Mahlathini

african

Simon ‘Mahlathini’ Nkabinde (1937 - 1999) was a South African mbaqanga singer. Known as the Lion of Soweto (which the name Mahlathini translates to), Nkabinde was the most distinguished of the basso-profundo groaners of black South African music and the acknowledged original of a mbaqanga sub-style known as mqashiyo, the indestructible beat. Early career and life As a young boy, Nkabinde would sing in choirs at Zulu wedding ceremonies (reference: GMPV 9, Mbaqanga at its Best!). However, when he became a teenager, his voice changed to be more deep than the other teenage boys in his choir. Initially, Nkabinde's parents thought he had been witched, his voice now all but a growl, and took him to a sangoma. Following this, Nkabinde joined his brother Zeph's choir, Alexander Black Mambazo (from which the Ladysmith group took its name). In the mid-1950s, Nkabinde moved to EMI Studios and began recording with female artists such as the Dark City Sisters and the African Jazz Queens. Recording In 1964, talent scout Robert Bopape recruited Nkabinde for commercial recording at the Gallo Record Company studios. Initially, Bopape paired him with a mbaqanga instrumental section, the Makgona Tsohle Band, who have been credited with inventing the mbaqanga style. Bopape also recruited nine women to dance and perform behind Nkabinde and the backing band, calling them the Izintombi zomgQashiyo (the Girls of Mqashiyo); however, later on that year Bopape rearranged the group and recruited ...