;Despite the fact that I am extremely disappointed that the Grammys have refused to have me sing or be nominated for Best Pop Album, I am thrilled to be hosting this auspicious event,&#8221; Noah said in a statement on Tuesday. &#8220;I think as a one-time Grammy nominee, I am the best person to provide a shoulder to all the amazing artists who do not win on the night because I too know the pain of not winning the award! (This is a metaphorical shoulder, I&#8217;m not trying to catch Corona). See you at the 63rd Grammys!&#8221;



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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">In a year that most human beings would love to forget, there has been one constant force that has brought us together &#8211; Music. I’m truly honoured to be hosting The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GRAMMYs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GRAMMYs</a>, a night celebrating all of our favourite artists who’ve helped keep us sane while we’re all stuck indoors! <a href="https://t.co/rmFuBjWeJk">pic.twitter.com/rmFuBjWeJk</a>&mdash; Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) <a href="https://twitter.com/Trevornoah/status/1331301131906117637?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 24, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">Further Reading </h3>



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/arielshapiro/2019/08/16/the-highest-earning-stand-up-comedians-of-2019/?sh=7f9f9c4842fa" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Highest-Earning Stand-Up Comedians Of 2019 (FORBES</a>



<a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/arts/2019/08/20/trevor-noah-is-laughing-all-the-way-to-the-bank/">Trevor Noah Is Laughing All The Way To The Bank (FORBES AFRICA)&nbsp;</a>

62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards – Show

Trevor Noah Announced As Host For 2021 GRAMMYs

Songs of the struggle and music steeped in South Africa’s
apartheid past. The story of how the Soweto Gospel Choir&nbsp; captivated the world



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Three Grammys in 12 years. And more global awards in their
17 years of existence.



In February this year, at the 61st annual Grammy awards in
Los Angeles, South Africa’s child and Africa’s pride, the Soweto Gospel Choir
(SGC) walked up to the stage to a rousing ovation.&nbsp;&nbsp; 



They had won the Best World Music Album for Freedom. More than an album dedicated to Nelson Mandela, that word stood for triumph, it stood for the freedom where it all started – Soweto.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 



<ul class="wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex"><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><figure><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="691" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Symphonic-Soweto-2nd-2.jpg-1024x691.jpg" alt="" data-id="40965" data-link="https://www.forbesafrica.com/?attachment_id=40965" class="wp-image-40965" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Symphonic-Soweto-2nd-2.jpg-1024x691.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Symphonic-Soweto-2nd-2.jpg-300x202.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Symphonic-Soweto-2nd-2.jpg-600x405.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Symphonic-Soweto-2nd-2.jpg-768x518.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Symphonic-Soweto-2nd-2.jpg.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>Soweto Gospel Choir through the years. Picture: Supplied</figcaption></figure></li><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><figure><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="702" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/03-Madiba-Soweto-Gospel-Choir-Mar-2008CRuphin-Coudyzer-FPPSA.jpg-1024x702.jpg" alt="" data-id="40966" data-link="https://www.forbesafrica.com/?attachment_id=40966" class="wp-image-40966" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/03-Madiba-Soweto-Gospel-Choir-Mar-2008CRuphin-Coudyzer-FPPSA.jpg-1024x702.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/03-Madiba-Soweto-Gospel-Choir-Mar-2008CRuphin-Coudyzer-FPPSA.jpg-300x206.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/03-Madiba-Soweto-Gospel-Choir-Mar-2008CRuphin-Coudyzer-FPPSA.jpg-600x411.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/03-Madiba-Soweto-Gospel-Choir-Mar-2008CRuphin-Coudyzer-FPPSA.jpg-768x526.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/03-Madiba-Soweto-Gospel-Choir-Mar-2008CRuphin-Coudyzer-FPPSA.jpg.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption> Soweto Gospel Choir with Nelson Mandela. Picture: Supplied</figcaption></figure></li></ul>



Since its inception, the gospel choir, hailing from South
Africa’s biggest township, Soweto (short for South West Townships), has been on
more international stages than they can keep count of.&nbsp; 



Its founders, Australian promoter Beverly Bryer and the late
David Mulovhedzi, created something so monumental that the world had to sit up
and listen. Bryer was born in South Africa, and lived and worked in the
Australian music scene for a few years before moving back to South Africa in
1995. 



