Not too often has the talent of an African Female singer have such an impact on world music as the late Brenda Fassie has. The South African born singer epitomised everything sensational, pure and rich about African Music. I have never met her, but her music has indeed have an impact. For someone who doesn’t even have a clue of the language she sings in, the dramatic touch her voice and rhythm communicates has turned not only me, but millions of people around the world into big fans of this music legend.

I was almost in tears as I turned-on my Samsung Galaxy S searching for African Music videos on Youtube, when a moment of reflection hit me and I thought for a second, ‘Brenda Fassie’ I immediately searched for ‘Vulindlela’, a song that have had so much worldwide appeal that even here in London, it’s hard to find an African who does not know or have a CD or digital  copy on their PC or laptop. When you listen to her music and for a second think that she is no more with us, you can only imagine how the world has lost a star.

A lot has been said and written about Brenda, but the fact remains that she is simply  irreplaceable. She was a talented and gifted music sensation whose style of music needed little or no effort to get your attention. A true woman of music, she defied the odds and challenges music in Africa poses, to overcome the hurdles and became one of the biggest African music stars of all times. I hope and pray that those who miss her and love her music so much can take comfort in her amazing and graceful voice. As I pay tribute to one of Africa’s best, I leave you with her music as she demonstrates why she can never be replaced! May her soul rest in perfect peace!!

This is what is written on Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia, about Brenda Fassie:-

Brenda Fassie was a South African pop singer. She is known for her “outrageousness”and widely considered a voice for disenfranchised blacks during apartheid. She was affectionately known as the Queen of African Pop and her nickname amongst fans was Mabrr. Brenda was born in Langa, Cape Town as the youngest of nine children. She was named after Brenda Lee, an American country singer. Her father died when she was 2 years oldand with the help of her mother, a pianist, she started earning money by singing for tourists.

In 1981, at the age of 16, she left Cape Town for Soweto, Johannesburg to seek her fortune as a singer. Brenda first joined the group Joy and later became the lead singer for the township pop group Brenda And The Big Dudes. She had a son, Bongani, in 1985 by a fellow Big Dudes musician. Brenda married ex-convict Nhlanhla Mbambo in 1989 but later in 1991 got divorced. It was around this time that she became addicted to cocaine and her career suffered.

With very outspoken views and frequent visits to the poorer townships of Johannesburg, as well as songs about life in the townships, she enjoyed tremendous popularity. Known best for her songs “Weekend Special” and “Too Late for Mama”, she was called by Time Magazine in 2001 “The Madonna of the Townships”.

In 1995 she was discovered in a hotel with the body of her lover, Poppie Sihlahla, who had died of an apparent overdose. Fassie underwent rehabilitation and got her career back on track. However, she still had drug problems and returned to drug rehabilitation clinics about 30 times in her life. From 1996 she released several solo albums such as Now Is The Time, Memeza (1997, the bestselling album in South Africa in 1998 and Nomakanjani. Most of her albums became multi-platinum sellers in South Africa.

On the morning of 26 April 2004, Brenda collapsed at her home in Buccleuch and was admitted into the Sunninghill hospital in Johannesburg. The press were told that she had suffered cardiac arrest but later reported that she had slipped into a coma brought on by an asthma attack. The post-mortem report revealed that she had taken an overdose of cocaine in the night of her collapse, and this was the cause of her coma. She stopped breathing and suffered brain damage from lack of oxygen. Fassie was visited in the hospital by Nelson Mandela, Winnie Mandela, and Thabo Mbeki, and her condition was front-page news in South African papers.

Brenda died at age 39 on 9 May 2004 in hospital without returning to consciousness after her life support machines were turned off. According to the South African Sunday Times and the managers of her music company, the post-mortem report also showed that she was HIV-positive. Her manager, Peter Snyman, denied this aspect of the report. She was voted 17th in the Top 100 Great South Africans. Her son Bongani ‘Bongz’ Fassie performed on the soundtrack to the 2005 Academy Award-winning movie Tsotsi. He dedicated his song “I’m So Sorry” to his mother.