Press Release - MZWAKHE MBULI IS MTC’s APRIL MASTERS OF SUCCESS GUEST
The People’s Poet to thrill Namibian audience with oral romance as third MTC MASTER
OF SUCCESS guest.
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10 April – 2015 Windhoek - If you are fascinated by poetry and music, then don’t miss the 3rd
edition of the MTC Masters of Success with Mwakhe Mbuli, also known as the “People’s Poet”.
Biography:
Mzwakhe Mbuli, the “People’s Poet,” was born into a poor Zulu family in Sophiatown on 1st
August 1959. His parents were Roselinah Msuthukazi Mbuli, a Xhosa woman, and Elijah Katali,
a Zulu man who was employed as a long-distance driver. In 1966, the town was bulldozed and
Mbuli’s family, which included seven brothers and sisters, was forcibly removed to
Soweto. Mbuli’s training in traditional mbube singing came from his father, who often took him
to long mbube sessions conducted by workers. He also attended local and school based theatre
groups in addition to other Zulu dance and music events throughout his youth.
The Soweto Uprising occurred on 16th June 1976 and was a very formative experience for the
young Mbuli. After experiencing the death of his fellow students, Mbuli’s school went on strike
and he was encouraged to write poetry during this time. Mbuli refers to this event as “God’s
miracle” because of how crucial it was for forming his opinions and beginning his career. As a
member of his first performance group, Khuyhangano, Mbuli performed for the Congress of
South African Students (COSAS) in 1979, a group he would later join. Mbuli’s first major public
performance took place in 1981 when he recited the poems “Sies” and “Ignorant” at the
Memorial Concert for a local preacher. Mbuli refers to this event as the “beginning of Mzwakhe”
and it would launch his career of reciting “dub” poetry at funerals during the 1980s. Other
notable performances of Mbuli’s during this time included the national launch of the United
Democratic Front (UDF) in 1983 and the festivities surrounding Bishop Desmond
Tutu’s acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984.
After gaining notoriety for his public performances, Mbuli received his first band from the
record label Shifty in 1986. Mbuli then recorded an underground album that would come to be
known as Change is Pain, in some part due to the fact that he wanted his voice preserved in case
of his death during this tumultuous period. The album was banned shortly after its release by
the apartheid government because of its “influence among revolutionary groups” and Mbuli’s
reputation earned him the nickname “die long man” among the security police. For
Mbuli, Change is Pain was the beginning of torture as it garnered him the attention of the
authorities. Mbuli spent most of 1988 in solitary confinement and used this time to write and
memorize his next album while in prison. Upon his discharge in 1989, Mbuli immediately
recorded and released the album Unbroken Spirit. In 1989, Mbuli helped welcome back
prisoners released from Robben Island in a ceremony. Mbuli was arrested 8 times and refused
a passport 39 times.
Mzwakhe was declared an official enemy of the State. Besides the Id number, he was allocated a
number by the previous regime. At the TRC–A Vlakplaas operative Jacobus Klopper testified
before the TRC that they were given orders to eliminate the People’s Poet because he was an
official enemy of the State. Mbuli was repeatedly Detained, Harassed, Tortured, Home attacked
with hand grenades, Framed and Banned. Mbuli has released 17 albums to date which includes;
Change is Pain (Banned), Unbroken Spirit(Banned), Before Dawn(Banned), Resistance is
Defence, Kwazulu Natal, Afrika, Voice of Reason, Izigi, UMzwakhe ubonga uJehova, Born Free
Always in Chains, All the Hits, Mbulism, Thunder, Human Triumph, Dudula, Amandla and
Patriotic Love.
In 2014, Mzwakhe was appointed an INTERPOL AMBASSADOR as part of Turn Back Crime, AntiPiracy activist. He is also the co-founder of the Crown Gospel Awards and Siyabakhumbula
Awards
Mzwakhe recently collaborated with Zahara on a Mandela song that became an instant hit.
Zahara’s Album titled Phendula won the SAMA Awards 2014
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