During her stint in Australia, she connected with a number
of music promoters who took talent from all over the world to Down Under. 



Her love was always music but pop and rock rather than
African gospel.



In 2001, Bryer received a call from one of the promoters she had met in Australia asking if there were any interesting South African artists he could showcase in Australia. She suggested Umoja, a South African theater production. Bryer knew the producer and the production was a huge global success.



After watching the cast on stage, the promoter was blown
away and backed the production all the way to Australia. 



In 2002, Bryer received another call saying the gospel aspect of Umoja was extremely popular and everyone loved it. 



“I was asked to form a choir with Mulovhedzi and we had
about three months to form&nbsp; one because
they didn’t want an existing choir but a new one. I asked Mulovhedzi to bring
his choir director expertise and I learned very quickly about gospel music,”
she recalls.



That was the birth of the Soweto Gospel Choir.



“The name was a very important decision and it came quite
naturally because most of the members were from Soweto, so that was giving the
artists their location. 



“We thought a lot of the languages the choir is going to be
singing in, people around the world were not going to know or understand, but
the only thing they knew was Soweto, Nelson Mandela and the struggle. So, we
marked it with something that people knew, the name,” Bryer says. 



Through word-of-mouth, within the three months given to them, they had auditions, and went into studio and recorded their first album, Voices From Heaven, which shot up to number one on the Billboards World Music Chart within three weeks of release in 2002. Three months after that, the choir went on to tour Australia.



The six-week tour sold out and the milestones have not
stopped since. 



Bryer recalls promoters coming out for a show and one saying to the choir that they had something special.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">“We said to her that ‘we don’t know how it’s going to go, so if you want to take a chance with us, sure. If it doesn’t work, everyone goes home’.”&nbsp; </blockquote>



Bryer was advised the Edinburgh International Festival was
where musicians cut their teeth and that was where promoters from around the
world looked for talent.&nbsp; 



There were thousands of acts and the SGC were ultimately
among the most popular at the festival, and that’s when other international promoters
wanted to work with them. 



Edinburgh got the ball rolling. 



At the end of 2003, the choir was presented with a big local
event in the form of the first 46664 concert; an AIDS benefit concert in honor
of the late South Africa president Nelson Mandela. 



That concert still gives Mandlenkosi Modawu the jitters when
he thinks of its scale and magnitude. One of the older members in the choir,
Modawu is the bass singer and drummer from Witbank, Mpumalanga, but moved to
Mofolo, Soweto, shortly after joining the choir. He has been with the choir for
over 15 years now. 



“The drummer prior to me was troublesome, so it was easier
for me to get into the choir after my auditions; fortunately, I am also a
singer and that was a bonus for me,” he says. 



He speaks of the Edinburgh International Festival as though the performance was yesterday and keeps reiterating that among the 2,000 acts, they were the best. 



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In the ocean of experiences, Modawu has moments he will
always treasure.



“I think our break came after Scotland (Edinburgh
International Festival), and when I think about the 46664 concert in 2003, I
get shivers even today, mainly because we were considered one of the smallest
acts in that concert but we ended up backing a whole lot of artists like Aretha
Franklin, Stevie Wonder, U2 and other big names,” he says. 



In 2007, SGC won their first Grammy. 



South African gospel was recognized globally and their
mantel was filling up. 



“The second Grammy came as a surprise, I think it’s because
of the collaborations we did with big name artists around the world. They got
us recognized in the global music fraternity.



“While working on the album that got us our third Grammy, we
drew from the experiences we had from the struggle, stories told by our parents
during apartheid and those songs really touched the world because of the
emotions, and it moved people,” Modawu says. 



Sadly, Mulovhedzi could not share the excitement of their
third Grammy. 



“His passing was devastating because he was our founding
father. It shocked us, but we had to accept and keep the legacy. One of his
sons is the choir manager now,” says Modawu. 



“The first Grammy just came out of nowhere. It started with
someone contacting us and asking what we think of this idea, we carried the
idea and, sadly, in 2009, he (Mulovhedzi) passed.”



&nbsp;And now 17 years
later, they are the most successful choir in the world.



