REPOST: Remembering an African Icon: Brenda Fassie (MaBrr) 3 Nov 1964 - 9 May 2004

Thursday 3 November 2016 was the late great South African musical icon Brenda Fassie's birthday. She would have been 52 years old had she not passed on in 2004. In honour of this birthday, the website OkayAfrica  had a great piece on the 10 best Brenda Fassie songs. Many of my favourites were on the list while others did not make the cut. The wonderful thing about Brenda Fassie was that her large musical repertoire spanned two decades and several genres. Although fans of her music have divided opinions about which song was her best, there was something in there for everyone in her large body of work. For example, like the author of the OkayAfrica article, my brother insists Weekend Special was her best song. I  wholeheartedly disagree. Reflecting on her legacy, here's my piece from 2012 on the icon that was Brenda Fassie.  

The Late Brenda Fassie
Source: Lastfm

The late great South African musical icon Brenda Fassie may be remembered by some only for her infectious hit Vulindlela that took the African continent by storm in the late 90s and early '00s. However, for many of us growing up in Southern Africa in the 80s and 90s, Brenda Fassie's music was the soundtrack of our lives. Her early pop hits were the songs we used to sing along to in the playground in primary school while in high school, her kwaito tracks were the stuff of intricately choreographed dance routines. 
In fact from the late 1980s through the 90s there was a transition in  Brenda Fassie's music from pop songs mainly in English to the dance rhythms of kwaito almost exclusively in local South African languages. As Brenda Fassie reached the height of her career during this period, not only was she known for the music but also for the offstage drama that managed to fill newspapers and tabloids.

Despite all the drama, it came as a complete shock to me when Brenda Fassie tragically passed away at the age of 39 years in 2004 just months after I saw her perform live at the Ghana Music Awards.

So I was just thinking to myself. Today marks 8 years since the passing of one of my favorite musical icon and out of the plethora of her songs, which would be my ultimate favorite? This is actually a very hard question. 

Would it be Zola Budd the hit that celebrated the Johannesburg mini-van taxis nicknamed Zola Budd after the South African long distance runner of the time Zola Budd? 

Would it be Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu. The song that encapsulated the Zulu proverb "umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu" (a person is a person because of people) and described Brenda Fassie's gratitude to others? This song had a really glitzy video involving a plane and runway. I am sure we still have it on VHS somewhere.

Would my favorite be No No No Senor? A song with an amusing video that replicated an American Western (or more like a Spaghetti western) with Brenda as a heroine saved by a cowboy on horseback complete with a stetson. I kid you not.

There are just too many songs to choose from. There's Brenda's ode to Mr. Nelson Mandela in Black President which was years before he actually became the first black president of South Africa.  There is also Boipatong  featuring the powerful vocals of Tsepho Tshola of the band Sankomota dedicated to those killed in the tragic Boipatong Massacre of 1992. 

Who could also forget Too Late for Mama that tells the story of a mother struck by lightning on the way to fetch water. I am really confused why google keeps linking this track with Alicia Keys. Or did I miss Alicia Keys re-doing a Brenda song completely?

Still among the Brenda anthology there is the ultimate early dance  track Istraight Lendaba which along with Higher and Higher were hits around the time that kwaito music was just emerging as a genre. 

There are the later kwaito classics like Qula, Ngeke Umconfirm, Nomakanjani, Amagents (an angry response to another South African musician), the very dark Memeza and of course Vulindlela. 

So I thought about it long and hard. My ultimate favorite Brenda Fassie song would have to be the very first one I ever heard when I was still a child. The video featured a young 19 year old Brenda Fassie belting her heart out in It's nice to be with people when she was still billed as 'Brenda Fassie and The Big Dudes'. This was before the fame, before the drama and before the tragedy.

Sadly, I can't find the original video on the internet:

When Time Magazine described Brenda Fassie as the Madonna of the Townships in a 2001 article, I for one thought they got it completely wrong. Brenda Fassie was not the Madonna of the Townships, Madonna was the Brenda Fassie of America. 

Brenda Fassie aka MaBrr; fondly remembered and forever cherished.

Of xenophobia, our ignorance and the United States of Africa pipe-dream

Time Magazine from 1985 talks about Black Rage in the context of Apartheid South Africa
Source: Time Magazine

Recent reports of xenophobic attacks in South Africa have left me with a heavy heart. These are not new. After all, violent xenophobic attacks happened back in 2008. The South African government comes across as largely mute except to assure the world that these are not xenophobic attacks but afrophobic in nature. What a relief. In fact, this is the first time I have heard the term 'afrophobic'. Is that actually a thing? 

In the greater scheme of things, xenophobia in South Africa, as it is in other parts of the world and history, is a reflection of harsh economic times, unemployment and growing feelings of marginalization of a given populace. With such resentment comes anger directed against vulnerable groups.

It is curious though that the xenophobic attacks are afro-centered in nature. Where does this deep-seated hatred for fellow Africans stem from? 

I find myself thinking that had I not made the decision to leave the University of Cape Town decades ago for the US, would I still be living in South Africa? Would my "West African" sepia make me vulnerable to these attacks? 

