Joseph Shabalala

• Born: August 28, 1941
• Birthplace: Ladysmith, South Africa
• Died: February 11, 2020
• Place of death: Pretoria, South Africa

South African world music singer-songwriter

An ambassador of South African music, Shabalala was the leading exponent of the South African choral genre of isicathamiya (meaning “tiptoe guys,” or “to walk on one’s toes lightly”). His group Ladysmith Black Mambazo made more than fifty studio recordings, collaborated with numerous international musicians, and performed throughout South Africa and the world.

Member of Ladysmith Black Mambazo

The Life

Bhekizizwe Joseph Siphatimandla Mxoveni Mshengu “Bigboy” Shabalala was born in 1941 on a farm in Thukela, in the district of Ladysmith, which is located in South Africa’s Natal Province. Like his father and grandfather, Joseph grew up as a tenant-laborer on a White man’s farm, which allowed his family to occupy a small plot of land. Shabalala attended schools in Mbuzweni and Roosboom, but after his father died in 1952, Shabalala returned to the farm, where he worked throughout his youth to help support his family.

In 1958 Shabalala joined his first men’s chorus, the Durban Choir, and in 1960 he moved to Durban, where he became active in the city’s musical circles. It was also at this time that he began composing his own songs. By 1961, he was the leader of an isicathamiya group he called Ladysmith Black Mambazo (literally “the black ax of Ladysmith”). They gained regional fame during the 1960s through concerts and radio broadcasts, then through their recording career, which began in 1973. Over the ensuing dozen years, Ladysmith Black Mambazo solidified their place as the most renowned isicathamiya group ever.

Thus, by 1985, Shabalala already had an impressive career. In that year, he met and collaborated with American songwriter and lyricist Paul Simon, and his career entered a new stage that would bring his music to an international audience. Ladysmith Black Mambazo was featured on Simon’s Graceland album (1986) and in the resulting world tour in 1987. The group’s next album, Shaka Zulu, was popular around the world and won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional World Music Album in 1987. Shabalala and his group had broken a barrier, and thereafter they would release numerous albums, tour all over the world, and continue to receive Grammy nominations. A second Grammy came in 2004, for Raise Your Spirit Higher: Wenyukela. In 2014 Shabalala announced his retirement from Ladysmith Black Mambazo due to health concerns, and three of his sons joined the group.

The Music

Shabalala’s entire musical career was devoted to the practice and development of isicathamiya, a term meaning “to walk on one’s toes lightly.” This South African choral genre was born out of urban working camps during the early twentieth century, where men’s a cappella groups sang for entertainment, and in all-night concerts and competitions. The essential aesthetic values of the genre embrace not only skilled musical performance but also a highly polished visual performance, including precisely choreographed movements and the impeccable physical appearance of the performers.

Unlike other performers of isicathamiya before him, Shabalala became a full-time musician and chose to focus on the performance of original compositions. His numerous compositions reflected the various aspects of his identity: The sounds of farm animals from his youth were used as musical sound effects, his Zulu heritage was reflected in the language and in the songs and the stories they tell, and his conversion to Christianity motivated the overall message of peace, forgiveness, and praise that enlivens his songs.

Early Works. All of the fundamental musical qualities of isicathamiya can be found in Shabalala’s early works. A call-and-response texture between Shabalala and the group dominates. Melodies are placed within Western European triadic harmonies and rely heavily on tonic, subdominant, and dominant harmonic progressions. The quintessential form of a song, such as “Nomathemba” (a girl’s name), begins with a pronouncement of text in declamatory style and homophonic texture, sung by the entire group. Following this is an extended section in which the group sings a repeated phrase while Shabalala sings an elaborating lead melody.

Shabalala also attempted to modernize isicathamiya. His stylistic reforms of the genre included developing a feel of lightness in the group’s tiptoe-style choreography and the overall timbre of the voices, as well as a narrative continuity in his song texts.

