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The Healing Music of Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Whatever you do, don't dismiss Joseph Shabalala as a mere musician. The 57-year-old leader of the Grammy Award-winning a capella vocal group Ladysmith Black Mambazo is in reality a musical missionary, a social prophet, a winsome world changer. Singing since the mid-1960s in and around South Africa's poverty-stricken Ladysmith township, Shabalala and the other nine members of the group have evolved into international ambassadors for racial harmony and brotherly love.
In 1993, former South African President F. W. de Klerk invited the group to accompany him to Oslo, Norway, to sing as the white leader received the Nobel Peace Prize. A year later, they sang at the joyous inauguration ceremony for Nelson Mandela, their troubled nation's first black president.
For Shabalala, such shining moments in the glare of international attention give opportunities to reflect on his life and calling: "Some of these things make you think deeper and ask, 'Who am I to be invited to this occasion?' It makes you more humble."
But Shabalala is not humble about the mystical, incantatory power of music. Instead, this pastor of a Church of God in Prophecy congregation believes song is a powerful gift from a gracious God to hungry humans. "Music creates order out of chaos," he said in an interview during the group's recent American tour. "We make healing music of physical, spiritual, and political peace. When we sing, we wish for people to be healed if they are sick. We wish to stir their minds and encourage them."
AN UNFOLDING JOURNEY
It is a long way from the shantytown streets of South Africa to the bright lights of the world's most celebrated concert halls and esteemed international forums. ...
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