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Shaka, Rattle and Roll
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The Cleveland Free Times, Shaka, Rattle and Roll >>
When Ladysmith Black Mambazo teamed up with American pop singer Paul Simon to record Graceland, it knew the album would be a success. But it didn't know it would go on to sell 16 million albums and make the African group international superstars. "We never doubted it was going to be a big thing, but we didn't think it was going to be that big," says Ladysmith singer Albert Mazibuko in a phone interview from a Pittsfield, Massachusetts tour stop. "When it happened, we thought it was great. After that world tour with him, when we were invited to perform somewhere, we didn't know we'd be invited back so many times. It's amazing." "Amazing" is right. The vocal group's recorded steadily since then, earning eight Grammy nominations and collaborating with everyone from Michael Jackson to singer-songwriter Josh Groban. The band's latest release, Ilembe: Honoring Shaka Zulu, is a series of inspirational tunes about the Zulu warrior who overcame a difficult upbringing to become a local hero. Mazibuko says the defeatist attitude he sees in today's youth was one of the inspirations for making an album about an old warrior. "He was a man who wanted people to be strong and do things perfectly," Mazibuko says. "He never complained. There wasn't anything he couldn't do. When we look at young people, you find that they always have some excuses. "My parents didn't give me this.' We want to encourage people to not have any excuse." Mazibuko says that when the vocal group first formed in 1960, Africans were trying to imitate Western culture and ignore their own. As traditionalists, Ladysmith Black Mambazo has become a cultural ambassador of a sort. It's a role Mazibuko doesn't mind one bit. "It's a great honor," he says. "We embrace that. We try to be what people think we are." The group performs at 7:30 p.m. at EJ Thomas Hall (198 Hill St., Akron, 216.241.5555). Tickets: $22.50-$27.50.
- by Jeff Niesel 01/23/08 >> go there
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