“Homeless.” Knowing that he wanted to collaborate with Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Paul Simon recorded a demo of “Homeless” in which he approximated the group’s style. He then sent the demo to the group before he met them in London to record in 1985. While there, Shabalala and the group took Simon’s original tune and transformed it into an isicathamiya song, adding Zulu words. “Homeless” was Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s feature track on Graceland, and for the international community it became their hallmark song.

Shaka Zulu. This 1987 album was the group’s first release after Graceland and was produced by Simon. Collaboration with Simon did not have the effect of radically transforming the sound of Shabalala’s music. The music on this album retains all the characteristics of basic isicathamiya. In fact, a number of the songs on the album were in the Ladysmith Black Mambazo songbook prior to 1985. The album does, however, have a greater number of songs using the English language, and Zulu words have been translated into English, signaling the intention of the album to reach audiences outside South Africa.

Raise Your Spirit Higher: Wenyukela. In 1975, Shabalala converted to Christianity and later became an ordained minister in the Church of God. His spirituality figured prominently in his compositional themes, as can be heard in numerous songs on this album from 2003, such as “Wenyukela” (raise your spirit higher), “Uqinisil’ Ubada” (Lord is the light and truth), and “Udidekil’ Umhlaba” (Lord’s work).

Musical Legacy

Not only was Joseph Shabalala the most famous composer of isicathamiya; his influence helped shape its present sound. Ladysmith Black Mambazo is the most successful ensemble in the history of the genre and has brought the sound of this South African genre to the attention of the rest of the world. Throughout his sixty-year career, Shabalala collaborated with numerous international musicians in various styles such as jazz, pop, and rock. His focus, however, remained on his heritage. In the late 1990s, Shabalala began the Mambazo Foundation for South African Music and Culture, with the goal of opening a music academy in his homeland. Through the academy, he made it possible to pass on the culture, traditions, and music of his homeland to new generations of South Africans. Shabalala died on February 11, 2020, at the age of seventy-eight.

Principal Recordings

Albums (with Ladysmith Black Mambazo): Induku Kethy, 1984; Ulwandle Oluncgwele, 1985; Inala, 1986; Shaka Zulu, 1987; Journey of Dreams, 1988; Umthombo Wamanzi, 1988; How the Leopard Got His Spots, 1991 (with Danny Glover); Two Worlds, One Heart, 1991; Inkanyezi Nezazi, 1992 (The Star and the Wiseman); Zibuyinhlazane, 1992; Gift of the Tortoise, 1994; Liph’ Iqiniso, 1994; Thuthukani Ngoxolo, 1996 (Let’s Develop in Peace); Heavenly, 1997; Live at the Royal Albert Hall, 1999; Thandani, 1999; In Harmony, 2001; Raise Your Spirit Higher: Wenyukela, 2003; No Boundaries, 2005 (with the English Chamber Orchestra); Long Walk to Freedom, 2006; Ilembe: Honoring Shaka Zulu, 2007.

Bibliography

Erlmann, Veit. Music, Modernity, and the Global Imagination: South Africa and the West. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. Erlmann reckons with the myriad inter-relationships of global culture, with a focus in part 2 on Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Graceland.

‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. Nightsong: Performance, Power, and Practice in South Africa. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996. An ethnomusicological treatment of isicathamiya, including a history and discography of the genre, as well as a biography of Shabalala.

Muller, Carol Ann. South African Music: A Century of Traditions in Transformation. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-Clio, 2004. A history of South African music in the twentieth century that provides context for Shabalala’s work and describes Ladysmith Black Mambazo in concert.

Pareles, Jon. "Joseph Shabalala, Ladysmith Black Mambazo Founder, Dies at 78." The New York Times, 11 Feb. 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/02/11/arts/music/joseph-shabalala-dead.html. Accessed 2 Dec. 2020.

Thembela, Alex J., and Edmund P. M. Radebe. The Life and Works of Bhekizizwe Joseph Shabalala and the Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Pietermaritzburg, South Africa: Reach Out, 1993. The first substantial biography of Shabalala, based in large part on interviews with the musician.