There are abundant comments on Twitter from other Africans outraged that black South Africans have forgotten the sacrifices that other African countries made for their freedom. Such sacrifices seem to have gone sadly undocumented but then a tricky question can be asked; do these past sacrifices warrant an unchecked influx of African immigrants into South Africa? Regardless, the violence and murder are unwarranted.

Despite the accounts of civil servants across Africa having their pay cut for contributions to a South Africa liberation fund (though it is hard to say where exactly this money went), no countries suffered more during apartheid than those living in the shadow of apartheid South Africa. These [so-called] Frontline states were Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and also from 1980, Zimbabwe. Many are too young to remember the cross-border raids from South Africa into these countries or the bombs that rocked places like Lusaka. There was also the nefarious involvement of the South African Defense Force in the Mozambican and Angolan civil wars. Let us not get started on the countless South African refugees in Swaziland and other countries. Is such recent history being forgotten or not imparted to new generations?

South African Defense Force of the 1980s on border patrol
Source: http://www.sahistory.org.za/ 

In the dying days of apartheid, one thing I (oddly) remember are the reader comments sent to the popular South African magazine You magazine. At the time, there was real panic among some White South Africans that if apartheid ended, they would be forced out of South Africa. For some reason, a lot of readers sent letters saying things like "you (the Blacks of South Africa) are better off than other Africans. At least you have shoes to wear". Although largely inaccurate, these sentiments underlie, perhaps, the great divide that existed between South Africa and the rest of Africa. The apartheid system had ensured minimal education and that Black South Africans knew as little as possible about the rest of Africa. The system perpetuated a myth that the rest of Africa was an utter shambolic, chaotic wasteland and that somehow black South Africans were much better off as second class citizens in their own country. Did this myth perhaps also ingrain feelings of superiority?

Apartheid may have planted the seeds of afrophobia but 20 years have passed since the system collapsed so there must be other factors driving this deep-seated hatred. Does ignorance play a role?
Hang on, as other Africans like myself are perched up on our high horses, how much do we know about other parts of Africa ourselves? For example, how much do West  Africans know about East Africans beyond stereotypes and vice-versa? 

I often tell the story about living between Ghana and Southern African in the 90s: 

People in Ghana would say : "In Southern Africa, do they speak Swahili?"

I would say: "No..."

People in Southern Africa would say: "In Ghana, do they speak Swahili?"

I would say: "No..."

We chide others about being ignorant about the African continent but how knowledgeable are we about it anyway? These thoughts plus the xenophobic attacks and lack of appreciation for history have led me to a larger more troubling question: is the United Africa goal of pan-Africanism no more than a pipe-dream?

16th June1976: 38 years on

The iconic photograph that symbolizes the Soweto uprising. Hector Pieterson (13 years old) being carried by Mbuyisa Makhubo after being shot the first person to be shot by a South African policeman with live bullets.  Source: wikipedia

 

 

 

Today marks 38 years since the Soweto Uprising of 1976 in which ordinary high school students in the South Western Townships of Johannesburg started a series of protests in response to the forced introduction of Afrikaans as the language of instruction in their schools. Approximately 20,000 young people took to the streets in protest to ensure their rights under the oppressive apartheid regime. The uprising was brutally crushed by the apartheid government and between 176 and 700 young people died. Like the Sharpeville Massacre of 1960, the Soweto Uprising had a poignant impact on the fight against apartheid. It was a defining moment that demonstrated the brutal inhumanity of the apartheid regime. Although the apartheid regime was only completely confined to the dustbin of history 18 years after the events of 16th June, it had a lasting impact on South African history. The sacrifices made by these brave students for the generations of South Africans who have come after can never be forgotten.

We Miss you Manelo - Chicco Twala (1989)

Back in the dark days of apartheid in South Africa, censors were ready to ban books, songs and people. In the 1980s, one of the most popular South African musicians was Sello "Chicco" Twala who is still a stalwart in the South African music industry today. In 1989, he released a pop tune called "We miss you Manelo" that was accompanied by a seemingly innocuous video that tells the story of a teenage girl Manelo. Poor Manelo gets herself knocked-up and eventually runs away from her very angry parents. Later in the song, Manelo's parents reflect on their move and are distraught over her continual absence. Hence the song's refrain is "We miss you Manelo, where are you??"

If you listen to the song carefully, you will understand the genius of Chicco and other artists of the time. Here are some of the lyrics:

"It's been a long time,  Manelo where are you? We are missing you, Manelo Where are you? Come back, come back home!" 

Was the song about a teenage girl Manelo who ran away from home? Most probably not.

The song was actually "We miss you Mandela, where are you?" but to evade the censors, Chicco released this track complete with the Manelo facade. Talk about sticking it to The Man. Perhaps the censors may have suspected something was amiss but with a video like that, what could they say?

Fortunately for Chicco and the rest of South Africa, Nelson Mandela was to be released the very next year in 1990 and the already unraveling apartheid system was to completely collapse in a few years and be relegated to the dustbin of history.

