''Mali'' is the eighteenth studio album by

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

n singer

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 ...

, Released on June 7, 2003, by

CCP Records CCP Records (originally an acronym for Clive Calder Production) is a South African music entertainment company founded by Clive Calder and Ralph Simon. It is a production company. They envisioned the company while working for EMI South Africa in ...

. Brenda Fassie produced the album alongside Sello "Chicco" Twala. Additional artists who contributed vocals to the album include Freddie Gwala. Primarily a Kwaito album, ''Mali'' encompasses a variety of genres, including

Afropop African popular music (also styled Afropop, Afro-pop or Afro pop), like African traditional music, is vast and varied. Most contemporary genres of African popular music build on cross-pollination with western popular music. Many genres of po ...

RNB Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

Critical reception

''Mali'' was met with generally favorable reviews from critics. An article of The IOL stated ".....'Brenda Fassie returns with yet another album of tipsy, feelgood weekend grooves, and though it's far from bad, Mali feels a little half-hearted in places.That impression might also have something to do with the rather spartan and uninspiring album packaging.The five tracks written and produced by Brenda herself are solid dance-pop but, with the possible exception of the infectious Ntsware-Ndibambe, they lack the sparkle to become classics.The best tracks on the album are those produced by long-term collaborator and friend, Chico Twala. Opener Ponci Ponci (which is also remixed twice) is a very enjoyable jive, but the real gem here is Mali, a beautiful spiritual lament which will bring a tear to the eye of any homesick African abroad. Even when Brenda is below par, she kicks most of her competitors into touch."

Track listing

Credits adapted from Allmusic.

Personnel

*Brenda Fassie – lead vocals *T. P. Kamela – featured artist (track 10) *F Gwala – additional vocals (track 8)

References

{{Authority control 2004 albums Brenda Fassie albums