Shaheera Asante
January 2006 - The Mahotella Queens, African Image Alliance
The Mahotella Queens
I first saw and met the great and sadly late Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens back in 1992 Vancouver, Canada, where I used to live. Listening to the new album The Very Best of Mahotella Queens (strange that the title has left out Mahalathini himself) took me back to another time and place.
Listening to this album of great hits, I got goose bumps thinking about the most fantastic, energetic concert I had really even seen in my life up to that point in 1992, when the group played the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver, it still ranks up there in the top 3 of the best concerts I've ever witnessed, even though I saw them years later.
The Mahotella Queens (Hilda Tloubatla, Mildred Mangxola and Nobesuthu Mbadu), formed as a trio in 1964, and were hugely popular in Soweto during the 60s, playing to sold-out crowds and performing up to three concerts a day. However, the three former domestic workers from Pretoria became South Africa's first super-group, when they joined up with Mahlathini (the 'Lion of Soweto') and the musicians of the Makgona Tsothle Band which translates as ('Band Who Knows Everything') in the late 60's.
'This is our kind of rhythm in Africa, we send our messages through music, this is our tradition in Africa ...come on sing together now''Gazzette' - Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens: from the Very Best of Mahotella Queens album.
Taking a break in the 70s for family and marriage the Queens rejoined Mahlathini in the 80s during the height of South Africa's tumultuous period of pain, struggle and fight against Apartheid. With their infectious, energetic beat, complex and experimental rhythms and flawless vocal harmonies, Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens re-invented South Africa's urban music and gave shot of adrenaline to South Africa's then flagging music industry by creating Mbaquanga, a mixture of Zulu, Sotho, Shangaan and Xhosa music fused with Marabi also known as South African Jazz.
Visually also the band were dynamic. Mahlathini (often not wearing much more than his trademark leopard skins and very small lion cloth!) and the Mahotella Queens in their wild colourful traditional costumes (beads here, there and everywhere), were also fantastic dancers, known for their mad and flamboyant chorography.
The band's positive outlook and infectious dance music were a source of strength and positivity for millions of black South Africans during some of the most depressing periods of South Africa's Apartheid history. They soon hit the international stage as heroes of the musical resistance to Apartheid and for me, their music represents the unmistakably spirit of all of us Africans - the ability to endure oppression and hardship and still retain our love of life, music, dance and our sense of humour! Since their formation in the late 60s the group has released over 20 albums.
The successive deaths of West Nkosi, Marks Mankwane and Simon Nkabinde Mahlathini in 2000 marked a year of tragedy and great loss for the Mahotella Queens. After a long period of mourning the three Queens decided to take continue and carry on the great music they started with their late music partners. This album is a great tribute to that partnership
African Image Alliance
Currently, there is a new vibrant voice and talent on the rise from young African artists, both in and out of the continent. 'We are trying to forge a new identity and present the world with our perceptive. Through my work I am trying to show the world that Africa has more to offer than what is shown in the news,says Ethiopian photographer Aida Mulueneh *.
Tired of the negative portrayal of Africa? Well, a new organisation and website is being launched in February 2006, looking at changing the perceptions and portrayal of Africa in the media. The African Image Alliance is a non-profit organisation based in London. Its mission is to promote a more positive and balanced portrayal of Africa in the Disapora. The organisation will produce a series of media, visual arts, performance and education programmes and events, including The First Annual Africa Day Festival (May 25th, 2007), to celebrate African music, culture, heritage and achievements and to coincide with the Bicentenary Anniversary of the Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. The African Image Alliance website will launch on 10 February 2006 at www.africanimagealliance.org
*Excerpt from an interview with Ethiopian photographer Aida Mulueneh. An on-line exhibition of her work and the interview will be available on the African Image Alliance website from 10 February 2006.
The Abolition of Slavery
25 March 2007 marks the 200th Anniversary of the Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade in Britain. Make sure you have your say on how to commemorate this anniversary. The Heritage Lottery Fund wants to fund more African and Caribbean community based organisations with arts, music and heritage initiatives. A seminar is planned in the summer to discuss developing projects which explore this and HLF have devised a questionnaire for you to have your say. DON'T MISS OUT! For more information check out the Heritage Lottery Fund website .
Peace and love
Shaheera x
Shaheera Asante's Recommended CDs
The Mahotella Queens - The Very Best of the Mahotella Queens
Ambrose Adekyoa Campell - London is the Place for Me 3
Tcheka - Nu Monda
Check out my recommended CDs this month in the CD Reviews section or go to Music Search to look at our archive of recommended CDs.