Colbert Rudzani Mukwevho (born 26 October 1965) is a South African

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

musician and producer. Mukwevho was granted an honorary doctorate of Philosophy in Arts and Social Sciences by the

University of Venda The University of Venda (Univen; ve, Yunivesithi ya Venḓa, af, Universiteit van Venda) is a South Africa, South African comprehensive rural-based institution, located in Thohoyandou in Limpopo, Limpopo province. It was established in 1982 u ...

. This is how he came to be called Dr. Mukwevho.

Life

Mukwevho was born in South Africa, Limpopo province, in 1965.He moved from the former homeland of

Gazankulu Gazankulu was a bantustan in South Africa, intended by the apartheid government to be a semi-independent homeland for the Tsonga people. It was located in both the Northern Transvaal, now Limpopo province and Eastern Transvaal, now Mpumalanga ...

to the

Venda Venda () was a Bantustan in northern South Africa, which is fairly close to the South African border with Zimbabwe to the north, while to the south and east, it shared a long border with another black homeland, Gazankulu. It is now part of the ...

region under the

Group Areas Act Group Areas Act was the title of three acts of the Parliament of South Africa enacted under the apartheid government of South Africa. The acts assigned racial groups to different residential and business sections in urban areas in a system of u ...

which was introduced by the

Apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

Government. His wife, Ms Juliah Mukwevho, died at Siloam Hospital after a short illness in 2020, where the Executive Mayor of

Vhembe District Municipality Vhembe is one of the 5 districts of Limpopo province of South Africa. It is the northernmost district of the country and shares its northern border with Beitbridge district in Zimbabwe and on the east with Gaza Province in Mozambique. Vhembe co ...

, Cllr Dowelani Nenguda paid a visit to the family after hearing the news.

Music career

Mukwevho started his music career in 1975 by joining the family band, "The Thrilling Artists" at a tender age of 10. The band was formed by his father and uncle, where he joined as a backing singer and later was a bass player and lead singer. Most of Mukwevho's songs are sang in

Tshivenda Venda or Tshivenda is a Bantu language and an official language of South Africa. It is mainly spoken by the Venda people in the northern part of South Africa's Limpopo province, as well as by some Lemba people in South Africa. The Venda lang ...

but some are sang in

Xitsonga Tsonga () or Xitsonga ( ''Xitsonga'') as an endonym, is a Bantu language spoken by the Tsonga people of southern Africa. It is mutually intelligible with Tswa and Ronga and the name "Tsonga" is often used as a cover term for all three, als ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. He has managed to record and produce close to 200 songs and has recorded close to 20 albums. Mukwevho recorded "Mukhada O Ntshuma" and "Hani-Hani" albums with "The Thrilling Artists" under

Gallo Record Company Gallo Record Company is the largest (and oldest independent) record label in South Africa. It is based in Johannesburg, South Africa, and is owned by Arena Holdings. The current Gallo Record Company is a hybrid of two South African record label ...

, at the time he was just providing vocal harmony and playing the bass guitar. One year later a third album titled "Ha Nga Dzuli" which had reggae songs was released. Mukwevho and his family departed "The Thrilling Artists" band in 1983 to form a new group called "The Comforters" which was led by Mukwevho himself. They recorded some songs with Radio Venda (now called "

Phalaphala FM Phaphala FM is a South African radio station operating through SABC, South Africa's government owned national broadcaster. Phalaphala broadcasts in the Venda language and can be received mainly in Gauteng and Limpopo provinces. The station's Mus ...

"), but the songs were not for sale. Mukwevho also worked with artists like

Sello Chicco Twala Sello "Chicco" Twala (born 5 June 1963) is a South African musician and producer who has collaborated with many well known artists in the music industry, including Nkosana Kodi and Brenda Fassie. He has created some of South Africa's hit songs. ...

and

Brenda Fassie Brenda Nokuzola Fassie (3 November 1964 – 9 May 2004) was a South African singer, songwriter, dancer and activist. Affectionately called MaBrrr by her fans, she is also known as the "Queen of African Pop", the "Madonna of The Townships" or si ...

in the late 1980s. Mukwevho worked with Jamaican producers such as

Robbie Shakespeare Robert Warren Dale Shakespeare (27 September 1953 – 8 December 2021) was a Jamaican bass guitarist and record producer, best known as half of the reggae rhythm section and production duo Sly and Robbie, with drummer Sly Dunbar. Regarded as ...

and

Sly Dunbar Lowell Fillmore "Sly" Dunbar (born 10 May 1952, Kingston, Jamaica) is a drummer, best known as one half of the prolific Jamaican rhythm section and reggae production duo Sly and Robbie. Biography Dunbar began playing at 15 in a band called ...

to record one of his albums in Jamaica. The album was followed by "The Lord is my Rock", which was awarded Best Reggae Album by

South Africa Music Awards The South African Music Awards (often simply the SAMAs) are the Recording Industry of South Africa's music industry awards, established in 1995. The ceremony is held annually, usually in late April or May, with the judging process starting in N ...

. He has also written and produced albums with the South African branch of

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

"CCP" .

Discography

Albums

*Lion in the sheep skin(1990) *I do nela rothe(1993) *Harley and rasta family(1995) *The lord is my rock(1997) *Why?(1999) *Doomsday(2001) *Mulovha namusi na matshelo(2004) *Mmbwa i do la mmbwa(2008) *Lion & son o'lion(2013) *Dooms day(2015) *Best of Dr. mukwevho(2021)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mukwevho, Colbert South African reggae musicians People from Limpopo 1965 births Living people