Albert Mazibuko, ‘Wise Elder’ of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Dies at 77
Albert Mazibuko, the “wise elder” of the South African male vocal group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, has died at 77. His death was officially announced on April 5 through a touching Facebook post by the members of the group. The post praised his gentleness, commitment, and zeal for the worldwide dissemination of the group’s message of “Peace, Love and Harmony”. The cause of death was not made public.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo Bandmates Honor Albert Mazibuko’s Legacy
They said during their unplanned tribute that it was very typical of Albert being the main spokesperson of the group because he never said no to the opportunity to share the group’s history to the world. The bandmates highly praised him as being “beautiful inside and out” and they showed a short video of Mazibuko talking about the group’s journey. Ending their tribute with “GO WELL OUR GOOD FRIEND, ” the bandmates revealed how deeply that loss had broken them but also gave out their promise to share more content that honors his life and calling.
Albert Mazibuko on the Early Years and Life Under Apartheid
In 1969, Albert Mazibuko became a member of Ladysmith Black Mambazo after his cousin, Joseph Shabalala, the group’s founder, invited him. The group has been known for more than 50 years blending Zulu traditions with isicathamiya acapella, thus sharing a ray of hope during the oppression of South Africa’s apartheid era.
During a 2015 interview with the BBC, Mazibuko opened up about the deep pain apartheid would cause in his life. He was always scared of the police and the “bad” conditions of the laws kept changing. He mentioned how they were forced to carry their ID books at all times to not get arrested. The experience of those years continued to affect him many years later. When he said, “In my life, I was so afraid of being arrested… even now I’m afraid, ” he was telling the truth about how deeply the trauma affected him.
Albert Time with Ladysmith Black Mambazo
The group performed on the radio at an important moment in 1970 and got a recording contract thanks to it. Amabutho came out in 1973 and was the album that went gold first in Africa. They reached global recognition through Paul Simon’s project in 1986 called Graceland, in which he invited the group to feature.
Mazibuko was an integral leader of the band from the very beginning till the end, that is, to Joseph Shabalala’s retirement in 2014. He worked as Joseph Shabalala’s “right-hand man.” After Shabalala retired in 2014, Mazibuko was regarded as the group’s “wise elder” and has been leading the young members.
He tied the knot with Lillian Dlomo Mazibuko in 1976, and they were blessed with four children. The combination of longtime members and new players had been on tour in the U.S. since February and their last U.S. show was supposed to be on April 10.
