Brenda Fassie
Known as the "Queen of the Vocals" and dubbed the "Madonna of the Townships" by Time Magazine, Brenda Fassie was one of South Africa's most popular vocalists, mixing African vocals with a slick international pop sound. She had her greatest success in the 1980s and continued to record into the ensuing decades, but became a celebrity known more for her off-stage antics than her on-stage work.
Born in 1964 in the small village of Langa, Cape Town, Fassie came from a musical family and began singing early, forming her first singing group at the age of four. Her precocious talent brought her to the attention of talent scouts from Johannesburg, one of whom eventually took the young teenager to the city to kick-start her career. After singing background vocals for other artists, Fassie broke out with the group Brenda & the Big Dudes with whom she recorded her biggest hit in 1986's "Weekend Special." She went on to a solo career soon after and working with producer Sello "Chicco" Twala Fassie had continued success at the end of the '80s with the hits "Too Late for Mama" and the controversial "Black President," which was banned in apartheid-era South Africa.
Then things started to unravel for Fassie. She was involved in several highly publicized affairs with both men and women and had also begun a costly and destructive cocaine addiction. It also didn't help matters that she became notorious for missing concert dates. The nadir of her excess came in 1995 when Fassie was found in a drugged haze next to the dead body of her girlfriend. The horror of the event was enough to shock her out of her spiraling decline. Her next album, Memeza, was released in 1998 and was the most focused and accomplished album she had released in nearly a decade. Memeza went on to become the best-selling album of the year in South Africa. If there had been any doubt previously, the album's success cemented Fassie's role as a superstar of Afro-pop. Her success continued with subsequent albums and, for a time, nothing seemed impossible for the township hero. In May of 2004, Fassie suffered a sever asthma attack that triggered cardiac arrest forcing her to be hospitalized. The physical breakdown was severe and Fassie's condition deteriorated quickly. On May 9, 2004, Brenda Fassie passed away.
© Wade Kergan /TiVo
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It All Adds Up
Africa - Released by Universal Music (Pty) Ltd. on 1 Jan 1984
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Too Late For Mama
Africa - Released by The CCP Record Company (Pty) Limited on 1 Jan 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Umuntu Ngumuntu Ngabantu
Pop - Released by Universal Music (Pty) Ltd. on 1 Jan 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Soon And Very Soon
Children of God, Chicco, Brenda Fassie
Gospel - Released by Universal Music (Pty) Ltd. on 14 Mar 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Black President (Remixes)
Dance - Released by EMI Music South Africa (Pty) Ltd on 5 Jan 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brenda
Africa - Released by EMI Music South Africa (Pty) Ltd on 1 Jan 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vuli Ndlela (Gregor Salto, Unruly Phonix & TAU (BW) Remixes)
Africa - Released by Universal Music (Pty) Ltd. on 17 Feb 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Paparazzi
Pop - Released by Universal Music (Pty) Ltd. on 1 Jan 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gimme Some Volume
Pop - Released by The CCP Record Company (Pty) Limited on 10 Sep 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ag Shame Lovey
Pop - Released by The CCP Record Company (Pty) Limited on 5 Jun 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Love Songs
Pop - Released by The CCP Record Company (Pty) Limited on 29 Sep 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mina Nawe
Pop - Released by The CCP Record Company (Pty) Limited on 2 Jan 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Now Is The Time
Pop - Released by Universal Music (Pty) Ltd. on 1 Jan 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
It All Adds Up
Africa - Released by Universal Music (Pty) Ltd. on 1 Jan 1984
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Umuntu Uyashintsha
Africa - Released by EMI Music South Africa (Pty) Ltd on 1 Jan 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Umuntu Uyashintsha
Miscellaneous - Released by Sound African Recordings on 1 Jan 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Refe Matla
Gospel - Released by The CCP Record Company (Pty) Limited on 10 Jan 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo