Letta Mbulu Nomalizo (1983)
The 1960s and 1970s were a particularly turbulent time in South Africa, which saw many artists forced to leave the country, some because of harassment from the country’s security police, others because of the rising violence and tensions after the 1976 protests. The work of these artists exposed the world to South African music and to the myriad issues facing South Africans living under the apartheid regime. The most famous of these are Hugh Masekela, Miriam Makeba, Abdullah Ibrahim and of course the singer of today’s song, Letta Mbulu.
Some of the exiled artists were banned from the country, others chose to exile themselves. After moving to London or New York, some of these émigrés found success as artists on the global scene. Hugh Masekela topped the Billboard charts in 1968 with his song “Grazing in the Grass”. Miriam Makeba is widely known for her world famous “Click” song, and her Grammy award winning album with Harry Belafonte, An Evening with Belafonte/Makeba. Letta Mbulu has had a prolific career with worldwide reach, she was featured on Roots, where she worked closely with Quincy Jones, she also had collaborations with Harry Belafonte, and her chanting and singing is featured on Micheal Jackson’s “Liberian Girl”.
Today’s song “Nomalizo” is a song about a girl from Johannesburg, like Letta Mbulu. This song is an absolute bop, a timeless groove delivered in Mbulu’s silken tone. “Nomalizo” is a cosmopolitan story of a young girl in the big city where “life is tricky.” A wonderful gem for tastemakers and lovers of excellent music. That’s us, right?
Dig Deeper
Sarafina is a musical drama set in apartheid South Africa, based on a play of the same name by Mbongeni Ngema. The film has an excellent cast and was well received globally when it was released in 1992. Sarafina gave audiences a peek into the aforementioned Soweto uprisings and life for South Africans under the fascist regime. A must see if you’re curious about the Rainbow nation’s history.
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