Farewell Johnny Clegg, 66, celebrated modern South African musician, whose talent, leadership, and courage were a shining light in the dark days of and after apartheid. His beautiful “Asimbonanga” -Zulu for “I have not seen him”- was written for then-imprisoned Nelson Mandela and became a soulful ballad for South African anti apartheid fighters of all races. He embraced, adopted, and transformed native South African music, melding it with his own, performing with black and white musicians. So embraced was he by his Zulu brothers that they considered him one of their own, and called him the #WhiteZulu. And man, could he dance. I was lucky to see him several times, including in Johannesburg in the ‘80s, and I wrote that he was like a cross between Bruce Springsteen and Michael Jordan. He showed the world how the arts are a force for healing and good, and he did it. RIP #johnnyclegg Photo from @sowetanlive Thinking about you @serenacrawford and all my friends in RSA @antheaboehmke @paulgzb @binkynewman @cookiemalherbe and others !
16 Jul 2019