Top three SA artists set for Lifetime SAMA award

[caption id="attachment_204113" align="aligncenter" width="246"] Rebecca Malope
Picture: Brian Witbooi[/caption]

After more than three decades in the music industry, gospel queen Rebecca Malope along with two other artists, will receive a Lifetime Achievement award at the 23rd annual South African Music Awards (Samas) taking place on May 27 in Sun City.

The SAMA23 Lifetime Achievement recipients represent a potpourri of sounds which have influenced generations. The trio have been described as innovators and creative geniuses who for decades blazed the trail in different genres.

Fondly referred to as the “Queen of Gospel”, Malope is a multiple Sama winner and known for her powerful voice which has taken her all over the African continent, the US and Europe, filling up venues wherever she performed.

Kwaai-jazz pioneer, Don Laka, is also in line to take home a Lifetime Achievement gong. He started off in the trenches of jazz and dabbled with the influences of kwaito, is a revered pianist and a record label co-owner. He is also a Sama winner and a respected figure in the local music industry. “Bra Don”, as he is fondly known, defined a sound for generations and helped produce stars through his work.

A voice that defined black music of the 1970s and 1980s, Babsy Mlangeni will be honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Mlangeni never let his condition as a blind musician condemn him. His entertaining songs with compelling messages propelled his name into the stratosphere of fame.

Recording Industry of South Africa CEO, Nhlanhla Sibisi, said he believed the veterans who served the industry with unmatched dedication and gave us timeless music should never be forgotten by history.

“We as the Sama organisers value these honours highly. As such, we look forward to etching the names of Rebecca Malope, Don Laka and Babsy Mlangeni on our presitigious list of lifetime achievers.

“We say well done on such colourful careers and let this be a token of our appreciation of your talent as a nation,” Sibisi said.