“I have watched my children grow up for 17 years, from the
start, especially those coming from disadvantaged communities, very few had
ever been on a plane. 



“We had tried getting people who had never sung professionally before and we never thought they would be on stage with Celine Dion, Stevie Wonder or John Legend and through the years, artists wanted to collaborate with the choir. 



<ul class="wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex"><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><figure><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="698" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/gospelchoirAP20070212ASP003-1024x698.jpg" alt="" data-id="40968" data-link="https://www.forbesafrica.com/?attachment_id=40968" class="wp-image-40968" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/gospelchoirAP20070212ASP003-1024x698.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/gospelchoirAP20070212ASP003-300x204.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/gospelchoirAP20070212ASP003-600x409.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/gospelchoirAP20070212ASP003-768x523.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/gospelchoirAP20070212ASP003.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption> Soweto Gospel Choir win their first Grammy. Picture: Supplied</figcaption></figure></li><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><figure><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="928" height="620" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Celine.png.png" alt="" data-id="40974" data-link="https://www.forbesafrica.com/?attachment_id=40974" class="wp-image-40974" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Celine.png.png 928w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Celine.png-300x200.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Celine.png-600x401.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Celine.png-768x513.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 928px) 100vw, 928px" /><figcaption> Celine Dion and Beverly Bryer from the Soweto Gospel Choir. Picture: Supplied </figcaption></figure></li></ul>



“So, for them, it would be coming from Soweto and now on the
stage in New York City with Aretha Franklin or recording with Peter Gabriel or
doing shows with Johnny Clegg. To this day, it is an unreality for all of us.”



Bryers still remembers Mulovhedzi as the most important man
she had ever met in her dealings. 



“He was absolutely super-special,” she says, and that he was
the kindest gentleman with an absolute love for music and a great knowledge of
gospel. 



He helped her with the knowledge of gospel and working with
him was the most enriching experience, she adds. 



<ul class="wp-block-gallery columns-1 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-5 is-layout-flex"><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><figure><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="960" height="600" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/latest-granny.jpeg" alt="" data-id="40969" data-link="https://www.forbesafrica.com/?attachment_id=40969" class="wp-image-40969" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/latest-granny.jpeg 960w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/latest-granny-300x188.jpeg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/latest-granny-600x375.jpeg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/latest-granny-768x480.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px" /><figcaption>Soweto Gospel Choir win a third Grammy, the album called Freedom. It was recorded for that tour, which was called Songs of the Free to celebrate Nelson Mandela’s centenary. Picture: Supplied</figcaption></figure></li></ul>



“Regarding our latest Grammy, the album called Freedom was recorded in 2018. One group toured Europe and the other one did America. It was recorded for that tour, which was called Songs of the Free to celebrate Nelson Mandela’s centenary. So, it was concentrating on freedom songs, and songs that come from the struggle, with a little bit of gospel in between… 



“It was special because it’s an album that included their
(choir members’) history; it was an extra special feel for them.”&nbsp; 



Bryer recalls previous accolades with fondness.&nbsp; 



“The first Grammy had more attention because it came out of
nowhere. I remember in 2007 looking at my email that we were nominated for a
Grammy. It was special and we were there with David [Mulovhedzi]. 



“The second one was like, ‘been there, done that’.&nbsp; The third one is as important as the first
because of the history, it’s more personal and dedicated to Madiba, and it also
shows that even after 17 years, the Soweto Gospel Choir is on top of the music
game.”



At the beginning of their journey in 2002, the choir started
with 24 members, but because of&nbsp;
international travel, they had to form a second choir about 18 months
later to stay and perform locally.



Last year, the choir formed a third group because both groups were traveling; now the choir has grown to 50 members.&nbsp; 



Alto singer Cecelia Manyama from Diepkloof, Soweto, joined
the group in 2016. She was spotted by Bryer at a charity event playing the
violin for a classical group. She is one of the newer members.



“I met Beverly in the line to the loo. She had just heard me singing on stage and she called me aside and introduced herself and invited me for auditions that took place two weeks later. I was excited and couldn’t sleep, the two weeks felt like two years,” Manyama remembers.



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A week after the auditions, she received a message with
details of where the next rehearsals would be. She was in disbelief and told
everyone.



