Long Live Busi Mhlongo

Some sad news–amid the euphoria of the World Cup–from journalist Bongani Madondo:

Busi Mhlongo passed away 9:19 pm South African time, Tuesday night, some hours before June 16 Commemoration.

Long Live The Quee. Long Live The Zulu Rock Queen. Long Live Queen B!
Busi Victoria Mhlongo: 1948-2010.

For those who missed Bongani’s last post on Busi on this blog, please read it here.

Guest Post: Bongani Madondo on Busi Mhlongo

Last week I put up a short post about singer Busi Mhlongo’s struggle with cancer. This week my man Bongani Madondo, who is spending lots of time with Busi sent me a long “conversational piece” that is the first of three that he is ‘sharing with the world on Busi.” Bongani first comments on that last post by commending @Andrea Meeson for correcting my nonsense that Jabu Khanyile headed Stimela (he was head of Bayethe), but then Bongani added that Andrea herself was wrong about the spelling of Brice Wassy’s name and that the SABC’s Busi Tribute Concert was headed by Dali Mpofu with Thandiswa, Sibongile Khumalo and Simphiwe Dana etc as special guests.

He also informed me that is hoping to bring out “… a coffee table/hard book, with a working title: VoodooChild: Pictorial & Textual Essays On The Zulu Rock Queen. He is looking for contributors “… African and internationally- to weigh in on different themes– Busi as a rock/blues figure, feminism, style, healing the healer, the art of performance, aesthetics, liberatory lyrical writing, etc.”  (For more on Bongani and his work: Go here, here, here and here):

What follows is part status update on Busi’s health, confessional, music appreciation, and very personal.

Anyway, here’s the piece, which I copied as I received it. It is the first time it is been published anywhere.

[Read more...]

Busi Mhlongo is a Warrior

South African singer Busi Mhlongo‘s long struggle with cancer continues. I just got an email message from journalist Bongani Madondo (who has written about Mhlongo’s cancer before):  “I am not sure, she will ever perform live again– and that is an understatement.”

In the video, above, you can see her performing live with the late Jabu Khanyile of Stimela (Bayete–thanks Andrea) who died of cancer in 2006.

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 2,264 other followers