Lebo Mathosa

Lebo Mathosa (17 July 1977 – 23 October 2006) was a popular South African kwaito singer. Mathosa started her career with the popular South African band Boom Shaka in 1994 at the age of 17, after she caught the eye of music producer Don Laka at a club in Johannesburg. She was one of the few successful female kwaito artists in an industry dominated by males.[1]

Lebo Mathosa
Birth nameLebogang Mathosa
Born(1977-07-17)17 July 1977
Daveyton, Johannesburg, South Africa
OriginSouth Africa
Died23 October 2006(2006-10-23) (aged 29)
GenresKwaito, Hip hop
Occupation(s)Singer, actress
Years active1994–1999 (group)
1999–2006 (solo)
LabelsEMI Africa & Bula Records until 2002 https://mg.co.za/article/2006-10-23-singer-lebo-mathosa-dies-in-car-crash
WebsiteArchived 2006-11-15 at the Wayback Machine=

She was well known for her dyed blonde hair, her live shows and outrageous stage outfits, and was openly bisexual.[2] She was frequently compared to the South African singer Brenda Fassie, who died in 2004. Mathosa won the Style Best Dressed Woman of the Year Award in 2001, and was nominated by FHM magazine as one of Africa's sexiest women.[3]

Mathosa died in a car crash, aged 29, after her driver lost control of her vehicle in Johannesburg.[4] Mathosa's driver apparently lost control of the Toyota Prado in which they were travelling on the N3 Highway on the East Rand.[5] But the cause of death is unknown.

Early life

Lebo Mathosa was born in Daveyton, a small town just outside Benoni. The family later moved to Johannesburg where Lebo attended St. Mary's High School. Lebo began by singing at seven years old in her local church choir. When her family moved to Johannesburg, she discovered bubblegum music, which is a kind of disco-infused pop that was popularised by people like Brenda Fassie, who Mathosa considered an idol, and was later likened to a prodigy of.[6]

Career

At the age of fourteen, Mathosa was discovered by a Johannesburg DJ, and soon after, she joined the group Boom Shaka. Boom Shaka became an instant success and one of the most prominent Kwaito groups in South Africa. Some have argued that the success was in part due to Mathosa's sex appeal, in attire and dance style. Boom Shaka's first album, About Time, was an instant hit, but they ran into controversy with their last album when they infused and remixed a version of the South African national anthem, "Nkosi Sikelela". After leaving Boom Shaka, Mathosa started her own solo career and was very successful. She was also a pioneer in the field of copyrights for South African artists. in a move unheard of for the industry and especially for a female, Mathosa negotiated and secured full publishing rights and ownership for her work.[7] At the time of her death at age twenty-nine in a car accident, Mathosa had plans to start her own label.

Solo

She turned solo in 1999. Her debut solo album Dream went gold within a month of its launch in 2000. At the 2000 South African Music Awards, Mathosa won three South African Music Awards; Best Dance Album for Dream, Best Dance Single for her debut single Ntozabantu from the same album, and Best Female Vocalist. Her next album, Drama Queen, released in 2004, again earned the SA Music Award for Best Dance Album.[8] Dream Queen tried different styles to break out of the house and kwaito mould.

She topped the South African pop charts in 2004, and in 2006 she was nominated for a British MOBO award (Best African Act category).[9] She performed all over the world, from Southern Africa to Malaysia to Trafalgar Square in London, one of her most significant performances being at Nelson Mandela's 85th birthday party. She also toured the US with the show The Vagina Monologues. Her appearance in a show with such a positive feminist message is indicative of the attitude held by Mathosa, who, according to author Zine Magube, has become "a role model for many young South African women, [appearing] at first glance to simply be reinforcing stereotypes about the wanton nature of Black female sexuality. Some critics have argued however that Boom Shaka's female members have used 'the skimpy clothes, the gyrating hips, and simulated sex onstage to promote a variety of apposite concerns.'"[10] This strong pro-feminist attitude combined with her often shocking onstage sexuality earned her the nickname "The New Madonna of the Townships".[11] Mathosa also tried her hand acting, television shows which included Backstage, Generations and Muvhango.https://mg.co.za/article/2006-10-23-singer-lebo-mathosa-dies-in-car-crash

Endorsements

The late musician Lebo Mathosa, radio personality Melanie Son has received an endorsement from the legendary Jomo Sono.

Television

Though she was mainly a singer, Mathosa had also tried her hand at acting and appeared in the local soapie Muvhango. Television and film roles soon materialised with acting and singing roles in the TV soap operas, Generations, Backstage and Muvhango, and the film Soldiers of The Rock (2003).

Documentary

In 2019, 13 years after her death, a biopic was released about Mathosa titled Dream: The Lebo Mathosa Story . It was released on the BET Africa Network on 6 November.[12] The biopic comprised six episodes.

Controversy

Mathosa's adult character was played by KB Motsinyalane and her teenage years were portrayed by Bahumi Madisakwane, daughter of legendary choreographer and media personality Somizi Mhlongo and actress Palesa Madisakwane. The choice of casting of the biopic was a topic of discussion with viewers suggesting alternate actresses that resembled Mathosa would have been better suited for the role.[13][14] Many suggestions made were for the role to have been reprised by Thandi Matlaila. The biopic details her personal life before her claim to fame, during the highs and lows of her career and her unfortunate demise.

Awards
  • She won the Style Best Dressed Woman of the Year Award in 2001 and was nominated by FHM magazine as one of Africa's sexiest women.
  • Her second album titled Drama Queen won the South African Music Award for Best Dance Album.
  • She has shared a stage with US artist Keith Sweat
  • She was nominated for a British Music of Black Origin (Mobo) best African act award.

Discography
  • 2000: Dream
  • 2004: Drama Queen
  • 2006: Lioness

See also
  • Ladies In Song - Live In Concert

References
  1. Mhlambi, Thokozani. "'Kwaitofabulous': The study of a South African urban genre", Journal of the Musical Arts in Africa, vol. 1 (2004): 116–27.
  2. Tonight Archived 5 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 24 October 2006
  3. Talent Finders. Retrieved 24 October 2006
  4. BBC report of Mathosa's deathRetrieved 23 October 2006
  5. https://mg.co.za/article/2006-10-23-singer-lebo-mathosa-dies-in-car-crash
  6. Lebo Mathosa – South African Singing Sensation
  7. Jon Lusk, "Obituary: Lebo Mathosa| The Independent (London), 26 October 2006
  8. Lebo Mathosa biography Archived 3 November 2006 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 23 October.
  9. IPP Media: "Jose Chameleon nominated for UK music awards". Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 31 October 2009.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  10. Mabugane, Zine. "Globalization and Gangster Rap: Hip Hop in the Post-Apartheid City", in Dipannita Basu and Sidney J. Lemelle (eds), The Vinyl Ain't Final: Hip Hop and the Globalization of Black Popular Culture, London; Ann Arbor, MI: Pluto Press, 2006, pp. 208–29.
  11. Shola Adenekan, "Obituary: Lebo Mathosa", The Guardian, 28 October 2006.
  12. "Showmax". www.showmax.com. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  13. Sekudu, Bonolo (7 November 2019). "Viewers react to the first episode of the Lebo Mathosa biopic on BET Africa". Channel. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  14. "KB is not the problem here - 8 reactions to Lebo Mathosa's biopic". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
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