''Now Is the Time'' is the eleventh studio album by South African 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 s ...

. Released on August 4, 1996, by CCP Records, this is her eleventh album for the label. ''Now Is The Time'' features two duets with Congolese superstar Papa Wemba. The album primarily incorporates

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 h ...

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 a ...

and Afropop music elements with lyrical themes of music industry experience and Fassie's faith in God.

Background

During the 1990s, Fassie's life went into a downward spiral after her divorce from Nhlanhla Mbambo, and for years she checked in and out of drug rehabilitation clinics, and missed gigs. Following year 1996, opting to re-establish her music career, Fassie made her comeback producing her own the album and planning the project. She collaborated with her long time producer

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. ...

. The album represents a departure from the Afropop music of Fassie's previous albums; Fassie's genre shift came after Kwaito was becoming a popular genre in South Africa. ''Now is the time'' was released in 1996 by CCP Music in its physical form. EMI Digital re-released the album in its digital form in 2015 on the music streaming services like Spotify and the iTunes Store.

Track listing

;Notes * "Tonight Is the Night" contains a sample of "Tonight Is the Night",written by Willie Clarke performed by Betty Wright.

Background

Track listing

Personnel

Release history

References