Volume 55 Issue 1- January-February 2017 : Art & Culture

The year 2016 will go down as one the music fraternity is willing to forget. It was a somber one after several top musicians passed on.some at the prime of their careers . Locally the entertainment industry felt a heavy blow when a freak car accident in the Kgalagadi district claimed the lives of five members of top selling musician Magdeline ‘Charma Gal` Lesolebe`s group.  The accident happened 70km from Kang with the band on their way back from performing at a Ghanzi Agriculture Show.  According to eyewitnesses the seven-seater mini-bus that the crew was travelling in allegedly had a tyre burst causing it to veer off the road. The Sekuta sa ga Charma gal hitmaker was not travelling with the crew during the time of the accident as she was using a different car behind the group. 

Before music lovers could find any closure following the tragic accident news came in that former kwasa-kwasa rapper Biza Mupulu was no more. The energetic performer known for his motlakase dance moves reportedly succumbed to heart failure. Biza, as he was known to those close to him had been staying and doing music in Botswana since the early 90s. At the height of kwasa kwasa`s popularity Biza became an instant hit with local fans, owing to his passion for the music and his great gusto as an entertainer. Upon his arrival in Botswana Biza joined Alfredo Mosimanegape of Les Africa Sounds fame as a dancer and back-up singer. He immediately caught the eye of kwasa-kwasa music lovers with his stylish attire and stage antics.

Across the border in neighbouring South Africa, it was the death of kwaito kingpin Mduduzi Tshabalala that shook the music fraternity. Mandoza, as Tshabalala was affectionately known in music circles succumbed to a long battle with cancer. He was diagnosed with a head and neck cancer in 2015 and died on his way to a hospital in Johannesburg. President Jacob Zuma also paid tribute to the artist who featured in the Top 100 Greatest South Africans list in 2014. The artist formed the Chiskop group along with three childhood friends in the 1990s. He started a solo career in 1999. One year later he released the album Nkalakatha, which won the Best Kwaito Music Album category. In spite of his illness, Mandoza performed at the Thank You SABC Concert a week before his death.

Before the dust settled in South Africa, award winning gospel singer Sfiso Ncwane passed on following complications related to kidney failure. Thousands of fans who followed his music took to social media to share their grief after the news that the Kulungile Baba hitmaker had died. 

Prior to his untimely demise Ncwane was reported to have survived several health challenges such as fainting spells and heart attack.

Congolese music legend Papa Wemba died after collapsing on stage during a concert in Ivory Coast in April. A video from the concert showed the influential Congolese musician slump on stage behind a group of dancers before they rushed to his aid. His pioneering blend of African, Cuban and Western sounds became one of Africa`s most popular music styles. 

Wemba also toured around the world and recorded with British artist Peter Gabriel. Born in 1949, Wemba, whose real name was Shungu Wembadio Pene Kikumba helped modernise Congolese rumba music with the genre that emerged soukous influencing music across Africa. The cause of his death has not been established.

Across the African shores the death of legendary and talented pop star Prince real names Prince Rodgers Nelson left many music lovers shocked. The body of the celebrated pop icon was found in a lift at his Paisley Park recording studio in Minnesota, USA. Prince`s instrumental talent, flamboyant stage presence and unabashed originality made him one of the most distinctive musicians of the past four decades alongside the likes of self-acclaimed King of Pop Michael Jackson 

Perhaps shocking news that closed the 2016 calendar was the death of British singer George Michael. George rose to fame as a member of the 1980`s pop duo Wham and went on to sell more than 100 million albums in a music career spanning four decades. He died at his home on Christmas Day at the age of 53. Police published a statement on the behalf of the family advising the public to afford the family privacy during the difficult time. Some of George`s hits include amongst others one more try, don`t let the sun go down on me and careless whisper.

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