This was a choir that she admired and a choir she used to
watch on television. 



“I was told to lead a song I did at the charity event; I was
terrified. I remember the late Portia Skosana when I froze, and she came next
to me and sung the lead and let me continue. 



“When I started singing, I immediately felt the connection
and we were in sync and it didn’t feel new. With just that rehearsal, I was
blown away,” she recalls. 



Three months later, it was her first concert and performance
in Vosloorus, east of Johannesburg, for the Clap N Tap concert with the
choir.&nbsp; 



“I will never forget that experience, I led with Avulekile
Amasango (The Gates Have Opened). That was the first song I was given. I then
felt there is no stranger there in the choir,” she says, taking a deep breath. 



“Being with a Grammy award-winning choir and performing with
them for the first time, you have fear and excitement at the same time. We are
in sync and I realized I was not alone. 



“The backing behind me was speaking in volumes, it drove me,
it pushed me and from that day onwards, I never looked back and wanted to learn
more. It was an amazing experience.” 



&nbsp;For each new member
who joins the group, the awards reawaken something within. 



<ul class="wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-7 is-layout-flex"><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><figure><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="683" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/SGC-703-1024x683.jpg" alt="" data-id="40973" data-link="https://www.forbesafrica.com/?attachment_id=40973" class="wp-image-40973" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/SGC-703-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/SGC-703-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/SGC-703-600x400.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/SGC-703-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/SGC-703.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption> Soweto Gospel Choir practice session. Picture: Motlabana Monnakgotla</figcaption></figure></li><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><figure><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="926" height="615" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/SGC3.png.png" alt="" data-id="40975" data-link="https://www.forbesafrica.com/?attachment_id=40975" class="wp-image-40975" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/SGC3.png.png 926w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/SGC3.png-300x199.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/SGC3.png-600x398.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/SGC3.png-768x510.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 926px) 100vw, 926px" /><figcaption> Soweto Gospel Choir practice session. Picture: Motlabana Monnakgotla </figcaption></figure></li></ul>



“I remember with my first Grammy with the group, we went to
the airport to get it. I had never held a Grammy in my hand, but with Soweto
Gospel Choir, I held it,” laughs Manyama. 



“It was amazing. At first, I didn’t understand the kind of
impact it has on the nation but now I realize this is huge; being called
everywhere to perform, and being in the same room with the president holding
the Grammy. That Grammy is heavy and after taking a picture with it, you just
want to pass it on or put it down.” 



Although many have come and gone over the years, the choir
have prioritized succession, as they make it a point to gradually hand over
management to the younger generation, who no doubt have big shoes to fill – and
the legacy of three very heavy gramophone trophies to uphold.&nbsp;

