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Zenzile Miriam Makeba (/ məˈkeɪbə /; 4 March 1932 – 9 November 2008), nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, and civil rights activist. Associated with musical genres including Afropop, jazz, and world music, she was an advocate against apartheid and white-minority government in South Africa.
Aug 5, 2024 · Miriam Makeba (born March 4, 1932, Prospect Township, near Johannesburg, South Africa—died November 10, 2008, Castel Volturno, near Naples, Italy) was a South African-born singer who became known as Mama Afrika, one of the world’s most prominent Black African performers in the 20th century.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Miriam Makeba - Pata Pata (Live 1967) Zenzile Miriam Makeba (4 March 1932 – 9 November 2008), nicknamed Mama Africa, was a Grammy Award-winning South African singer and civil rights...
- 4 min
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- Miriam Makeba Official Channel
- Early Years
- Art as Activism
- Aesthetic as Activism
- A Legacy Spanning Generations
Her musical beginnings in the 1940s were at Kilnerton College, a Methodist elementary school where she sang in the school choir. The school’s alumni include South Africa’s former chief justice Dikgang Moseneke, Professor Khabi Mngoma, a hugely influential figure in music education, as well as struggle icon Lilian Ngoyi. Makeba’s break into the prof...
Her artistry extended beyond the stage, beyond her impeccable vocals and her sophisticated interpretations of international and South African repertoire. Her very presence in the United States stood as a form of activism against the apartheid government who had attempted to silence her and erase her from the consciousness of her people. Makeba’s li...
What I appreciate most about Makeba is the way in which she not only embraced but leaned into her sexuality and sensuality. The way she moved her body on stage was often provocative, drawing the audience into her world. She understood acutely the power of her black body and its curvature. Her aesthetic of natural hair and minimal make up (if any at...
Kenyan author Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, believes that Africans singing in their native language is an international act of decolonisation and a marker of Pan African identity. Academic Aaron Carter-Enyi acknowledged Makeba’s influence on other African singers to sing in their mother tongues. Like Benin’s Angelique Kidjo who sings in Yoruba, Mali’s Oumou S...
Meet the South African singer, songwriter, and civil rights activist. By Google Arts & Culture. Miriam Makeba (1969) by Unidentified and Getty Images Smithsonian National Museum of African Art....
Zenzile Miriam Makeba (4 March 1932 – 9 November 2008), nicknamed Mama Africa, is a Grammy Award-winning South African singer. In the 1960s, she was the first artist from Africa to popularize...
The power of Mama Africa’s voice activates in so many of us, deep impacting memories, where our emotions have been easily touched because a lasting connectio...
