JOHANNESBURG – The legendary a cappella choral group Ladysmith Black Mambazo will be performing in honour of Nelson Mandela on 27 July at the Joburg Theatre in Braamfontein at the Celebrate Nelson Mandela concert.
Eyewitness News spoke with Sibongiseni Shabalala, son of the late Joseph Shabalala who founded the group in 1964, ahead of the upcoming concert.
“It just happened. When we were growing up, we would watch our father practice and perform, and we just ended up loving it. We wanted to do what he did,” said Shabalala about him and his brothers following in their father’s footsteps.
They group sings isicathamiya, a kind of musical style that uses only voices with no instruments, featuring close harmonies and many voices blending different notes at once and including hand movements and tight choreography.
Sibongiseni and his brothers Thamsanqa, Msizi and Thulani, and the group's oldest member, Alfred Mazibuko, are part of Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
“When our father was alive, he would tell us that we should work together as a family. When decisions had to be made, he called all of us and asked for our input. He would constantly remind us that we are stronger as a family, as a unit,” said Sibongiseni about working with his brother.
READ: Ladysmith Black Mambazo to perform in honour of Nelson Mandela in July
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Eyewitness News asked Mazibuko about how it was working with the four sons of Joseph and how they dealt with any possible conflict among the siblings.
“Joe’s four sons are in the group and I gave them all the same position. We have seen a lot of groups, organisations fall apart due to sibling rivalry, jealousy. So, I decided they would be treated equally, if one writes one song, they all get to write one song, if one leads two songs on stage the others also get to lead two songs on stage,” said Mazibuko – an original member, having joined the group in 1969.
Nine years later after the passing of our former president, five-time Grammy winners Ladysmith Black Mambazo will celebrate the life and times of Nelson Mandela with a concert featuring their classic hit songs and new music.
“The late president Nelson Mandela was a big supporter of Ladysmith Black Mambazo. He said that when he was on Robben Island, Ladysmith Black Mambazo was consoling them and giving them hope that one day South Africa will be free. The president also invited Ladysmith Black Mambazo to travel with him to Oslo when he was honoured with a Nobel Peace Prize. After that momentous event, Joseph Shabalala and Ladysmith Black Mambazo wrote a song in honour of Madiba being a recipient of a Nobel Peace Prize and being an international symbol of peace and unity. The song titled _Long Walk To Freedom _was a tribute to Nelson Mandela for being the first democratically elected president in South Africa."
Sibongiseni said the concert would also honour his father who in 2013 officially retired from his duties as leader.
"The concert will also celebrate the 62-year legacy of Ladysmith Black Mambazo being in the music industry,” said Mazibuko.
In 1993, at Nelson Mandela's request, Ladysmith Black Mambazo accompanied him, and then-South African president, FW de Klerk, to the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo, Norway. They would sing again at president Mandela's inauguration in May of 1994.
"The Celebrate Nelson Mandela concert is a celebration of what he stood for and so it is aimed at spreading the message of love and peace throughout the world. The event is aimed at also encouraging people not to resort to violence in times of disagreement, but rather use peaceful amicable means. This will be an annual event that will travel to different countries, preaching the message of peace through the songs of Ladysmith Black Mambazo,” said Mazibuko.
During the 1970s and early 1980s, Ladysmith Black Mambazo established themselves as a successful singing group in South Africa. In the mid-1980s, the American singer/songwriter Paul Simon visited South Africa and incorporated the group's rich harmonies into his famous Graceland album, a landmark recording that was considered crucial in introducing world music to mainstream audiences.
The group can be heard on soundtracks of Disney’s The Lion King, Eddie Murphy’sComing to America, James Earl Jones’ Cry The Beloved Country and Clint Eastwood's Invictus. A documentary film called On Tip Toe: Gentle Steps to Freedom was nominated for an Academy award. They have appeared on Broadway, have been nominated for Tony awards and have won a Drama Desk Award and five Grammys.
This show is a rare moment for South African Ladysmith Black Mambazo fans to interact with the legends and experience a full, live performance by this internationally-renowned group who spend most of their time touring the globe.
Their message of peace and love through music will spread overseas in October when they land in the UK for a tour. The group, through its Ladysmith Black Mambazo Mobile Academy programme, has selected two groups who will be travelling with them: Gods Fellas from Rustenburg and Meduduwetsane from Kimberly.
This mobile academy is a developmental project aimed at discovering, developing and exposing the music talent of artists doing acapella and indigenous music while preserving the culture and heritage of Isicathamiya/acapella music by creating a platform for sustainable jobs for upcoming artists. The search for talent has been done in all nine provinces in the country and nine different groups representing each province have been selected, mentored and given an opportunity to record. One of the groups from KwaZulu-Natal – the Africa Mamas – also travelled to Germany in November 2019 through the support of Ladysmith Black Mambazo Mobile Academy.
When asked whether he and his brothers wish to see their children joining the group as they did, Sibongiseni told Eyewitness News that Ladysmith Black Mambazo belongs to Mzansi, not his family.
“Our wish for our children is for them to have a bright future doing whatever they love. We will not try to influence them to join the group, that decision is theirs to make. Our father did not force us to join, we did it of our own free will. Besides, this is not a family group, this group belongs to South Africans, and we belong to the country. Anyone is welcome to come to join us.”
Ladysmith Black Mambazo will be staging The Celebrate Nelson Mandela concert at the Joburg Theatre in Braamfontein on 17 July. Tickets are available here and Pick and Pay.
Artmotion S.Africa
