Thandiswa Mazwai - "Nizalwa Ngobani" (South Africa)

zuluboys | August 29, 2010

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This song was first recorded by Thandiswa in 2004

Here is a summary statement about this song from another YouTube video (sound file)

"As democracy and freedom to be who we were meant to be yet evades so many peoples in our world today as in the past...here is a song pleading that all who have given their lives in hope to make that day arrive will/should never be forgotten. Although being sang specifically for South Africa...the words can be applied to many other countries/peoples past and present too. Please enjoy whilst you listen x"

TheRestlesswind | September 09, 2010 | http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfjD5-3TdnU&feature=fvw

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Here's an excerpt about Thandiswa from http://thenewblackmagazine.com/view.aspx?index=205

Here's why this fine sister rocks

By Kalamu ya Salaam of Kalamu.com

"In the spring of 2006, I was at Sarah Lawrence just outside of New York City. As we were setting up for my presentation, I talked with some of the students. One of them was from South Africa. I asked her about Kwaito. “Oh, you know kwaito?”

“Yes,” I assured her, and then went on to inquire about the other South African music she liked. The name at the top of her list was Thandiswa Mazwai — not just as a singer but as a role model, someone who was making the young women of South Africa proud.

I knew of Thandiswa through Bongo Maffin, the popular group. I had viewed a short documentary on them on the internet and had been impressed with how Thandiswa spoke: straight-forward, forward thinking, conscious of who she was and the overall South African situation, respectful but also critical of Black music from America. I was anxious to hear her album...

[describing selections from Thandiswa's 2009 album Zabalaza that the writer likes] Another selection is “Nizalwa Ngobani (Do You Know Where You Come From)” with its multi-layers of music and meaning: “Are the beautiful ones really dead?” ...

This album was a big, big hit in South Africa. In this case, I believe the message was stronger than the music and that the response was based in part on the yearnings of the people of South Africa for peace and prosperity rather than the crime and poverty plaguing so many in that beautiful country.

Zabalaza is analogous to Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On? Whether American ears will hear and embrace Zabalaza as our South African cousins did is another story." ...