Vusi
Mahlasela
Vusi Mahlasela
was born in 1965 in Lady Selbourne,
near Pretoria, and grew up in Mamelodi township, where he still
resides. Vusi never knew his father, lost his mother at a young
age, and was raised by his maternal grandmother. Growing up in
Mamelodi, a cradle of creativity that has produced a number of
noted poets, writers, artists & musicians, the young Vusi began
to teach himself to play on a homemade guitar, a remarkable
instrument made of tin cans and fishing line. Vusi can't
remember a time when he wasn't singing?' I'm sure I learned to
sing before I could talk'? and was a seasoned performer by the
age of seventeen. He soon discovered that he had a flair for
composition and began to write his own music and lyrics.
From the outset, Vusi's songs addressed themes of political and
social significance, and so he found himself in demand at
political rallies and cultural events. His message of peace also
drew him into close contact with poetry groups, especially the
Ancestors of Africa, a rousing group of poets, musicians and
actors, formed in 1981. He recalls, 'We were picked up and
harassed in all types of situations, going to church every
Sunday and being forced to sign a piece of paper at the police
station first. If I was going out of town for a wedding, it had
to be reported to the police first. They kept on harassing me
with the things I was doing. But I stuck to it.'
After joining the Congress of South African Writers in 1988,
Vusi developed a new level of confidence as a poet and a writer.
He struck up a creative friendship with South African poet
Lesego Rampolokeng at the same time he was falling under the
spell of artists like Miriam Makeba and Phillip Tabane. He was
also exposed to the work of Victor Jara, whom Vusi acknowledges
as a central influence on his own music and lyrics.
His first record, When You Come Back, was recorded and released
by Shifty/BMG in 1991 and produced by Lloyd Ross. The album is
widely acknowledged as a South African classic. Then, in 1994,
Vusi was asked to perform arguably the most important gig of his
life: the inauguration of South Africa's new president, Nelson
Mandela. That same year, with South Africa undergoing massive
transition, Vusi released his second album, Wisdom of
Forgiveness. The album saw Vusi receive a finalist nomination
for Best Male Vocalist at the FNB SAMA (South African Music
Award). Vusi has released three albums since 'Wisdom', including
the Gold-certified and double SAMA winning 'Silang Mabele'
(1997), 'Miyela Afrika' in 2000, and his most recent 'Jungle Of
Questions' (2002), which Vusi produced and recorded alongside
his Proud People's Band backing outfit.
|
Vusi is featured in Amandla! A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony,
the celebrated film about the importance of music and song in
South Africa's anti-apartheid struggle. After garnering two
awards at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival, Amandla! was released
to theaters across North American in February 2003 and earned
tremendous critical acclaim and more awards. The Amandla!
companion album, which spans forty years of South African music,
was released on ATO Records and features four songs by Vusi, in
addition to Hugh Masekela, Abdullah Ibrahim and others. In a
rave Los Angeles Times review of the soundtrack, Robert Hilburn
says, 'Vusi Mahlasela's voice is so pure and commanding...you
wonder whether you should have gotten an entire album by
him...But virtually everything?from the vocals of Miriam Makeba
to those of South African prison singers?contributes beautifully
to the uplifting collection's sense of commitment, purpose and
celebration.'
An accomplished guitarist, percussionist, composer, arranger,
band leader and performer, Vusi now enjoys an ever-growing
following that spans worldwide. Among his most ardent supporters
is Dave Matthews, who is a native of South Africa and has long
aimed to make Vusi's music known in the U.S. In fact, when
Matthews founded ATO Records in 1998, one of his foremost goals
was to sign Vusi to the label. In 2000, he invited Vusi to
contribute guest vocals on the title track of the Dave Matthews
Band's multi-platinum album Everyday. In 2002, ATO was
approached by the producers of Amandla! and enthusiastically
secured rights to release the soundtrack. Matthews further
realized his goal in 2002, signing Vusi to ATO. And so Mahlasela
makes his North American debut with The Voice; a definitive
collection handpicked by Vusi which spans his recordings over
the last eleven years. ATO released the album on August 5, 2002.
Vusi
Mahlasela Links:
|
