"We believe that music has power," says Ladysmith Black Mambazo singer Albert Mazibuko. "We try to make people stronger."

Since its formation in the 1960s, the world-famous South African choral group has always had three goals -- to inspire, educate and entertain people through music. "The main message of Ladysmith is love, peace and harmony," Mazibuko says. "Because we believe in love, and then we believe in peace, and then we believe in harmony. So all those things, if we apply it in our daily lives, I believe it will make our world a better place to live."

Combining intricate rhythms and harmonies of their native South Africa with the inspiring love and faith of Christian gospel music, the 11-time Grammy-nominated group has captivated worldwide audiences for four decades.

"When we became Christian, we said 'OK, we sing the same hymns and praise the Lord, but we are going to use our style of singing.'" Mazibuko says. "We combine those two and it works so well."

Band leader Joseph Shabalala assembled the singers in the 1960s, and the group quickly attained local fame and success at wedding ceremonies. Ladysmith performed so well at South African musical contests that they were eventually forbidden from competition.

After releasing its first album, "Amabutho," in 1973, the band gained international fame by collaborating with Paul Simon on his 1986 album, "Graceland."

"'Graceland' has done tremendous success for the group," Mazibuko says. "Because without 'Graceland' I don't think Ladysmith Black Mambazo would be known all over the world as it is know. And when we talk about it all the time, we say our prayers were answered. We think Paul Simon is a saint to come to South Africa."

HONORING SHAKA ZULU

Ladysmith's latest album, "Ilembe," pays tribute to Shaka Zulu, the iconic South African warrior and first king of the Zulu nation. Mazibuko says Shaka's belief in unity inspired the album.

"(Shaka) believed in unity, perfection and 'Be the best, whatever you do,'" Mazibuko says. "That's the message we (wanted to share), especially with the young people all over the world: that you can achieve anything as long as you believe in yourself."

In the late 1700s, the Zulus were an obscure South African tribe of fewer than 2,000 members. But in less than two decades, Shaka Zulu emerged to unite the clan with neighboring tribes to form a powerful and proud nation.

"He was a warrior; he was a leader; he was a visionary," Mazibuko says. "He was a very intelligent man. Some people see him as a violent person, but he wasn't. He (would) never just go to fight anyone. He went there to talk first; he was a diplomat. He talked with the people and told them that 'I am the one who's going to rule all of the kings.' He said, 'Let's unite and make one big, strong nation.' He wanted to bring all these groups and make them one nation.

"But if a person said, 'No, I'm not going to cooperate with you,' (Shaka) said, 'OK, we will see who is the strongest here.'"

Raised by a single parent, Shaka sprang from a poor background. "But he never made any excuses that he couldn't achieve what he wanted to achieve when he grew up," Mazibuko says. That willpower inspired Mazibuko from an early age.

"He was a great warrior and a great leader. So to me, Shaka's life gave me hope," Mazibuko says. "When we grew up, things were not easy. You have to be a hero inside of yourself. Every time when I think about him ... I think, 'I am going to do whatever it takes to achieve what I wanted to achieve.'"

APARTHEID

Achieving one's dreams wasn't easy in South Africa for most of the 20th century. After centuries of Dutch and British colonial rule, South Africa was unified under British dominion in 1910 and gained full independence in 1934. The Afrikaner National Party came to power in the 1940s and, in 1948, established apartheid, a system of legitimized racial discrimination. Race laws impacted every aspect of life, including a prohibition of interracial marriage and the sanctioning of "white-only" jobs.

When apartheid was dismantled by 1994, Nelson Mandela was the first president to be elected in fully representative democratic elections. He became a symbol of freedom, equality and unity.

"It was unity that made South African free," Mazibuko says. "(Mandela) said, 'Throw all your weapons down -- all your guns and spears -- and sit down and talk and become one.' It's the same message that Shaka used. He possessed his spirit."

Still, Mazibuko says Ladysmith Black Mambazo was greatly impacted -- and influenced -- by apartheid.

"Everything was very difficult for a black person during apartheid in South Africa," Mazibuko says. "It made it very difficult for the group to travel after we were famous in the area. In order for us to spread our music and make a living through our music, we had to travel to sing. So it was a great challenge.

"I remember every time we were stopped by the police, they said 'Where are you going? Do you have permission to be here?' So we have to explain that we mean no harm; we are the singers. Every time when they asked, 'What kind of music do you sing?' we just start the song and sing for them. It worked all the time.

They would say, 'Wow, you sound so good.' They said, 'What you are doing is very good. You sing so beautiful. You shouldn't be stopped. What you are doing doesn't harm anyone. It might even make people stop fighting.'

Music, after all, has power.

By ANDY WADE