This article first appeared in THE WEEKENDER

22nd December 2007

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Vusi Mahlasela is not an easy man to track down. Although describing him as ‘itinerant’ wouldn’t quite do justice to his status as one of South Africa’s most widely respected musicians, he does spend a lot of time on the road. After completing a lengthy tour of the United Kingdom, he returned home recently to open the Kirstenbosch summer season of outdoor concerts in Cape Town and, a week later, to join the stellar line-up for 46664 in Johannesburg.

When asked about his reception in the UK, Mahlasela explains that he has developed “a base of fans, mostly through word of mouth” and that, sadly, the responses of audiences there are often more gratifying than those in his own country: “It seems many South Africans don’t want to hear music that has a conscience, or is spiritually fulfilling, or that talks about reconciliation. It’s disturbing; a lot of people have their heads in the sand, and despite our problems – millions living below the poverty line – they are just interested in making money. With music they only want a good vibe for dancing.”

He is, of course, one of the relatively few South African musicians who appeal to audiences across racial-cultural divides, but this achievement brings its own complications. Certainly, the Kirstenbosch concerts are predominantly ‘pale’ and ‘bourgeois’ affairs, while ticket prices and the artists on show at events like 46664 tend to replicate that demographic.

Mahlasela’s songs, however, are rooted in his experiences as a poet and musician of the struggle, and in his post-apartheid role as an advocate of the “wisdom of forgiveness” (the title of his second album). He may have toured internationally, but he remains every inch a “man from Mamelodi”. The tracks on his latest release, Naledi Ya Tsela (Guiding Star), are in English, Sotho, Zulu and Pedi. They revisit the experiences of black South Africans under apartheid, but they also look forward to 2010 and its potential significance; they acknowledge the musical influence of the much-mistreated Kalahari San, but also invoke and ‘update’ African musical styles ranging from Mbaqanga to Malombo jazz.

So where is Mahlasela’s black audience?

One of the major problems, according to a source at Mahlasela’s record label Sony BMG, is that he simply doesn’t get enough airtime on urban radio stations with young black listeners, such as Metro, Khaya or Y FM: “It’s odd. Vusi was nominated for Best Male Vocalist at the Metro FM Music Awards, but they haven’t playlisted his music for years” (Mahlasela in fact pulled out of the awards on these grounds). This is linked, perhaps, to industry practices by which radio executives and DJs with vested interests in certain artists or albums compile playlists.

Nevertheless, Mahlasela is committed to following Kenyan writer Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s injunction: “Teach the children ancient songs.” Through his Music Development Foundation, he aims to rekindle an interest amongst South Africa’s youth in indigenous music. “I want to remind them that all musical instruments come from Africa,” he says, apparently in earnest, referring to the mbira as a precursor to the piano and the kora as forerunner of the guitar. “Children might not think it’s fun to play a one-stringed instrument, but when you explain to them how shepherds used them years ago to communicate different messages, they can learn about their history and heritage better than by listening to overproduced studio albums.”

Mahlasela’s music has always been a fusion of the ‘traditional’ and the ‘modern’. One of his best-known pieces, “Silang Mabele”, is adapted from a children’s mealtime song, but it has become a quiet, understated anthem about poverty and malnutrition; in this way, he says, he tries to “expand the four minutes of a song, unfolding it into a novel.” His combination of the ‘ethnic’ and the contemporary is often associated with the term ‘world music’, but Mahlasela eschews such categorisations: “My music comes to me from different elements: folk, blues, jazz, soul, reggae, all over.”

If Motown records influenced him as a young musician, Mahlasela is now returning the favour across the Atlantic. He has a wide following in the USA, in particular since the critical acclaim for struggle music documentary Amandla! A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony. He hosted his own 46664 fund-raising concert, “Vusi Mahlasela and Friends”, in San Francisco last year, and has another one planned for New York in 2008.

The profile of Guiding Star in America is also raised by the popularity of Ladysmith Black Mambazo – who have often toured and collaborated with Mahlasela, and who feature on the track “Heaven in my Heart” on the new album – and by another ‘South African’, Dave Matthews, who contributes vocals to “Sower of Words” (Matthews’s ATO record company has been a significant promoter of Mahlasela’s work in the US).

Insofar as Mahlasela is a kind of musical ambassador, he seems to represent different (and often conflicting) aspects of South African society in equal measure. I point out to him that his website provides links to organisations that have been antagonists in the recent past, such as the ANC, the TAC, certain newspapers – even Metro FM. He replies that he has undertaken a unifying role “with passion”: “In all my travels, unity is the message I’m spreading. If you don’t forgive, you are the one who is suffering. I just have to mention what has happened in South Africa, and people will cry, or come up to me afterwards to tell me their own story of reconciliation.”

Naledi Ya Tsela echoes this admixture of broad sociological concerns with intimate, personal narratives: it includes tributes to his mother and grandmother, and to a friend’s autistic child. On the other hand, Mahlasela insists, “I’m singing on subjects that are world issues, not just South African issues. My biggest concern, like many people, is global warming. It’s difficult, because with development in Africa, we’re going to create more problems on an environmental level. In the end, on this planet, we’re all neighbours, we have to honour each other. That’s my message; I’m an educationist at heart.”