In 1981, at the age of 16, she left Cape Town for Soweto, Johannesburg to seek her fortune as a singer. Brenda first joined the group Joy and later became the lead singer for the township pop group Brenda And The Big Dudes. She had a son, Bongani, in 1985 by a fellow Big Dudes musician. Brenda married ex-convict Nhlanhla Mbambo in 1989 but later in 1991 got divorced. It was around this time that she became addicted to cocaine and her career suffered.
With very outspoken views and frequent visits to the poorer townships of Johannesburg, as well as songs about life in the townships, she enjoyed tremendous popularity. Known best for her songs "Weekend Special" and "Too Late for Mama", she was called by Time Magazine in 2001 "The Madonna of the Townships".
In a drug-related incident in 1995 she was discovered unconscious with the body of her lover, Poppie Sihlahla, who had died of an apparent overdose. Fassie survived, underwent rehabilitation, and got her career back on track. However, she still had drug problems and returned to drug rehabilitation clinics about 30 times in her life.
Since 1996 she released several solo albums like "Now Is The Time", "Memeza" (1997, the best selling album in South Africa) or "Nomakanjani?". Most of her albums became multi-platinum sellers in South Africa.
On the morning of 26 April 2004, Brenda collapsed at her home in Buccleuch and was admitted into the Sunninghill hospital in Johannesburg. The press were told that she had suffered cardiac arrest but later reported that she had slipped into a coma brought on by an asthma attack. The post-mortem report revealed that she had taken an overdose of cocaine in the night of her collapse, and this was the cause of her coma. She stopped breathing and suffered brain damage from lack of oxygen. Brenda died at age 39 on 9 May 2004 in hospital without returning to consciousness after her life support machines were turned off. According to the South African Sunday Times and the managers of her music company, the post-mortem report also showed that she was HIV-positive. Her manager, Peter Snyman, denied this aspect of the report.
She was voted 17th in the Top 100 Great South Africans.
Source: Wikipedia
External link: Brenda Fassie: A very human hero (BBC News)
Sum' Bulala
Brenda Fassie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ngob'uzomdinga yo
S'umbulala yo
Ngob'uzomdinga yo
S'umbulala yee
Ngob'uzomdinga
S'umbulala yee
S'umbulala yee
Ngob'uzomdinga yo
S'umbulala yee
Ngob'uzomdinga yo
Ngob'uzomdinga yo
S'umbulala yeyeye (Mus'us'umbulal'uzomdinga)
Ngob'uzomdinga yo (Ngelinyilang'uzomdinga)
S'umbulala yeyeye (Mus'us'umbulal'uzomdinga)
Ngob'uzomdinga yo (Ngelinyilang'uzomdinga)
S'umbulala yee (Mus'us'umbulal'uzomdinga)
Ngob'uzomdinga yo (Ngelinyilang'uzomdinga)
S'umbulala yeee (Mus'us'umbulal'uzomdinga)
Ngob'uzomdinga yo (Ngelinyilang'uzomdinga)
Hayi we bhuti wami (Bhuti wami)
Hayi we sisi wami (Sisi wami)
Yeyi we mama wami (Mama wami)
Hee we baba wami (Baba wami)
Ngisho kin'ematekisini (Ematekisini)
Nalena koRichmond
Ngikhuluma nan'emahlabathini
Ngikhuluma nawe wena Zul'uphelele
Ngisho kuwe ngiphinde kuw'eGauteng
Ngisho kuwe wen'ophethi'isibhamu
(Ukubulal'umunt'isono) S'umbulala yelele
(Ukubulal'umunt'isono) S'umbulala unesono
(Ukubulal'umunt'isono) S'umbulala yelele
(Ukubulal'umunt'isono) S'umbulala unesono
(Ukubulal'umunt'isono) S'umbulala yelele
(Ukubulal'umunt'isono) S'umbulala unesono
(Ukubulal'umunt'isono) S'umbulala yelele
(Ukubulal'umunt'isono) S'umbulala unesono
(Mus'us'umbulal'uzomdinga)
(Ngelinyilang'uzomdinga)
(Mus'us'umbulal'uzomdinga)
(Ngelinyilang'uzomdinga) Helele mama wami
Helele baba wami
(Ukubulal'umunt'isono)
(Ukubulal'umunt'isono)
(Ukubulal'umunt'isono) 'Suk'umbulala yee
(Ukubulal'umunt'isono) Ngob'uzomdinga yee
(Ukubulal'umunt'isono) 'Suk'umbulala yeyeye
(Ukubulal'umunt'isono) Ngob'uzomdinga yee
(Ukubulal'umunt'isono) 'Suk'umbulala yeyeye
(Ukubulal'umunt'isono) Ngob'uzomdinga ye
(Ukubulal'umunt'isono) (Mus'us'umbulal'uzomdinga)
(Ukubulal'umunt'isono) (Ngelinyilang'uzomdinga)
(Ukubulal'umunt'isono) (Mus'us'umbulal'uzomdinga)
(Ukubulal'umunt'isono) (Ngelinyilang'uzomdinga)
(Ukubulal'umunt'isono) (Mus'us'umbulal'uzomdinga)
(Ukubulal'umunt'isono) (Ngelinyilang'uzomdinga)
'Suk'umbulala yoh (Mus'us'umbulal'uzomdinga)
Ngob'uzomdinga yee (Ngelinyilang'uzomdinga)
S'umbulala ngob'uzomdinga yee
'Suk'umbulala wowowo
Ngob'uzomdinga yee
'Suk'umbulala 'Suk'umbulala (Mus'us'umbulal'uzomdinga)
(Ngelinyilang'uzomdinga) (Ukubulal'umunt'isono)
(Mus'us'umbulal'uzomdinga) (Ukubulal'umunt'isono)
(Ngelinyilang'uzomdinga) (Ukubulal'umunt'isono)
(Mus'us'umbulal'uzomdinga) (Ukubulal'umunt'isono)
The lyrics of Brenda Fassie's song Sum'bulala are in Zulu, and they can be quite difficult to fully interpret without understanding the context in which they were written. The title of the song, Sum'bulala, loosely translates to "kill me," and this phrase is repeated frequently throughout the song in various forms. In the chorus, the vocalist sings "S'umbulala yo, Ngob'uzomdinga yo," which roughly means "Kill me, because you want me." The phrase "Ngob'uzomdinga" appears frequently throughout the song, and it can be translated as "because you want me" or "because you desire me."
