Ladysmith Black Mambazo has been famous for its cappella for over 50 years. The group praises the struggle and passion of the South African people in an inimitable way. Their real breakthrough came after the collaboration with Paul Simon on the album Graceland.

The popular a cappella choir Ladysmith Black Mambazo from South Africa sings according to one of the most important traditions in Zulu music: the polyphonic vocals, aka ‘Isicathamiya’. Black miners, far from home, found relaxation here and Joseph Shabalala, leader of Ladysmith Black Mambazo molded that tradition into something irresistible: Zulu music, Christian hymns and American gospel come together here and form a pure and proud singing style.

The group broke through in the late eighties when PAUL SIMON recorded some songs with them for his groundbreaking “Graceland” album. In 1987 the group won a Grammy Award for “Shaka Zulu” and thus received worldwide recognition. Since then, millions of albums have been sold, the singers travel around the world, and in the meantime they sing with EMMYLOU HARRIS, NATALIE MERCHANT, ZAP MAMA … or do so militantly on the side of eg NELSON MANDELA.

The name Ladysmith Black Mambazo was born after winning many singing competitions. Ladysmith is home to the Shabalala family; Black refers to the black oxen on the farm, which are usually the strongest; and Mambazo is the Zulu word for ax, with which they proverbially made the other opponents in the singing competitions smaller. Exciting as a vocal cord!

Source : C Mine Official web site