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| Albert Mazibuko loved travelling the world, spreading Ladysmith Black Mambazo's music, the group said (Image: Wirelmage) |
Albert Mazibuko, who sang in Ladysmith Black Mambazo for more than five decades, has passed away at the age of 77. The choral group posted a message on their Facebook page that the musician passed away on Sunday after a brief illness. Mazibuko joined Ladysmith Black Mambazo in 1969 and the collective went on to win five Grammy awards and feature on Paul Simon's acclaimed 1986 Graceland album.
READ MORE: Remembering Ladysmith founder Joseph Shabalala
Ladysmith Black Mambazo paid tribute to Mazibuko on Monday, describing him as "kind to a fault" and a "saint" who acted as a "wise elder" for the group's younger members.
According to the statement, "He loved traveling the world, spreading the mission and music of Ladysmith Black Mambazo." "He never tired of talking about the group's history and its desire to spread 'peace, love and harmony' everywhere people had ears to listen."
Mazibuko grew up in the eastern town of uMnambithi, formally known as Ladysmith, and left school early in order to work full-time on a farm.
His cousin, Joseph Shabalala, founded Ladysmith Black Mambazo in 1960 and eventually asked Mazibuko to join.
The group combined songs and dances from the indigenous Zulu people with South African isicathamiya, an acapella style of dancing often accompanied by a soft, shuffling style. After giving a radio performance in 1970, they got a recording deal, and in 1973, they put out Amabutho, the first gold-selling album in Africa. The group achieved global recognition after US star Paul Simon recruited them to sing on the multi-million-selling album Graceland. At the time, Simon received criticism for violating the cultural boycott of apartheid South Africa. On Monday, a number of people paid tribute to Mazibuko, including the minister of culture, Gayton McKenzie. "More than a performer; he was the custodian of a uniquely South African sound that travelled across the world and united people through music," he said in a statement. During the dark years of apartheid, when racial discrimination was legalized, Ladysmith Black Mambazo performed songs of hope and unity. "Apartheid was very harsh to us," Mazibuko told the BBC's Soul Music show in 2015.
He recalled, "I was working at a cotton factory... when we came out of work, we saw the police lining up."
Mazibuko and his colleagues were asked to produce their ID books, tools used by the apartheid regime to restrict the movement of black South Africans.
"If you don't carry it, you're arrested. I used to be so afraid of being arrested that I still am today. He went on to say that it was "like heaven" to watch people line up for "miles and miles" to vote in the first election since apartheid ended in 1994. The current Ladysmith Black Mambazo line-up is a mix of long-standing members and newer, younger musicians.
Since February, the band had been performing in the United States, and on Friday, they were scheduled to play their final show there.
Source: BBC
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