Vusi Mahlasela

Vusi Sidney Mahlasela Ka Zwane lost his mother at a young age and never knew his father. He was raised in the impoverished Mamelodi township and suffered from frequent bouts of epilepsy. The cauldron of musical creativity that was Mamelodi did much to heal these handicaps. Brought up by his grandmother, he was nourished by men singing “ingomabusuju” (songs of the night) in her shebeen. With the help of a home-made guitar made of tin cans and fishing lines, he became a seasoned performer by the age of 17.

Nobel-prizewinning author Nadine Gordimer took an interest in Mahlasela’s career early on and financed guitar lessons for him. Soon, the singer was addressing political rallies nationwide and became known as one of the most prominent voices of the campaign to overthrow the country’s racist regime. “I think Vusi’s music does a great job of explaining or expressing the spirit that was so vibrant underneath the weight of apartheid,” explains Dave Matthews, a fellow South African musician who signed up the singer to his ATO Records label.

Mahlasela’s music is rooted in African jazz, the accapella “mbube” sounds from KwaZulu Natal and folk rhythms. He worked with one of the country’s most underrated poets Lebogo Rampolokeng, but was equally influenced by the works of Chilean composer Victor Jara. In the Nineties he began touring Europe and Africa, all the while promoting national reconciliation. “If you are bitter you are like a dry leaf that you can just squash,” he explained, “There is much more wisdom in forgiveness.”

His 1992 debut album “When you come back”, on the Shifty/BMG label, was dedicated to those who had suffered the solitude and poverty of political exile. Two year later, he brought out “Wisdom of forgiveness” which also reaped an impressive array of domestic and international awards. Since then, Mahlasela has released half-a-dozen CDs which reflect his continued engagement to the people of his Mamelodi township. For, despite the affluence and recognition his music has provoked, the father-of-two continues to share the daily lives of this impoverished ghetto. His old-time friend and ally Nadine Gordimer said of him: “Music is at the heart of the reconstruction – Vusi’s music is here to stir and delight us. He’s a national treasure!”

In 2003 his US album debut “The Voice” united 14 of the best songs composed by the 40-year-old. “This album is dedicated to all in every walk of life who are the voice against any injustices committed to men, women and children of the world,” he writes in the sleevenotes. “Let everyone who cares become a voice to preach for a world of cultural peace.”

October 2005

Daniel Brown

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