On Monday, people around the world will salute the memory of South African singer, songwriter, and civil and human rights activist Zenzile Miriam Makeba, who was also lovingly given the name “Mama Africa” by her admirers. Makeba was born in Johannesburg on March 4, 1932, and joined the ancestors in 2008 in Castel Volturno, Italy, at the age of 76. In over 50 years as a singer, Makeba traversed the globe, raising the consciousness of millions about the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa. A global citizen, Makeba sang in English, Zulu, Xhosa, Sotho, Swahili, Arabic, Hebrew, Spanish, and Portuguese.
When I was teaching anthropology and women’s studies, I was surprised to find out that most of my students had never heard of Makeba. They also knew very little about the anti-apartheid struggle, though most had heard the name of Nelson Mandela. Last summer, French-Malagasy singer Jain’s 2015 tribute to Makeba went viral on TiKTok. Hopefully more people are becoming aware of Mama Africa’s history and importance.
Please do pass this story on to friends and family—especially your younger folks. It’s one small way to help ensure that Makeba’s music and commitment to struggle live on, for generations to come.
”Black Music Sunday” is a weekly series highlighting all things Black music, with over 200 stories covering performers, genres, history, and more, each featuring its own vibrant soundtrack. I hope you’ll find some familiar tunes and perhaps an introduction to something new.
Let’s start with Makeba’s biography, from South Africa History Online:
Miriam Makeba was born March 4th, in 1932 Johannesburg, during a time of economic depression. Her mother, a domestic worker, was imprisoned for six months for illegally brewing beer to help make ends meet, and Miriam went to prison with her as she was just 18 days old. She grew up in Nelspruit where her father was a clerk with Shell Oil.
Makeba’s mother was also a sangoma, or a practitioner of herbal medicine, divination and counselling in traditional Zulu, Xhosa, Ndebele and Swazi (Nguni) societies of Southern Africa. Her father died when she was five years old, Miriam was sent to live with her grandmother at a compound in Riverside, Pretoria. From a young age, Makeba loved to sing at church, and performed her first solo during the 1947 Royal Visit. Miriam began her working life helping her mother clean houses. In the 1950s, she lived in Sophiatown when it was a vibrant place and one of the few areas where all races could mix. It was the scene of kwela music, marabi and African jazz and big band music became popular.
Miriam Makeba began her music career singing for her cousin’s band, the Cuban Brothers, but it was only when she began to sing for the Manhattan Brothers in 1954 that she began to build a reputation. She toured South Africa, Zimbabwe (former Rhodesia) and the Congo with the band until 1957. After this Makeba sang for an all-women group, the Skylarks, which combined jazz and traditional African melodies. Makeba’s appearances in the films Come Back Africa (1957) and as the female lead in Todd Matshikiza’s King Kong (1959) cemented her reputation in the music industry both locally and abroad. She later married her King Kong co-star, Hugh Masekela, in 1964. Makeba arrived in New York in November 1959, later resigning herself to exile after South Africa refused to renew her passport.
Makeba and the Skylarks were one of the most successful South African vocal groups to blend American influences (Mills Brothers-style pop, gospel, and jazz) with South African tribal rhythms and vocal styles (primarily mbube, a four-part harmony approach originated by Zulu miners). Their music holds up extremely well four decades after it was recorded. The vocal harmonies are both complex and infectious, the backing instrumentation is loose and jazzy, and the sound is superb considering the music was recorded between 1956 and 1959
Have a listen.
South African music professor Nomfundo Xaluva continues Makeba’s story for The Conversation.
The legacy of iconic singer Miriam Makeba and her art of activism
In 1952, she was cast in Alf Herbert’s African Jazz and Variety production showcasing black talent. It was presented mainly to white audiences except on Thursdays when black audiences were allowed. This is where film producer Lionel Rogosin spotted Makeba and persuaded her to feature in his controversial documentary film, Come Back Africa.
This film depicted the harsh conditions under which black South Africans were forced to live by the apartheid government. Makeba’s short appearance attracted attention, including an invitation to attend the film’s premiere in Italy. Naturally, she agreed, never imagining that because of her role in the movie she would be banned by the apartheid state from returning home, not even to bury her own mother. This marked the beginning of her exile.
Promoting the film in London, Makeba met African American folk singer and activist Harry Belafonte. He would play a significant role in her career in the US, forming half of the duet on their Grammy-winning album An Evening with Belafonte & Makeba.
In a 2023 installment of “Black Music Sunday.” I flagged that in 2013, Kenyan journalist Msanii Kimani wrote about Makeba’s meeting with Belafonte in London.
Makeba, who had applied for a legal passport around 1957 to travel abroad, attended the Venice Film Festival. At the time married to Sonny Pillay, a ballad singer of Indian descent who Makeba both married and divorced in 1959, and concerned for her small child in South Africa, she initially intended to return home directly from Venice. But from the moment of her arrival, several American entertainers – namely Steve Allen – were so captivated by Makeba that they were determined to bring the young singer to the United States. Thus, from Venice, Makeba traveled first to London, England, where she met vocalist Harry Belafonte at a screening for Come Back, Africa. Judging her a revolutionary talent, he offered to act as Makeba’s chief sponsor and mentor.
Next, she arrived in America for an appearance on Allen’s national television show. After the program, airing on November 30, 1959, Max Gordon, owner of New York City’s Village Vanguard nightclub, booked the singer for four weeks on the recommendation of Belafonte. The already accomplished performer coached Makeba on her stage poise and hired an arranger, clothing designer, and musicians in preparation for her club debut.
Belafonte would continue to mentor the exiled singer. Their 1965 album, “An Evening with Belafonte/Makeba,” won a Grammy. Enjoy this duet from the album: “Train Song.”
