Could Miriam Makeba have been “silenced†by the Italian mob? Mama Afrika as she was fondly known amongst her fans is said to have died of a heart attack after a November 9, concert in Italy.
Even during her last few hours alive, this brave and gallant freedom fighter was hard at work performing at an anti-racism and anti-organized crime concert in Caserta, Italy. The show was held in support of writer Roberto Saviano, the author of ‘Gomorra’, a book about organized crime in southern Italy. After finishing her performance at Castel Volturno, Makeba was rushed to hospital after suffering a heart attack. She died at the Pineta Grande Clinic in the early hours of Monday, November 10.
Makeba was there to add her voice to a campaign against organized crime before passing on at 76. Makeba was always quick to lend her talent to causes that were out to create social-political impact.
What negates the rather preposterous theory about her death at the hand of the Italian mafia is the fact that she had prophesied the manner in which she would die. While at a media conference just before she performed at Kampala’s International Jazz Festival, a frail Makeba had told Ugandan entertainment journalists that she would die on stage.
Some revellers were sceptical about whether she would give an optimal performance on the festival’s opening night. Makeba had arrived at the airport in a wheel chair and walked into the conference hall with the aid of a crutch. She proved everyone wrong by putting on one of her most memorable last concerts even though she walked with a slight limp.
She did look weary at the Kampala concert but titillating all the same thanks to a troupe of young musicians in tow. Mama Afrika impressed that October night with click sounds, hisses, rhythmic shoulder shaking, body patting routines on Pata Pata and a soukouss-tinged rendition of the timeless East African classic Malaika to crown the night.
She did not leave the stage before cautioning the army of videographers not to sell the video of her concert and requested that the shutterbugs that had been blinding her with their camera flashes be courteous enough to send her copies of the pictures. The Kampala concert was Makeba’s first in 16 years. She was last here in 1992 and her fans have the benefit of being among the last people to have seen Makeba perform live.
Some may be curious to know why a lady of such an advanced age continued to work the international concert circuit. Makeba had often talked about retiring from the stage but had continuously gone back on her word. In a CNN interview, Makeba had revealed that she continued touring to make ends meet. “Not being very well educated about the ins and outs of the business means that we get robbed by promoters, managers, record companies,†said Makeba who until her death did not own the rights or receive revenue for some of her most recognised hits.
What many of her peers like Yvonne Chaka Chaka lauded her for was that she was not selfish with her talent and her passion for charity was shown in the home of abandoned teenage girls she took under her wing in Johannesburg.
Makeba, renowned for her monster hits like Pata Pata and being one of the flag bearers of Africa’s international jazz sound and indigenous South African rhythms was born Miriam Zenzi Makeba in Johannesburg in 1932. She began her singing career in the 1950s with the Cuban Brothers but established herself with the jazz group Manhattans Brothers.
A few years later, she left the Manhattans Brothers to form the all-female group, the Skylarks. Not long after, she reunited with the Manhattans Brothers and took the lead female role in the hit musical King Kong, which told the story of Black African boxer, Ezekiel ‘King Kong’ Dlamini.
After a starring role in the anti-apartheid movie, Come Back Africa, Makeba found herself in trouble with the then South African apartheid government. She was forced to go to exile and later denied access back into her home country.
Makeba then moved to London where she met Harry Belafonte who helped her establish herself and the partnership led to a release of albums in the United States including her most famous hits, Pata Pata, The Click Song (Qongqothwane), and Malaika. Makeba was briefly married to trumpeter, Hugh Masekela, another South African musician of note who also spent many years in exile under the apartheid government.
In 1966, Mama Africa became the first South African to win the Grammy Award for Best Folk Recording. She married civil rights activist and Black Panthers leader Stokely Carmichael in 1969 but her marriage to Carmichael became controversial in the USA leading to cancellation of concerts and recording contracts. This prompted the couple to move to Guinea where they were welcomed with open arms. While in Guinea, she continued with her singing career and increasingly became a much-loved vocalist throughout the world. During her time in Guinea, she toured many countries and made countless stage performances. Makeba separated from Carmichael in 1973, but still continued performing mainly in Africa, South America and Europe.
Even though Mama Africa always regarded herself as a singer and not a politician, her bold participation in the freedom struggle earned her International awards including the 1986 Dag Hammarskjold Peace Prize and the UNESCO Grand Prix du Conseil International de la Musique. A time of significant pain and hardship came when Makeba lost her only daughter, Bondi. According to the reports, Bondi died at the age of 36 in 1985.
The much loved and celebrated female vocalist lived in exile for three decades and only returned to South Africa in 1990 after former South African President, Nelson Mandela was released from prison. Her album discography, which spanned five decades, included Eyes On Tomorrow (1991), Sing Me A Song (1993), A Promise (1994) Live From Paris & Conakry (1998), Homeland (2000), Keep Me In Mind (2002) Live at Berns Salonger, Stockholm, Sweden (1966) and Reflections (2004). Her last recording titled Makeba Forever was released in 2006.
Most of her earlier work is also available on commissioned compilations like 1991’s Eyes On Tomorrow, The Best Of Miriam Makeba & The Skylarks: 1956 - 1959 recordings released in 1998, Mama Africa: The Very Best Of Miriam Makeba (2000), The Guinea Years (2001), The Definitive Collection (2002) and The Best Of The Early Years (2003). Her musical career is also chronicled in a 1988 award-winning autobiography titled Miriam: My Story.
Makeba may be gone, but the one thing about the passing of legendary musicians is that they are reincarnated in the timelessness of their music, which continues to play on long after they have departed.
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