Mzwakhe Mbuli

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Mzwakhe Mbuli (* 1958 in Sophiatown , Johannesburg ) is a folk poet and singer from South Africa .

Life

Mbuli was born in the Johannesburg district of Sophiatown, which was evacuated by 1959. Mbuli had to move to Soweto with his parents . At the funeral of an anti- apartheid activist in Soweto, he recited poetry for the first time and became popular. His height of approximately 2.10 meters also helped him. In the 1980s he was arrested several times by the South African authorities. He was not given a passport, so he was unable to travel abroad for the United Democratic Front , for which he served as cultural ambassador.

He published the volume of poetry Before Dawn (1989) and the music albums Change Is Pain (1987), Unbroken Spirit (1989), Resistance and Defense (1992) and Africa (1993), in which he described music styles popular in South Africa such as Mbaqanga , Kwela , Marabi and gospel mixed. Mbuli received a gold record for Unbroken Spirit , which contains numerous texts written in solitary confinement . He writes his texts in English and Zulu .

Mbuli's international career began in Germany in 1990 when he appeared on stage with the African musicians Youssou N'Dour , Miriam Makeba and Thomas Mapfumo . He appeared at Chris Hani’s funeral and at the inauguration of President Nelson Mandela .

In 1999 Mbuli was convicted of armed bank robbery and possession of a hand grenade. He always denied the allegations. In 2002 Nelson Mandela visited him in prison. Mbuli was released the following year. In 2004 his album Mbulism was released .

Literary works

  • 1989: Before Dawn (Cosaw)

Discography

  • 1987: Change is Pain (South Africa: Shifty, USA: Rounder)
  • 1989: Unbroken Spirit (Shifty)
  • 1992: Resistance is Defense (Stern's Earthworks)
  • 1993: Africa (CCP / EMI)
  • 1994: Izigi (CCP / EMI)
  • 1999: Umzwakhe Ubongo Ujehovah (CCP / EMI)
  • 1999: KwaZulu-Natal (CCP / EMI)
  • 2004: Mbulism (CCP / EMI)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.music.org.za/artist.asp?id=123
  2. ↑ a b http://www.africanmusic.org/artists/mbuli.html
  3. ^ Website for Mbuli from his imprisonment ( memento of July 18, 2011 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on September 29, 2012
personal data
SURNAME Mbuli, Mzwakhe
BRIEF DESCRIPTION South African poet and singer
DATE OF BIRTH 1958
PLACE OF BIRTH Sophiatown , Johannesburg , South Africa