The verses of the song describe various scenarios in which the singer feels overwhelmed and trapped. She mentions being in a township and speaking with someone from the rural areas, feeling as though she can't escape the poverty and violence around her. She also mentions wanting to return to Gauteng, a province in South Africa that is known for economic opportunities, but feeling as though she can't escape the dangers there. The repeated refrain of "sum'bulala" can be interpreted as a cry for help or a call for release from these oppressive circumstances.
Line by Line Meaning
S'umbulala yo
I am killing him/her
Ngob'uzomdinga yo
Because he/she sinned against me
S'umbulala yee
I am killing him/her
Ngob'uzomdinga
Because he/she sinned against me
S'umbulala yeyeye (Mus'us'umbulal'uzomdinga)
I am killing him/her (he/she deserves it)
Ngob'uzomdinga yo (Ngelinyilang'uzomdinga)
Because he/she sinned against me (in the light of the sun)
S'umbulala yee (Mus'us'umbulal'uzomdinga)
I am killing him/her (he/she deserves it)
S'umbulala yeee (Mus'us'umbulal'uzomdinga)
I am killing him/her (he/she deserves it)
Hayi we bhuti wami (Bhuti wami)
Oh, my brother (my brother)
Hayi we sisi wami (Sisi wami)
Oh, my sister (my sister)
Yeyi we mama wami (Mama wami)
Oh, my mother (my mother)
Hee we baba wami (Baba wami)
Oh, my father (my father)
Ngisho kin'ematekisini (Ematekisini)
I am talking about the tavern (in the tavern)
Nalena koRichmond
Even in Richmond
Ngikhuluma nan'emahlabathini
I am talking even in rural areas
Ngikhuluma nawe wena Zul'uphelele
I am talking to you, Zulu boy
Ngisho kuwe ngiphinde kuw'eGauteng
I am saying to you, I will come back to Gauteng
Ngisho kuwe wen'ophethi'isibhamu
I am saying to you, you who wields a gun
(Ukubulal'umunt'isono) S'umbulala yelele
(To kill a sinner) I am killing him/her
(Ukubulal'umunt'isono) S'umbulala unesono
(To kill a sinner) I am killing someone with sin
(Mus'us'umbulal'uzomdinga)
(He/she deserves it)
(Ngelinyilang'uzomdinga)
(In the light of the sun)
Helele mama wami
Hurray, my mother
Helele baba wami
Hurray, my father
'Suk'umbulala yee
Stop killing him/her
Ngob'uzomdinga yee
Because he/she sinned against me
'Suk'umbulala yeyeye
Stop killing him/her (he/she deserves it)
Ngob'uzomdinga ye
Because he/she sinned against me
'Suk'umbulala yoh (Mus'us'umbulal'uzomdinga)
Stop killing him/her (he/she deserves it)
Ngob'uzomdinga yee (Ngelinyilang'uzomdinga)
Because he/she sinned against me (in the light of the sun)
S'umbulala ngob'uzomdinga yee
I am killing him/her because he/she sinned against me
'Suk'umbulala wowowo
Stop killing him/her immediately
Ngob'uzomdinga yee
Because he/she sinned against me
'Suk'umbulala 'Suk'umbulala (Mus'us'umbulal'uzomdinga)
Stop killing him/her (he/she deserves it)
(Ngelinyilang'uzomdinga)
(In the light of the sun)
(Ukubulal'umunt'isono)
(To kill a sinner)
(Mus'us'umbulal'uzomdinga)
(He/she deserves it)
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Kesentseng Qonyevu Miss Kay
on Matshidiso
I loved Brenda Ma B with all my heart i still do nd forever will. Rest in eternal peace Queen of Pop
Lionel Mbayiwa
on Undikolota Malini
This song reminded me when I was still young and living in Zimbabwe,it painted an imagery picture of how South Africa looked like then I could see people dancing and very happy.
Since I had never set my foot in SA then and didnt understand what it means but there was a feeling within.
Now I'm listening to it and I'm residing in SA the song is taking me back home when I was young and living in an imaginary world.
Ngwanona song.i love it.
Ayanda Ndaba
on Kuyoze Kuyovalwa
zimbi iindaba...kuyoze kuyo closwa...iuyithululele iduku le iNGOMA...Hey he he he hey hola hops...hay' suuka
Nomacala Scaca Mpunzi
on Mama
why we don't get the track stay away(from my man) by brenda fassie?