''Shaka Zulu'' is a 1987 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 ...

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

group

Ladysmith Black Mambazo Ladysmith Black Mambazo are a South African male choral group singing in the local vocal styles of ''isicathamiya'' and '' mbube''. They became known internationally after singing with Paul Simon on his 1986 album ''Graceland'', and have won m ...

History

Following the collaboration on Paul Simon's 1986 album ''

Graceland Graceland is a mansion on a estate in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, which was once owned by rock and roll icon Elvis Presley. His daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, inherited Graceland after his death in 1977. Graceland is located at 3764 Elv ...

'' which brought the group to international prominence, ''Shaka Zulu'' (produced by Simon) marked the band's first genuine international hit, securing them an American audience which would be built upon by the successes of ''Journey of Dreams'' (1988) and ''Two Worlds, One Heart'' (1990). ''Shaka Zulu'' was a collection of newly recorded versions of older Mambazo hits, such as "Unomathemba", "Hello My Baby" and "Lomhlaba Kawunoni". ''Shaka Zulu'' won a

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

in 1988 for ''Best Traditional Folk Recording''. The album was also featured in Robert Dimery's 2006 musical reference book ''

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' is a musical reference book first published in 2005 by Universe Publishing. Part of the ''1001 Before You Die'' series, it compiles writings and information on albums chosen by a panel of music critics ...

''.

Reception

In his consumer guide for ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

'',

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

felt the album had a "generalized gospel yearning", and a lyric sheet and songs in English that would appeal to Americans. In a retrospective review for

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, William Ruhlmann felt the album was "pristinely recorded" and is the band's most accessible album.

Track listing

All songs composed by Joseph Shabalala and produced by Paul Simon #"Unomathemba" - 3:47 #"Hello My Baby" - 3:09 #"Golgotha" - 3:57 #"King of Kings" - 4:07 #"Lomhlaba Kawunoni" - 2:55 #"How Long?" - 3:05 #"Ikhaya Lamaqhawe" - 3:13 #"Yibo Labo" - 4:39 #"Rain, Rain Beautiful Rain" - 2:18 #"Wawusho Kubani?" - 5:31

Charts

References

External links

''Shaka Zulu ''
(

Adobe Flash Adobe Flash (formerly Macromedia Flash and FutureSplash) is a multimedia Computing platform, software platform used for production of Flash animation, animations, rich web applications, application software, desktop applications, mobile apps, mo ...

) at

Radio3Net Radio 3 net is the former ''Radio România Tineret'' (or Radio 3). More than 20,000 albums are stored on Radio 3 net. A few of the prominent features available on the website are "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" and "Search & Play". ...

(streamed copy where licensed) {{Authority control Ladysmith Black Mambazo albums 1987 albums Cultural depictions of Shaka