Friday, May 28, 2010

Mama Africa sings "Pata Pata" down Johannesburg way

Inspiration can come from anywhere

South African songstress Miriam Makeba often sang out against the iniquity of apartheid in her native South Africa. A New York Times obituary quoted her as saying:

"I kept my culture. I kept the music of my roots. Through my music I became this voice and image of Africa, and the people, without even realizing."

Years later, she told an interviewer:

"I'm not a political singer. I don't know what the word means. People think I consciously decided to tell the world what was happening in South Africa. No! I was singing about my life, and in South Africa we always sang about what was happening to us — especially the things that hurt us."

Hear the original studio version.

Posted via web from Digital Underground

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