Some sad news from journalist Bongani Madondo, amid the euphoria of South Africa hosting the World Cup, about the passing of singer Busi Mhlongo. Madondo, based in Johannesburg, has interviewed and written profiles of Mhlongo: “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!”

South African President, Jacob Zuma, who, like Busi, is from KwaZulu-Natal province, described her in a statement as the “Queen of Maskanda.” Her music, “incorporated South African styles such as mbaqanga, maskanda, marabi and traditional Zulu fused with contemporary elements  . . . ” and that she “ . . . transformed the Maskanda guitar music of migrant Zulu mine workers into an instrument of peace.”

Mhlongo cut her teeth in the 1960s music scene, probably the most talented period in South Africa. For a while, she was married to Early Mabuze, the drummer for Dollar Brand (now Abdullah Ibrahim). She spent long periods outside South Africa, touring or as a resident artist at venues in Europe and the United States. In the early 2000s, as Billboard reports, her track “We Baba Omncane” (off ‘Urban Zulu’, released in 1999) was used for a global Adidas campaign. It is hard to believe that she has released only four recordings with her as the lead: Babhemu (1993), the critically acclaimed Urban Zulu (1999), Indiza – Voyages Through New Sounds (2002), and Freedom (2003).

She has her musical admirers. In 2006, journalist Niren Tolsi concluded in The Mail and Guardian newspaper that “ . . .  her music and her powerful vocal range possess those aching qualities that strip every emotion down to its most primal and raw.” And Madondo, writing on Africa Is a Country earlier this year: “Like all sages and alchemists in years yonder, Busi was the ultimate fan. Which means, she knew a blast of talent when confronted with one. In Hip-Hop parlance ‘real knows real’.”