Pops Mohamed (born Ismail Mohamed-Jan) is a South African

multi-instrumentalist A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays two or more musical instruments at a professional level of proficiency. Also known as doubling, the practice allows greater ensemble flexibility and more efficient employment of musicians, where ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

musician and producer. Born in Benoni,

Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...

, Pops Mohamed had a career in music that was the logical outcome of an early exposure at Dorkay House to the likes of

Abdullah Ibrahim Abdullah Ibrahim (born Adolph Johannes Brand on 9 October 1934 and formerly known as Dollar Brand) is a South African pianist and composer. His music reflects many of the musical influences of his childhood in the multicultural port areas of Cap ...

and

Kippie Moeketsi Jeremiah "Kippie" Morolong Moeketsi (27 July 1925 – 27 April 1983) was a South African jazz musician, notable as an alto saxophonist. He is sometimes referred to as "the father of South African jazz" and as "South Africa's Charlie Parker".Jürge ...

. Mohamed's father was a Muslim of

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

and

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

heritage and his mother was of

Xhosa Xhosa may refer to: * Xhosa people, a nation, and ethnic group, who live in south-central and southeasterly region of South Africa * Xhosa language, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, principally spoken by the Xhosa people See als ...

and Khoisan heritage. He grew up in the

community of

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

. He started his first band ''The Valiants'', at the age of 14. Known by fans as the "Minister of Music", he plays a wide variety of instruments: African mouth bow, bird whistle,

berimbau The berimbau () is a single-string percussion instrument, a musical bow, originally from Africa, that is now commonly used in Brazil. The berimbau would eventually be incorporated into the practice of the Afro-Brazilian martial art ''capoeir ...

, didgeridoo,

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, kora, and the

thumb piano Mbira ( ) are a family of musical instruments, traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. They consist of a wooden board (often fitted with a resonator) with attached staggered metal tines, played by holding the instrument in the hands and ...

. He is also known for his wide range of musical styles which include kwela, pop, and soul."Pops Mohamed Biography"
''Sheer Sound''. He produced ''Finding One's Self'', the late

Moses Taiwa Molelekwa Moses Taiwa Molelekwa (17 April 1973 – 13 February 2001) was a South African jazz pianist. Early life Moses Taiwa Molelekwa grew up in a family of jazz musicians. He was brought up in the town of Tembisa, situated in the province of Gauten ...

's award-winning album. Pops has also performed regularly with and sits on the board of the Johannesburg Youth Orchestra Company NET WORTH Mohammeds net worth is around ZAR 1million-6million His real name is ismail He got a daughter Yasmin Mohammed Late son Yaseen Mohammed Late wife Eunice Mohammed Son Yusuf Mohammed He has 7 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren rand-kidsShayaan Mohammed jan Shaheen Mohammed jan Mohammed mdhluli Ahmad mdhluli Nadine Mohammed jan Nadia Mohammed jan Rashaad Mohammed jan reat-grandchildrenZunaid Mohammed jan Aliyah Mohammed jan Zeyaid Mohammed jan

Discography

* ''Kalamazoo'' - 1991 * ''Sophiatown Society'' - 1992 (with

Morris Goldberg Morris Goldberg is a South African saxophonist who is recognised as one of the early pioneers of Cape Jazz, along with Dollar Brand and Chris McGregor. Biography Born in Cape Town, Goldberg grew up in Observatory, a suburb of Cape Town. He l ...

) * ''Ancestral Healing'' - 1995 * ''How Far Have We Come'' - 1996 * ''Music With No Name'' - 1996 * ''Society Vibes'' - 1997 (with McCoy Mrubatha) * ''Timeless'' - 1997 * ''Millennium Experience'' - 2000 (with

Zena Edwards Zena Edwards (born 1960s) is a British writer, poet, performer and multidisciplinary collaborator, who explores her African roots in work that utilises her musical talents. She has performed internationally at festivals, as well as in schools and ...

) * ''Pops Mohamed Meets "The LondonSound Collective"'' - 1999 * ''Africa Meltdown'' - 2001 * ''Yesterday, Today And Tomorrow'' - 2002 * ''Mood Africa'' - 2005

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mohamed, Pops 1949 births Living people South African people of Indian descent South African jazz musicians South African Muslims South African people of Portuguese descent South African people of Xhosa descent