Makeba

Miriam Makeba, commonly known as Miriam Makeba and nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer and civil rights activist who helped bring African music to international audiences. Born Zenzile Miriam Makeba on March 4, 1932, in Johannesburg, she began singing in local groups in the 1950s and rose to prominence after participating in the South African stage production King Kong in 1959, which toured internationally.

Integrating traditional songs with jazz and folk influences, Makeba achieved global fame with The Click Song (Qongqothwane) and Pata Pata. She recorded and performed internationally, including a collaboration with Harry Belafonte on the 1965 album An Evening with Belafonte/Makeba, which earned her the 1966 Grammy Award for Best Folk Recording. After the show’s success, she left South Africa and lived in exile for decades due to the apartheid government’s travel ban.

Makeba remained an outspoken opponent of apartheid and a prominent advocate for human rights, supporting the African National Congress and other anti-apartheid causes. She returned to South Africa in 1990 after the lifting of the ban and continued to perform and record. In 1999 she became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. Makeba died on November 9, 2008, in Rome, Italy, leaving a lasting legacy in world music and civil rights.