SGCT

Soweto Gospel Choir: Three Heavy Grammys And A World Singing Their Praise

Their humming vibrates the pits of your stomach, their harmonies leave you wanting more and their combination of dancing and singing is extraordinary. Over the years, their uniqueness has garnered South Africa’s Ladysmith Black Mambazo numerous awards from around the world – including the coveted Grammys. They are regarded as the highest award bestowed on musicians in the world. Ladysmith Black Mambazo has bagged four of the gold-plated trophies, depicting a glided gramophone.
The group may not have been nominated for this year’s awards; but they will forever be etched in Grammy history.
Although Ladysmith Black Mambazo is internationally renowned and loved, back at home in South Africa it’s a different story and it shows in their album sales. The older generation connects better with the group, the younger generation tends to follow western music religiously. The group spends the majority of the year traveling across the United States (US) and Europe, returning home for short stints to see family and do a few performances.
I saw them perform for the first time just under a year ago.
It was June, if my memory serves me well. The warm sun was setting on a crowd dressed up to fight the winter at a concert outside South Africa’s capital, Pretoria. On stage, arrived one of the country’s youngest and hottest house acts Mi Casa, then Ladysmith Black Mambazo. The two groups from the same backyard, half a century apart, sang a new love song called My Sugar like they were born into it.
Mi Casa’s J-Something introduces the song, singing, “When you love somebody, right to the point where it hurts, and she got you feeling naughty,” a flurry of images flicker in your memory about those moments I had with my significant other.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo throws you right back to the good old days of Zulu traditional music and the isicathamiya sound they’re famous for. The isiZulu word, isicathamiya, is a sound best described as walking softly, a soft shuffling style of dancing, says Xolani Majozi, Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s executive producer. It is enriched by ragtime-influenced choral part-singing.
The group joins in after the chorus: “Njalo waz wamuhle Ntombi, awujwayelki ma ngikubona…” in isiZulu declaring their love for this beautiful girl as if they are seeing her for the first time. “Sengizothumela abakhulu,” – we are sending my uncles, they declare. This is a sign that the young man is ready to get married.
My Sugar mixes groovy house beats with smooth isiZulu vocals. The collaboration fuses two eras of Africa. The South African music legends match the youngsters note for note with swagger. They sign off with a flourish of two golden hits, Homeless, and Hello My Baby.
The crowd cheers the group off the stage, leaving Mi Casa to complete the set. Ladysmith Black Mambazo is rushed to the airport, for another gig in Durban at the MTV Africa Music Awards where they show they can hang in the contemporary music scene.
This is what Ladysmith Black Mambazo has been doing for over 50 years, while also surviving scores of line-up changes.
The current crop includes founding member Joseph Shabalala’s four sons Msizi, Thulani, Sibongiseni and Thamsanqa, grandson Babuyile as well as relatives Albert and Abednego Mazibuko, Russel Mthembu, Dlamini Mfanafuthi, and Pius Shezi.
It all started with a dream. Not a wishful one, but a recurring one. In 1964, Joseph dreamed of featuring in a choir singing in perfect harmony. He then formed what was to be the group of his dreams.
Formerly known as Ezimnyama (the Black Ones), Joseph renamed the group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. ‘Ladysmith’ was the name of the farming village in which he lived, ‘Black’ represented the black oxen that were the strongest on the farm and ‘Mambazo’ is an isiZulu word for axe – an allusion to them chopping down the other choirs by winning almost every singing competition.
A few years later, a radio broadcast in 1970 paved the way to their first recording contract – the foundation that led to more than 74 albums.
In 1973, they released their debut album Amabutho – the first album to reach gold status in Africa.
In 1986, American singer Paul Simon collaborated with the group on his Grammy Award-winning Graceland album. It was considered a seminal album that popularized world music. It was here they also composed the now famous song, Homeless. The group also sang on Simon’s single Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes.
