The current lineup of Ladysmith Black Mambazo includes Joseph Shabalala’s son Sibongiseni, seated to the right, and Sibongiseni’s son Gagamel, second from left (standing).
A lot has changed over the past 65 years in South Africa and the world. But through it all, Joseph Shabalala’s dream of sweet harmony continues to inspire hope among audiences through his group Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
Even though Joseph stopped being a full-time group member in 2014 and died in 2020, his sons and grandchildren continue to sing their distinctive interwoven harmonies. They will bring them to The Outpost in the Burbs in Montclair on March 21.
“We always know that he is there with us,” Joseph’s son Sibongiseni Shabalala said in a recent interview. “Before he retired, when he introduced us to start leading the songs in the group, he would just stand on the side of the stage, and he would sing there and encourage you from there. And so we still feel that he’s still there.”
The late Joseph Shabalala, performing in 2012.
While Ladysmith is best-known around the world for its work on Paul Simon’s 1986 album Graceland, it began in 1960 as Ezimnyama, which sang in popular South African styles of the time, competing in musical contests in the district called Ladysmith. Several years later, Joseph had a series of dreams in which he envisioned a new harmonic style, and he reformed the group to make that a reality.
The new group began dominating local vocal competitions and renamed itself Ladysmith Black Mambazo after its hometown; the mighty black ox; and mambazo, the Zulu word for “axe,” since it always cut down its singing competitors. In fact, the group won so many times, it was barred from competition, though it still performed.
Simon met with Shabalala in 1985 when he traveled to South Africa to find musicians with whom to collaborate. After Ladysmith’s appearances on Graceland and “Saturday Night Live,” the group began touring the world and received the first of its five Grammy awards for its Simon-produced 1987 album, Shaka Zulu. Other awards and collaborations with renowned artists such as Stevie Wonder, Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris followed.
Sibongiseni Shabalala and three of his brothers joined the group in 1993, two years after the apartheid system was abolished and the formerly imprisoned Nelson Mandela became the country’s ruler. That year, the group appeared in a massive birthday concert for the South African leader, then accompanied him when he received the Nobel Peace Prize.
“I remember when we finished,” Sibongiseni recalled of Mandela’s birthday. “He came onstage and he shook everybody’s hand, and he told the group that the music had been inspiring for him while he was still in jail. He encouraged my father and the group to keep on going. And that is when he asked that wherever he’s invited, (we could) come and accompany him, because, he said, we are the cultural ambassadors of our country.”
In a 2008 statement announcing his intention for his sons to continue leading the group after he was no longer able to, Joseph Shabalala looked back and said, “Now, some 45-plus years later this original dream has led to so many more dreams. … This was never a dream a Black South African could ever imagine.”
The cover of the 1992 compilation, “Best of Ladysmith Black Mambazo.”
Today, a new generation has joined as well. Gagamel, Sibongiseni’s son, is onstage for his first tour.
“It’s been going well so far,” Gagamel said. “I’m also a bit nervous at times, but it’s so surreal that I’m part of this legendary group.
“When we were still young and our grandfather would have shows in South Africa, they would bring us along onstage and do Zulu dance routines that he used to teach us. So that was slowly but surely, the introduction of how we, in the near future, would in some way be part of the group.”
“We are very happy that we are able to continue this dream of our father,” Sibongiseni said. “Because from the beginning, when he formed this group in 1960, that was his aim. He wanted to show the people, to bring the music of South Africa throughout the world. And he wanted people to know that we are peaceful, loving people. And also he wanted to encourage the people of South Africa when he started the group to give them hope, because it was during the tough times: just to give them hope that they must hold on, some day things will be okay. We are happy that that dream came true.
“Sometimes when we get a chance to speak to the people after the show, we get these very positive responses. People saying the music is healing. The music, it touched them. They came maybe to the show not feeling well, but they are coming out inspired. So we get that, and we are very happy, because that is the aim of the music, to make people happy, to bring people together.”
Ladysmith Black Mambazo will perform at the Outpost in the Burbs series at The First Congregational Church in Montclair, March 21 at 7:30 p.m. For information, visit outpostintheburbs.org. For a chance to win two tickets, send an email with “Ladysmith” in the subject line to njartscontest@gmail.com by noon March 18.
____________________________
CONTRIBUTE TO NJARTS.NET
Since launching in September 2014, NJArts.net, a 501(c)(3) organization, has become one of the most important media outlets for the Garden State arts scene. And it has always offered its content without a subscription fee, or a paywall. Its continued existence depends on support from members of that scene, and the state’s arts lovers. Please consider making a contribution of any amount to NJArts.net via PayPal, or by sending a check made out to NJArts.net to 11 Skytop Terrace, Montclair, NJ 07043.