This documentary, from the “African Biographics” channel on YouTube, is an excellent introduction to Makeba’s life and impact.
From the video notes:
Miriam Makeba was well known for her unforgettable voice, but no one can deny she played an even bigger part in South African history.She was one of the most visible and outspoken opponents of South Africa's apartheid regime from the 1950s till its dismantling in the early 1990s. Makeba was the quintessential freedom fighter who during the repressive apartheid regime decided to boldly use her music to directly criticize the apartheid government. This was by no means an easy task, but one that only a true warrior like herself could undertake. Miriam Makeba did not care about the consequences because freedom for the oppressed was what fuelled her passion, in spite of the harassment she received from the government ...
A 2011 episode of the BBC’s “Storyville” series focused on Makeba’s life and political impact. Peter Culshaw reviewed it for The Arts Desk.
Storyville: The Queen of Africa - The Miriam Makeba Story, BBC Four
The compelling tale of the singer and activist they called Mama Africa
The Finnish director Mika Kaurismaki tells a riveting story and gets some key interviews, notably with her ex-husband, the trumpeter Hugh Masekela. Among the highlights are the images of Johannesburg nightlife in the 1950s. Black musicians like Makeba would sing at the houses of sympathetic whites. When tipped off the police were coming they would change into maids' and servants' outfits. She had probably her greatest hit “Pata, Pata” ,by the time she was 24 in 1956, a song she regretted in some ways as it was a “nonsense” song. She was passionate, magical and sexy - Masekela here compared her at one point to Marilyn Monroe. The film moved on to her in exile in the States, where she married Masekela, met JFK and gave an astonishingly composed speech denouncing apartheid to the United Nations, and achieved considerable musical success. When the marriage failed “we were too much like brother and sister" said Masekela. She took up with the charismatic Black Power leader Stokely Carmichael who became the third of five husbands and her American tours and record deals were abruptly cancelled. She was forced into a second exile. In one telling interview Makeba was asked the difference between apartheid South Africa and the United States. “At least they are honest in South Africa,” she replied acidly.
It’s worth a watch.
Also in 2011, a feature-length documentary called “Mama Africa” was released.
Here’s the trailer:
This clip from the film speaks to Makeba’s use of multiple languages. Below she is shown in Tanzania, after learning a song in Swahili.
Let’s take a musical and linguistic tour through Makeba’s music!
We’ll start with Hebrew ...
… then move on to Arabic:
How about some Portuguese?
Or Spanish?
There’s also Xhosa—an official language of South Africa and Zimbabwe:
And Swahili:
We mustn’t forget Zulu:
Another powerful Black woman singer and activist is often linked to Makeba: Nina Simone.
RELATED STORY: Nina Simone was blunt about hand-wringers advising Black folks to 'go slow'
I love this tweet.
MOJO touched on their friendship in a 2022 story.
Nina’s friendship with Miriam Makeba would also endure across the years. Makeba, The Empress Of African Song, would suggest that Simone, The High Priestess Of Soul, live in Liberia in the seventies. In 1991, they collaborated on record. And after Nina died on April 21, 2003, Miriam was there for the funeral. “She was not only an artist,” she said of her peer. “She was also a freedom fighter.”
Here, the two friends sing “Thulasizwe (I Shall Be Released).” “I Shall Be Released” was written by Bob Dylan in 1967.
Nina Simone sang “West Wind” at the New York Philharmonic Hall in October 1969; she notes that she was told to sing it by Makeba, drawing applause from the crowd.
Makeba’s 1991 album, “Eyes on Tomorrow,” included guest artist Dizzy Gillespie. Here’s “Don’t Break My Heart.”
Here’s Makeba performing “Amampondo” with Gillespie on 2008’s “A Night In Tunisia.”
As for the meaning of “Amapondo,” it pays homage to the Amapondo people, a Xhosa ethnic group from South Africa. The lyrics express a deep sense of pride and unity within the Amapondo community, celebrating their heritage and cultural identity. Makeba’s soulful voice brings these emotions to life and transports the listener to the vibrant lands of Amapondo.
The chorus of the song resonates with the listener, as Makeba sings:
“Amapondo, Amapondo, Amapondo kwazulu Ubuhle bokompokotho kuwena noxesha Amapondo kwazulu.”
These heartfelt words, sung in Xhosa, translate to:
“Amapondo, Amapondo, Amapondo of KwaZulu The beauty of the hills is in you and in me Amapondo of KwaZulu.”
As for that TIkTok trend I mentioned above? Jain’s song “Makeba” went viral; here’s an explainer.
And here’s the official video for “Makeba”:
I’ll close today with this 2022 City Press tribute to Nina Simone, Miriam Makeba, and other powerful Black women singers, from artists inspired by them. In “Miriam Makeba the trendsetter: A tribute to Mama Africa,” Janice Phiri writes about Angelique Kidjo, Dianne Reeves, and Lizz Wright.
In 2011, US musician Lizz Wright became yet another person who said she was deeply inspired by the bravery and talent of Mama Africa. Shortly after her passing, Wright, along with fellow musicians Dianne Reeves and Angélique Kidjo, proclaimed how inspired they were by Makeba, with a joint album to honour her legacy, along with the legacies of Lincoln and Odetta, who had passed away between 2008 and 2011.
The album was aptly titled Sing the Truth, and Wright became the youngest collaborator on the project as she was just 31 years old at the time. In an interview with Boston.com, Wright said:
These artists might not be the most famous by pop standards, but they are some of the most memorable because they moved with the spirit of the times and they affected society.
Here’s the entire “Sing the Truth” concert from 2019. It’s the perfect soundtrack to kick off Women’s History Month, so turn it up loud.
Long live the music and spirit of “Mama Africa!” Please join me in the comments for much more.
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