A year later, Simon produced the group’s first worldwide release of the album Shaka Zulu, which won them their first Grammy Award in 1988 for Best Traditional Folk Recording. Since then, they’ve been nominated 15 times and added three more Grammys for the albums Raise Your Spirit Higher in 2004, Ilembe in 2009 and Live: Singing For Peace Around The World in 2014.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo spend most of their time performing in the West and Europe, from Germany to Norway. Nearly 30 years after Graceland, the tours keep coming. During March, the group will tour the west coast of the US.
FORBES AFRICA met with the group in Johannesburg, a few months after they scooped their fourth Grammy. The men are laughing and chatting in isiZulu dialect, heavy and untainted by years working away
from Africa.
Because the group comprises of Joseph Shabalala’s sons and some of his relatives of the Mshengu clan, I introduce myself with a different version of their surname, Tshabalala. They exclaim “nawe ungi Mshengu, ubuti wethu,” (you’re also an Mshengu, our brother). I am. We exchange hugs and they feel more at home. They’re celebrities but they could be your next door neighbor.
On this particular day, the group have taken a day off from their musical Amambazo at Pretoria’s State Theatre. Created by Joseph, the 25-cast and six-piece live band musical, along with Ladysmith Black Mambazo, is in its second year on stage. It follows Joseph’s story of founding the group.
More than 50 years of music has had its struggle and casualties. The group released their latest album called Always With Us, a tribute to the matriarch Nelli Shabalala, Joseph’s wife who was shot and killed outside their home in the KwaZulu Natal province. The album is a collection of songs she recorded with her church choir a year before she died.
In December 1991, Joseph’s brother and fellow member, Headman, was killed by an off-duty white security guard near Ladysmith. A few years later, Joseph’s other brother, Ben, was also shot and killed while driving his children to school.
But through it all the Shabalala’s persevered.
About three days before the group won their fourth Grammy, Majola announced that Joseph, aged 73, was scaling down his activities with the group.
“It’s a temporary retirement. He had back surgery and is recovering from that. As soon as he gets better, he won’t be as involved in the group like before, but he is still part of the group,” says Sibongiseni Shabalala.
“When we rehearse at home, we rehearse with him. He is still teaching us new songs.”
While the ensemble continue to travel across the globe, one of the senior members, Albert Mazibuko, is entrusted with keeping Joseph’s ways. Mazibuko is Joseph’s cousin and is the only original member left in the group.
“I’m so supportive to him. I make sure the group keeps together when we are going to places and that we keep our promises. I make sure the uniform is perfect,” says the 66-year-old Mazibuko, who designs the group’s shirts.
The men of Ladysmith Black Mambazo say it is not a group you can just join; it is one you grow up in. Music becomes part and parcel for all family members. Msizi, who is also part of the management team, says his father allows the families to bring their children to rehearsals so the different generations are able to work together and generate fresh ideas.
When the time came for the third generation to join Ladysmith Black Mambazo, even Msizi’s eldest son, Babuyile, had to serve an apprenticeship.
Before joining the senior team, Babuyile, along with two other relatives, founded Young Mbazo in 2009. It is a group where the younger members of the family sing isicathamiya and want to not only keep it alive, but make it more appealing to the younger generation.
“This type of music, it looks like a rhino, it’s about to be extinct. It’s not cool to be isicathamiya. It looks like you’re backward. But we are moving forward, using contemporary genres like RnB, kwaito, soul and hip-hop and we fuse that with isicathamiya,” says Babuyile.
As the day is about to end, I steal a moment with one of the most reserved members of the group, Msizi. He helped register Ladysmith Black Mambazo as a company. Msizi says they are trying to sell merchandise and also buy back albums from record companies so that they can all be distributed and sold under one umbrella.
For now, the group will continue performing in internationally to sold-out auditoriums. The group can spend up to four consecutive months touring.
Back in 2008, Joseph announced that his youngest son, Thamsanqa would take over as the leader of the group when he retires from international touring.
“The mission and message will continue. When the time comes for me to finish touring and to stay home, they will carry on my dream,” says Joseph.
With that said, Ladysmith Black Mambazo will continue to produce more albums, maybe even adding more Grammy Awards. And to think a dream started it all.