Remembering an African Icon: Brenda Fassie (MaBrr) 3 Nov 1964 - 9 May 2004

The Late Brenda Fassie
Source: Lastfm

The late great South African musical icon Brenda Fassie may be remembered by some only for her infectious hit Vulindlela that took the African continent by storm in the late 90s and early '00s. However, for many of us growing up in Southern Africa in the 80s and 90s, Brenda Fassie's music was the soundtrack of our lives. Her early pop hits were the songs we used to sing along to in the playground in primary school while in high school, her kwaito tracks were the stuff of intricately choreographed dance routines. 
In fact from the late 1980s through the 90s there was a transition in  Brenda Fassie's music from pop songs mainly in English to the dance rhythms of kwaito almost exclusively in local South African languages. As Brenda Fassie reached the height of her career during this period, not only was she known for the music but also for the offstage drama that managed to fill newspapers and tabloids.

Despite all the drama, it came as a complete shock to me when Brenda Fassie tragically passed away at the age of 39 years in 2004 just months after I saw her perform live at the Ghana Music Awards.

So I was just thinking to myself. Today marks 8 years since the passing of one of my favorite musical icon and out of the plethora of her songs, which would be my ultimate favorite? This is actually a very hard question. 

Would it be Zola Budd the hit that celebrated the Johannesburg mini-van taxis nicknamed Zola Budd after the South African long distance runner of the time Zola Budd? 

Would it be Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu. The song that encapsulated the Zulu proverb "umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu" (a person is a person because of people) and described Brenda Fassie's gratitude to others? This song had a really glitzy video involving a plane and runway. I am sure we still have it on VHS somewhere.

Would my favorite be No No No Senor? A song with an amusing video that replicated an American Western (or more like a Spaghetti western) with Brenda as a heroine saved by a cowboy on horseback complete with a stetson. I kid you not.

There are just too many songs to choose from. There's Brenda's ode to Mr. Nelson Mandela in Black President which was years before he actually became the first black president of South Africa.  There is also Boipatong  featuring the powerful vocals of Tsepho Tshola of the band Sankomota dedicated to those killed in the tragic Boipatong Massacre of 1992. 

Who could also forget Too Late for Mama that tells the story of a mother struck by lightning on the way to fetch water. I am really confused why google keeps linking this track with Alicia Keys. Or did I miss Alicia Keys re-doing a Brenda song completely?

Still among the Brenda anthology there is the ultimate early dance  track Istraight Lendaba which along with Higher and Higher were hits around the time that kwaito music was just emerging as a genre. 

There are the later kwaito classics like Qula, Ngeke Umconfirm, Nomakanjani, Amagents (an angry response to another South African musician), the very dark Memeza and of course Vulindlela. 

So I thought about it long and hard. My ultimate favorite Brenda Fassie song would have to be the very first one I ever heard when I was still a child. The video featured a young 19 year old Brenda Fassie belting her heart out in It's nice to be with people when she was still billed as 'Brenda Fassie and The Big Dudes'. This was before the fame, before the drama and before the tragedy.

Sadly, I can't find the original video on the internet:

When Time Magazine described Brenda Fassie as the Madonna of the Townships in a 2001 article, I for one thought they got it completely wrong. Brenda Fassie was not the Madonna of the Townships, Madonna was the Brenda Fassie of America. 

Brenda Fassie aka MaBrr; fondly remembered and forever cherished.

Death of an Iconic Activist and Matriarch: Albertina Sisulu (21 October 1918 - 2 June 2011)

Mrs. Albertina Sisulu, 1918 - 2011
Source: AP via bbc.co.uk 

It was with great sadness that I learnt that on  2 June 2011, Mrs. Albertina Sisulu, wife of the late South African anti-apartheid activist Walter Sisulu, passed away at the age of 92. In the dying days of apartheid in the mid-90s, I had the priviledge of hearing Mrs. Sisulu speak at my school in Swaziland. To a packed auditorium, she addressed the audience with a written speech which she read. I remember it being quite formal and not too inspiring. At the end, she folded the speech, put away her reading glasses and proceeded to completely blow our minds with a powerful, unscripted talk. We were left in awe and spell-bound. Although her exact words are now a distant memory, I do recall a heartfelt, rousing account of her experiences in the fight against institutionalized racism in South Africa. Like many wives of jailed anti-apartheid leaders of the time, circumstances forced her into the role of leadership of the struggle and at the same time being primary caretaker of her family. She rose to the challenges with strength, humility and selflessness. 

From the brief encounter with Mrs. Sisulu that evening, we not only gained insight into this anti-apartheid stalwart and iconic activist but were truly inspired by her words. To quote South African President Jacob Zuma on her passing: 

 "Mama Sisulu has over the decades been a pillar of strength not only for the Sisulu family but also the entire liberation Movement as she reared, counselled, nursed and educated most of the leaders and founders of the democratic South Africa" 

Source: AllAfrica.com

May Mrs. Sisulu's  soul rest in peace and may her legacy continue to be a source of inspiration for future generations of South Africans and Africans.