Hugh Masekela was an old collaborator of Abdullah Ibrahim. He is reported to have been initially inspired in his musical growth by Trevor Huddleston, a British priest working in the South African townships who financed Masekela's first trumpet. Masekela played his way through the vibrant Sophiatown scene with The Jazz Epistles and to Britain with King Kong, to find himself in New York in the early 1960s. He had hits in the United States with the pop jazz tunes "Up, Up and Away" and the number one smash "Grazin' in the Grass".
A renewed interest in his African roots led him to collaborate with West and Central African musicians, and finally to reconnect with South African players when he set up a mobile studio in Botswana, just over the South African border, in the 1980s. Here he re-absorbed and re-used mbaqanga strains, a style he has continued to use since his return to South Africa in the early 1990s.
In the 1980s, he toured with Paul Simon in support of Simon's then controversial, but highly critically acclaimed, album Graceland, which featured other South African artists such as Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Miriam Makeba, Ray Phiri, and other elements of the band Kalahari, which Masekela recorded with in the 1980s. He also collaborated in the musical development for the Broadway play, Sarafina! He previously recorded with the band Kalahari.
In 2003, he was featured in the documentary film Amandla!, about how the music of South Africa aided in the struggle against apartheid. In 2004, he released his autobiography, Grazin' in The Grass: The Musical Journey of Hugh Masekela, which thoughtfully details his struggles against apartheid in his homeland, as well as his personal struggles against alcohol addiction from the late 1970s through to the 1990s, a period when he migrated, in his personal recording career, to mbaqanga, jazz/funk, and the blending of South African sounds to an adult contemporary sound through two albums he recorded with Herb Alpert, and notable solo recordings, Techno-Bush (recorded in his studio in Botswana), Tomorrow (featuring the anthem "Bring Him Back Home"), Uptownship (a lush-sounding ode to American R and B), Beatin' Aroun' de Bush, Sixty, Time, and most recently, "Revival".
Essential recordings include:
* "Bring Him Back Home"
* "Coal Train (Stimela)"
* "Ziph'nkomo"
* "Don't Go Lose It Baby"
* "Ha Le Se Li De Khanna (The Dowry Song)"
* "Bajabule Bonka"
* "Grazing in the Grass"
* "U-Dwi"
* "The Joke of Life"
* "The Boy's Doin' It"
His song, "Soweto Blues", sung by his former wife, Miriam Makeba, mourns the carnage of the Soweto riots in 1976.
Hugh Masekela is the father of Sal Masekela, host of American channel E!'s Daily 10 show, along with Debbie Matenopoulos.
District Six
Hugh Masekela Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Singena makhaya sijikelez' umhlaba
Sifun' ukubuyela e district six wema
Izingane zethu zikhulele emakhoneni
(emikhukhwini nasemigodini)
Ikhaya lethu lephakathi kwalapha
Vulani amasango nenkululeko
(sifun' ukubuyela e district six wema)
Sibuyele district six
Sibuyele district six
Sibuyele district six
Sibuyele district six
Sifun' ukubuyela e district six wema
Sifun' ukubuyela e district six wema
Sifun' ukubuyela e district six wema
Sifun' ukubuyela e district six wema
Sibuyele district six
Sesibuyile base sophia (sibuyele district six)
E Alexandra kusakonya thina (sibuyele district six)
Akush' ukuthi silele asiboni (sibuyele district six)
Sithi nayi inkululeko sisalind' impumelelo
Sibuyele district six
Sibuyele district six
Sibuyele district six
Sibuyele district six
Sifun' ukubuyela e district six wema
Sifun' ukubuyela e district six wema
Sifun' ukubuyela e district six wema
Sifun' ukubuyela e district six wema
Sibuyele district six
Sibuyele district six
Sibuyele district six
Sibuyele district six
Sibuyele district six
Sibuyele district six
Sibuyele district six
Sibuyele district six
The lyrics of Hugh Masekela's song "District Six" tell the story of a community that has been forcibly removed from their homes and their yearning to return to their beloved District Six. The first verse establishes that the community has been displaced for a long time and that they yearn to return to their former home. The second verse addresses the fact that their current living conditions are not ideal and that their current home is not equivalent to their former home in District Six. The chorus is a rallying cry for the community to return to District Six and to reclaim their freedom and independence.
The repetition of the line "sifun' ukubuyela e district six wema" emphasizes the community's strong desire to return to their former home. The use of the Zulu and Xhosa languages in the lyrics speaks to the diversity of the people affected by the forced removals in District Six. The lyrics also reference other communities, such as Sophia Town and Alexandra, who have also suffered similar fates.
Overall, the lyrics of "District Six" mourn the loss of a vibrant community and speak to the larger issue of forced removals that occurred during apartheid in South Africa.
Line by Line Meaning
Kudala silala emaweni wema
We have been sleeping in the valleys
Singena makhaya sijikelez' umhlaba
We enter the cities and contemplate the earth
Sifun' ukubuyela e district six wema
We want to return to District Six my friends
Izingane zethu zikhulele emakhoneni (emikhukhwini nasemigodini)
Our children grew up in corners (in the valleys and in the suburbs)
Ikhaya lethu lephakathi kwalapha
Our home is in here
Vulani amasango nenkululeko
Open the gates to freedom
Sibuyele district six
Let's go back to District Six
Sesibuyile base sophia (sibuyele district six)
We have already gone back to Sophia Town (let's go back to District Six)
E Alexandra kusakonya thina (sibuyele district six)
In Alexandra we are suffering (let's go back to District Six)
Akush' ukuthi silele asiboni (sibuyele district six)
It's not that we want to sleep, we can't see (let's go back to District Six)
Sithi nayi inkululeko sisalind' impumelelo
We say here is freedom, we are waiting for success
Sifun' ukubuyela e district six wema
We want to return to District Six my friends
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ABDULLAH IBRAHIM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@cebolenkosindulini2920
People say im too young for this type of music but its too beautiful to ignore. I love Africa
@djcheezesa3437
Gentlemen y'all are not alone we together old souls🤞🤞🤞
@scelominenhle4705
You can say that again, I'm also listening to this music khona ngiyi 2k...
@marvinmathebula6857
🙋
@nandiphamasuku8901
me too🙈
@keemenaokololo1383
Me too 😊
@jaymadeitright
grootman ❤️🤘🏾proud to see you in books now. revolutionary sounds. thank you soo much! I am blessed 'cause you all were here!
@mantsolefa7608
Eish the band😍😍It connects me to my soul. I love the rhythm
@michaelmzenjezulu-wz2ex
This music was on another level ❤❤❤. Bass guitar🙏🙏🙏. Proudly to be an African. The vocals it's self explains everything how Africa is.
@omphileselaledi4049
Botswana represented UNCLE JOHN SELOLWANE🇧🇼🇧🇼🇧🇼🔥🔥