Glittering Prizes  To The Soft Shuffle Of Feet

Two days before last year’s Grammy Awards, the prolific South African jazz musician and activist, Hugh Masekela, arrived in Los Angeles. He had been nominated in the ‘Best World Music Album’ category for Jabulani, a collection of South African wedding songs, some of which are more than a century old.
Although it was the second Grammy nomination of his long career—his song Grazing in the Grass was up for best contemporary pop instrumental in 1969—Masekela didn’t seem too preoccupied with the possibility of winning.
“Awards are not really my thing,” he says with a shrug.
At the time, the 75-year-old artist was content to catch up with his son Sal Masekela, who is best known as a TV host for ESPN’s X Games coverage and the E! Entertainment celebrity gossip show, The Daily 10.
Sal’s latest endeavor was an album of his own, The Sound of Alekesam, a blend of hip-hop, jazz and R&amp;B that wafts over the speakers at his production company office, where he and his father had just completed their first ever photo shoot together.
“The album sounds good, Selema,” Hugh says, slapping his son on the back and calling him by his full name, as he always does.
It’s no small compliment from a musician who has released more than 40 albums and performed with Dizzy Gillespie, The Byrds, Fela Kuti, Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder and Miriam Makeba.
Sal smiles sheepishly and says, “Thanks, man.”
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Sal is 42, and over the course of their relationship there has at times been distance between the two men, both physical and emotional. It was not always easy having a father who was constantly touring, who lived in exile from his homeland for 30 years while speaking out against South Africa’s apartheid, or who once struggled with substance addiction. But their bond is a strong one.
“The great thing about my relationship with my dad is that we’ve always been able to pick up where we left off. We’re two guys running on one track with a baton, and we’ve each sometimes had to go in different ways, but we’re there to hand it to each other,” says Sal.
Today, both father and son find themselves looking forward, while also embracing their roots.
Hugh is committed to restoring African heritage. Born in the town of Witbank, east of Johannesburg, he has always drawn inspiration from the music of his country.
“The music I make, I don’t call it my music. It is based on my township and indigenous rural roots in South Africa. That’s what brought me fame all over the world,” he says.
Hugh first started playing the piano when he was five years old.
“I didn’t go into it for notoriety or fame. I just went into music because I love it,” he says.
At the age of 14, he was given his first trumpet by Archbishop Trevor Huddleston, the late British anti-apartheid activist. Hugh began to develop his signature sound in the late 1950s, melding jazz with African influences.
He left South Africa in 1960, aged 21, beginning a 30-year exile. Settling in New York during a golden age of jazz, he attended the Manhattan School of Music and watched legends like Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Louis Armstrong firsthand. His first album, Trumpet Africaine, was released in 1963.
In the ensuing decades, Hugh became an international star and an outspoken political voice with songs such as Stimela, Soweto Blues and Bring Him Back Home (Nelson Mandela), which became an anti-apartheid anthem.
Sal was born in 1971 and, like his father, grew up immersed in music.
“My earliest memories of my father are being with him in jazz clubs. Hanging out in studios and being around music and around artists that talked about the world,” he says.
As Hugh divided his time between the United States (US) and Africa, living in Zaire, Liberia and Nigeria, Sal was raised by his mother, Jessie Lapierre, a Haitian immigrant, and his stepfather, Manny Gonzalez.
“I’m a unique first-generation American. I borrow from all of it. I’m lucky in that I get to take the influences and the principles of my different cultures and shape them into who I am as a person,” says Sal.
As a young man, Sal marched to the beat of his own drum. Upon moving from New York to California in 1988, he took up surfing, which sparked his love of action sports. One of the tracks on his album alludes to his individualistic nature and his love of the ocean, as he sings: “I’m a black cowboy riding a dolphin”.
In 1990, after the release of Nelson Mandela, Sal joined his father on his homecoming tour in South Africa.
“It was really crazy. While Mandela had been released, apartheid itself was having a very hard time breaking down. I think people were starting to see that it was going to take a long time to put this car in reverse. There was a lot of violence and it was a tense time,” says Sal.
“It was very fulfilling for me to be able to bring him home and for him to see the other side of his heritage,” Hugh says.
In 2010, the two traveled throughout South Africa during the Fifa World Cup for ESPN’s 10-part video series titled ‘Umlando—Through My Father’s Eyes’.
“I took him to the poorest places in the country, to see the other side of it, and also the beauty of the country. It was just wonderful to watch him take it all in,” says Hugh.
For Sal, it was a different South Africa than the one he had visited previously.
“You could pull up at a red light and there’d be a car full of white people at the red light next to your car, and they might wave to you or smile. That might sound minute but the texture of the way people dealt with each other was different—especially among the younger generation,” he says.
The experience gave him immense hope for what the next 20 or 30 years could be like in South Africa.
When it comes to their own futures and those of Africa, Hugh and Sal are both ambitious and optimistic.
In the past year, Hugh has been busy performing in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the US, Canada, Europe and throughout Africa. He also spent five weeks in Trinidad and Tobago working on an album with Siparia Deltones, a steel band. The album is expected this year on Hugh’s record label, House of Masekela.
Sal has been equally busy covering surfing and mountain biking, writing new songs, and developing Art of Craft, a line of limited-edition T-shirts. The shirts are created in collaboration with artisans and a portion of the proceeds is donated to a charity of each subject’s choosing. Hugh was the first artist to be featured.
Sal was due to return to South Africa in March to ride in the Cape Epic, an 800-kilometer mountain bike. He also had plans to work with the South African surfer Jordy Smith, a good friend who does charity work in Durban to promote the sport to youth.
“I’ve always said that the first surfer of color that will have a real shot at the World Tour is going to come from South Africa,” Sal says during a recent phone call.
His optimism echoed that of his father during their earlier conversation before the Grammys.
“There is no society that has as much diversity and wealth and a reservoir of music and other things than Africa. We’re looking at Africa in its embryonic stage as far as I’m concerned,” says Hugh.
Hugh did not win the Grammy but when you are a legend, who cares?   FL

Tag: Grammy Awards

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