Miriam Makeba - Pata Pata

By Tseliso Monaheng

Long before her passing in 2008, Miriam Makeba had become a symbol of African excellence. She led a difficult life in many respects, but there was little ‘difficulty’ about her music. The listener was treated to a buffet of sounds, from Latin-tinged compositions and township jive benders to straight-ahead jazz vocalisations. Makeba - ‘Mama Afrika’ as she is still affectionately known - transcended race, class, geography and genre.

Before going into exile, Makeba was already a star in South Africa, singing professionally for the Manhattan Brothers and featuring on the cover of Drum, a magazine revered across the continent in its heyday. Legions of followers fell in love with her fiery performances and charming demeanour, solidifying her standing as the queen of township jazz. She could do no wrong. Yet it was never easy for musicians of colour to make a living in the Republic of South Africa during her day. The chance to reach her destiny came in the form of roles in the 1959 film Come Back Africa by American Lionel Rogosin, as well as the groundbreaking stage musical King Kong, which made its debut in 1959 before touring the world. She managed to escape the cruelty and repression of apartheid, finding herself in exile in America under the guidance of Harry Belafonte, with whom she’d create some of her most memorable work.

After obtaining US citizenship, along with a record deal, Makeba released her self-titled debut album in 1960. By the time of Pata Pata’s release in 1967, she was firmly in the hearts and minds of music lovers worldwide, having won a Grammy for An Evening with Belafonte and Makeba a year earlier. It is an album that happily soaks in all that Makeba had experienced abroad up to that point. It’s a well-coordinated symphony of sounds and languages – a celebration of kinship and commonality among human beings that is rarely seen or heard in music today. Throughout her career, Makeba was never afraid to dip into her goodie bag of uniquely South African influences. Pata Pata is no different and sees her giving new life to traditional Xhosa folk songs and other classics, most notably the weighty ‘Piece of Ground’ about the dispossession and reclamation of land - an issue still relevant in South Africa today.

In many ways, Makeba was ahead of her time, not only musically but also through the humanitarian and activist work she did throughout her life. Pata Pata offers a peek into a life of music, of creation, and of commitment to the concept of a unified human race. She may be gone, but her music lives on!