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Don Laka
Donald Mahwetša Laka (born 15 December 1958 in Mamelodi, Pretoria), professionally known as Don Laka, is a South African jazz musician, songwriter and music producer, as well as the founder of "kwaai-jazz". Laka finished studying at the Royal Academy of Music with Grade 8 in classical guitar, but restrictions under the Apartheid regime kept him from enrolling at the Pretoria Conservatoire. In 1969 he went on to form his first band, and recorded for the first time in 1972 with featured Ray Phiri on guitar. After finishing 12th grade in 1978, he undertook formal training, eventually obtaining his license to teach music in high school in 1979. From 1980 to 1981 he joined the afro-fusion group Sakhile, formed by Sipho Gumede and Khaya Mahlangu, which revolutionised South African music and set the scene for groups like Bayete. Don recorded his first major release with a group called "Oneness" before moving on to form his own band with Sello Twala, called Ymage. In their ten years t ...
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Mamelodi
Mamelodi, part of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, is a township set up by the then apartheid government northeast of Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa. Etymology "Mamelodi" is the name derived from the Sepedi word with the prefix being "ma" meaning mother, and the suffix "melodi" meaning melodies. Its meaning can be translated to mean ''Mother of Melodies''. History The township was established when 16 houses were built on the farm Vlakfontein in June 1953 and later the name changed to Mamelodi. The Group Areas Act designated Mamelodi as a blacks-only area, though this became moot with the fall of Apartheid in 1994. In the 1960s black citizens were forcefully removed from the suburb of Lady Selbourne in Pretoria to Mamelodi, Ga-Rankuwa and Atteridgeville. Anti-apartheid activist Reverend Nico Smith preached in Mamelodi from 1982–1989, and obtained permission to live there himself from 1985–1989. During that period, he and his wife Ellen were the only whi ...
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Kalawa Jazmee Records
Kalawa Jazmee Records is an independent record label based in South Africa. The label is known for its contribution to the development of the Kwaito genre of music in South Africa. Artists * Oskido * Professor * Mandla Mofokeng * Trompies * DJ Maphorisa * Uhuru * Vigro Deep * Boom Shaka * Mafikizolo * Candy Tsa Mandebele * DJ Zinhle *Busiswa Busiswa Gqulu (born 8 November 1988), known mononymously as Busiswa or Busi, is a South African singer-songwriter and poet. Born in Mthatha, Eastern Cape, South Africa, she gained public recognition for her feature on DJ Zinhle's song, "My Na ... References External links Kalawa Jazmee Records on Discogs {{Authority control South African record labels Companies based in Johannesburg Culture of Johannesburg ...
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South African Jazz Musicians
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz'' ("south"), possibly related to the same Proto-Indo-European root that the word ''sun'' derived from. Some languages describe south in the same way, from the fact that it is the direction of the sun at noon (in the Northern Hemisphere), like Latin meridies 'noon, south' (from medius 'middle' + dies 'day', cf English meridional), while others describe south as the right-hand side of the rising sun, like Biblical Hebrew תֵּימָן teiman 'south' from יָמִין yamin 'right', Aramaic תַּימנַא taymna from יָמִין yamin 'right' and Syriac ܬܰܝܡܢܳܐ taymna from ܝܰܡܝܺܢܳܐ yamina (hence the name of Yemen, the land to the south/right of the Levant). Navigation By convention, the ''bottom or down-facing side'' of ...
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1958 Births
Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third overland journey to the South Pole, the first to use powered vehicles. ** Sputnik 1 (launched on October 4, 1957) falls to Earth from its orbit, and burns up. * January 13 – Battle of Edchera: The Moroccan Army of Liberation ambushes a Spanish patrol. * January 27 – A Soviet-American executive agreement on cultural, educational and scientific exchanges, also known as the "Lacy-Zarubin Agreement, Lacy–Zarubin Agreement", is signed in Washington, D.C. * January 31 – The first successful American satellite, Explorer 1, is launched into orbit. February * February 1 – Egypt and Syria unite, to form the United Arab Republic. * February 6 – Seven Manchester United F.C., Manchester United footballers are among the 21 people killed i ...
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Kwela
Kwela is a pennywhistle-based street music from southern Africa with jazzy underpinnings and a distinctive, skiffle-like beat. It evolved from the marabi sound and brought South African music to international prominence in the 1950s. The music has its roots in southern Africa but later adaptations of this and many other African folk idioms have permeated Western music (listen to the albums ''A Swingin' Safari'' by the Bert Kaempfert Orchestra (1962) and ''Graceland'' by Paul Simon (1986)), giving modern South African music, particularly jazz, much of its distinctive sound and lilting swagger. The Piranha's 1980 UK Top Ten hit 'Tom Hark' was based on an earlier 1950's Kwela hit song. One reason for the use of the pennywhistle is that it is cheap and portable, but it also lends itself as a solo or an ensemble instrument. The popularity of the pennywhistle may have been based on the fact that flutes of different kinds have long been traditional instruments among the peoples of the ...
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Kwaito
Kwaito is a music genre that emerged in Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa, during the 1990s. It is a variant of house music that features the use of African sounds and samples. Kwaito songs occur at a slower tempo range than other styles of house music and Kwaito often contains catchy melodic and percussive loop samples, deep bass lines, and vocals. Despite its similarities to hip hop music, Kwaito has a distinctive manner in which the lyrics are sung, rapped and shouted. Etymology The word ''kwaito'' is an Isicamtho term from the Gauteng townships and encompasses styles that range from guz, d'gong, and isgubhu to swaito. The word originates from the Afrikaans ''kwaai'', which when used as a slang term is the equivalent of the English term ''hot''. Kwaito led a post-Apartheid township subculture into the mainstream. Despite the fact that the Afrikaans language is associated with the apartheid regime and racial oppression, Afrikaans words are often drawn into the Isicamtho voc ...
