Black Mambazo's Grammy 'for Mandela'
28 January 2014
Ladysmith Black Mambazo has dedicated their latest Grammy award to the memory
and legacy of former president Nelson Mandela, news agency AFP said on Monday.
The traditional
isicathamiya group shared the award with "flamenco
fusionists" The Gipsy Kings for "best world music album" for their record
Singing for Peace Around the World at the awards in Los Angeles in
California on Sunday night. It was the group's 16th nomination - and its fourth
Grammy.
Other nominees in the world category were Ravi Shankar for
The Living Room
Sessions - Part 2 and Femi Kuti for his album
No Place for my
Dream.
The group dedicated the work to Mandela, who died in December last year, and said all proceeds of the album purchased on their website would be donated to the
Nelson Mandela Children's Fund.
Group member Sibongiseni Shabalala told Eyewitness News that when they received
the nomination,
"we already said we hope to win this for Madiba".
US tour
Ladysmith Black Mambazo is currently on a three-month tour of the US, performing in New Orleans, New York, Washington DC and other cities.
Formed by Joseph Shabalala in 1964 after hearing a harmony in a dream, the group
made their first recording in the early 1970s - and have recorded more than 40
albums since.
They are South Africa's foremost proponents of the
Iscathamiya, a
traditional Zulu style of singing.
Roots
The group gained international fame and recognition in the late 1980s, following their
collaboration with Paul Simon on his Grammy Award-winning
Graceland
album.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo's previous Grammys include one for best folk recording in
1988 for their album
Shaka Zulu, which was produced by Simon;
another in 2004 for
Raise Your Spirits Higher; and for
Ilembe in
2009.
Tribute
When Mandela died in December last year, the group wrote a tribue just hours after
the former state president passed away. "Nelson Mandela was one of us but he was
able to change our nation because of his incredible will, his dignity and his humanity.
"We are often asked about our most memorable career moments. The expected
answer is usually about work with famous entertainers or about winning Grammy
Awards. This is not so. Our most memorable moment was in 1993 when Nelson
Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Madiba asked us to join him on his trip
to receive the award in Norway, to sing and to represent our nation. He would say to
us that we are South Africa's "cultural ambassadors" to the world. We took this
honour very seriously," the group wrote on its
Facebook page.
"Now, it's left for all of us to carry on
his mission. We must continue the journey of
making not just South Africa, but the whole world, a peaceful, forgiving place. If we
all keep Mandela's way within us, we can achieve greatness. As we continue to spread
the message of peace, love and harmony, we re-dedicate ourselves to Mandela and
his dream of a Rainbow Nation, a Rainbow World, in fact. May his journey continue in
the soul and spirits of all who were touched by him."
SAinfo reporter
Four-time Grammy-award winners Ladysmith Black Mambazo perform on the streets of Durban (Photo: Ladysmith Black Mambazo)
