Miriam Makeba
"I look at an ant and I see myself: a native South African, endowed by nature with a strength much greater than my size so I might cope with the weight of a racism that crushes my spirit."
MIRIAM MAKEBA
Zenzile Miriam Makeba, nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, actress, United Nations goodwill ambassador, and civil-rights activist. Associated with musical genres including Afropop, jazz, and world music, she was an advocate against apartheid and white-minority government in South Africa. Makeba's 1965 collaboration with Harry Belafonte won a Grammy Award, making her the first African recording artist to win this award.
Before I could even string a clear sentence together I knew how to sing "Malaika" (Angel), a Swahili song sung and made popular by Miriam Makeba. My Aunt had been a backing vocalist for the iconic African singer and others like Dorothy Masuka, and so the sounds of their music filled my world every day. I listened and wished that I could mimic their strong voices. Though I desperately tried my young chords never seemed to give me the satisfaction. Eventually, my frustration made me start to look elsewhere for inspiration, not realising how much of their performance style I had actually taken in.
Many years later when I was starting my solo career I came across an album by Miriam Makeba playing in Paris and I couldn't believe how much I had missed as a child. She really wasn't that afrobeat in her delivery, and she worked through many different styles, and subject matters, not to mention languages. The thing that really caught my attention though was her stage presence and expression.
The Xhosa women are known for being one of the tribes who practice throat singing, something I am studying at present. Anyone who has watched Muhammed Ali's Rumble in the Jungle Zaire 1974 fight will have seen Miriam performing throat singing as the Witch Woman.
The Vocal delivery and presence of my character Dauria come from Miriam Makeba.