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Jabulani (Hugh Masekela Album)
''Jabulani'' is a studio album by South African jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela. The record was released on via Listen 2 label in the USA and via Gallo Record Company label in South Africa. The Zulu word ''jabulani'' translates as: to be happy, or to bring joy and happiness. Recorded in Pretoria, South Africa, the album is a collection of re-interpreted traditional South African wedding songs. Critical reception Matt Collar of Allmusic stated: "Inspired by South African wedding traditions remembered from his youth, trumpeter Hugh Masekela's 2012 album Jabulani is a celebratory mix of jazz, pop, and African sounds. Backed by a bevy of talented musicians even including a small choir, Masekela is in top form throughout this celebratory album." Thomas Carroll of ''All About Jazz'' noted: "At the age of 72, South African vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Hugh Masekela is still making music with as much energy and passion as he did in the days of 'Grazin' in the Grass' at the height o ...
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Hugh Masekela
Hugh Ramapolo Masekela (4 April 1939 – 23 January 2018) was a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, singer and composer who was described as "the father of South African jazz". Masekela was known for his jazz compositions and for writing well-known anti-apartheid songs such as "Soweto Blues" and " Bring Him Back Home". He also had a number-one US pop hit in 1968 with his version of "Grazing in the Grass". Early life Hugh Ramapolo Masekela was born in the township of KwaGuqa in Witbank (now called Emalahleni), South Africa, to Thomas Selena Masekela, who was a health inspector and sculptor and his wife, Pauline Bowers Masekela, a social worker. His younger sister Barbara Masekela is a poet, educator and ANC activist. As a child, he began singing and playing piano and was largely raised by his grandmother, who ran an illegal bar for miners. At the age of 14, after seeing the 1950 film '' Young Man with a Horn'' (in which Kirk Douglas plays a character modelled on ...
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Rebecca Malope
} Batsogile Lovederia "Rebecca" Malope (born June 30, 1968) is a South African gospel singer. She is known as "The Queen of Gospel." Her music career spans more than three decades. She has sold at least 10 million albums worldwide, making her one of the best-selling gospel artists of all time. Most of the 36 albums she has released have reached multi-platinum status. She hosted her own syndicated television show, It's Gospel Time, between 2004 and 2019. In 2013 she was one of the judges in ''Clash of Choirs South Africa''. In 2021, President Cyril Ramaphosa honoured her with the Order of Ikhamanga (OIS), for her distinguished contribution to South African music. Early life Rebecca Malope was born in 1968 in Lekazi near Neslpruit in Mpumalanga. In her early age she was confined to a wheelchair after an illness; doctors believed she would be unable to walk on her own. As a child, she and her sisters sang hymns in their local church. Later, as a teen, she joined a gospel grou ...
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Yvonne Chaka Chaka
Yvonne Chaka Chaka (born Yvonne Machaka on 18 March 1965) is a South African singer, songwriter, actress, entrepreneur, humanitarian and teacher. Dubbed the "Princess of Africa" (a name she received after a 1990 tour), Chaka Chaka has been at the forefront of South African popular music for 35 years and has been popular in Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Gabon, Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast. Songs such as "I'm Burning Up", "Thank You Mr. DJ", "I Cry For Freedom", "Motherland" and the ever-popular "Umqombothi" ("African Beer") ensured Chaka Chaka's stardom. The song "Umqombothi" was featured in the opening scene of the 2004 movie ''Hotel Rwanda''. As a young performer Chaka Chaka was the first Black child to appear on South African television in 1981. Since then, she has shared the stage with people such as Bono, Angélique Kidjo, Annie Lennox, Youssou N'Dour, the crossover group Appassionante, the classic rock band Queen and South Africans Johnny Clegg, Miriam Makeba and Hugh Masekel ...
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National Symphony Orchestra (South Africa)
The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1930 by cellist Hans Kindler, its principal performing venue is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. They were also the official orchestra of the annual National Memorial Day Concert and ''A Capitol Fourth'' celebrations. The NSO provides an education program that aims to expose its audiences to classical music. They also provide teaching resources to families and teachers. The NSO's educational programs include scholarships programs and opportunities for musically talented high school students who want to pursue a career in orchestral music. History First period: 1930–1949 After an initial ad-hoc concert on January 31, 1930, the NSO was officially organized by the Dutch-born American cellist Hans Kindler in 1931, and remained under his direction until 1949. In the early years, Kindler often relied on unemployed local talent or borrowed musicians from o ...
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Sibongile Khumalo
Sibongile Khumalo (24 September 1957 – 28 January 2021) was a South African singer and song writer. She sang classical, jazz, opera and traditional South African music. She was noted for singing at the inauguration of Nelson Mandela in 1994, as well as the final of the Rugby World Cup the following year. She was appointed to the Order of Ikhamanga in 2008. Early life Khumalo was born in Orlando West, Soweto, in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 24 September 1957. Her mother worked as a nurse; her father, Khabi Mngoma, was a Professor of music. He inspired her to pursue music and Khumalo started learning when she was eight years old. She studied music at the University of Zululand, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts from that institution. She proceeded to earn a second Bachelor of Arts (with honours) from the University of the Witwatersrand, along with a Postgraduate Diploma in Personnel Management from the Wits Business School. Career Academia Khumalo taught at her alma mater ...
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