South african musician brenda fassie

This is the biography of the late music icon Brenda MaBrrr Fassie, a South African singer, songwriter, dancer, and activist whose music became the soundtrack for many during the apartheid era. Born on November 3, , in Langa, a township near Cape Town, she was the youngest of nine children. Her father died when she was only two years old, leaving her mother, a pianist, to raise the family.

By the age of five, she was already performing for tourists, earning money with her voice. Recognising her potential, Lebona invited her to move to Soweto, Johannesburg, to pursue a career in music.

Brenda fassie daughter

Brenda joined the vocal group Joy and later became the lead singer for the band Brenda and the Big Dudes. Her music often reflected the realities of life in the townships, and she used her platform to voice opposition to the apartheid regime in South Africa. The late s and early s were also a tumultuous time for Brenda. She had a son, Bongani, in with a fellow Big Dudes musician, and in , she married Nhlanhla Mbambo, but the couple divorced in In the early s, Brenda became addicted to cocaine, which had a detrimental effect on her career.

In , she was discovered in a hotel with the body of her female lover, Poppie Sihlahla, who had died of an apparent overdose. This incident led to Brenda undergoing rehabilitation and working to get her career back on track. In , Brenda Fassie was at the peak of her career. She married three times and had a son, Bongani, in with a fellow musician from the Big Dudes.

She was famous for her outspoken views and her visits to the poorer townships of Johannesburg, using her music to oppose apartheid. In , Brenda was found in a hotel with the body of her female lover, Poppie Sihlahla, who had died of an apparent overdose.