![]() ![]() Raw and evocative, it highlights Masekela's ability for musical storytelling with chilling words about the coal trains, which are only captured in the live recording (as opposed to the studio versions), and now give us the opportunity to hear him speak once more. The full-length, live version of "Stimela" is perhaps one of his most powerful and affecting songs. ![]() Masekela's version of "Grazing in the Grass" was one of his first major hits, topping the USA's Billboard charts in 1968. It was the first of Masekela's two notable anti-apartheid protest songs, written by the trumpeter for his former wife Miriam Makeba to perform, it is about the Soweto uprising of 1976 which led to the police opening fire on children. ![]() Next up, "Shuffle & Bow" is a gritty, bluesy track from 2016's No Borders, while "Soweto Blues" is somewhat less bluesy but full of melancholy. ("Languta," featured later, is the only Hedzoleh Soundz track written by Masekela.) But in 1973 he toured Africa and collaborated with Fela Kuti, forming the band Hedzoleh Soundz along with fellow South African exile Dudu Pukwana. Those moments range from playing in The Jazz Epistles at just 20 years old, to afrobeat with Fela Kuti, to what was to be his final album, No Borders.īeginning the mix with perhaps the toughest period of his career, the early 70's found Masekela exiled from South Africa and struggling with alcohol and cocaine addiction. This month's mix showcases ten key moments in his musical life, handpicked from his 40 albums. Hugh Masekela passed away just a few weeks ago at the age of 78, leaving a powerful legacy of music and activism. (If this program is unavailable in your country from Mixcloud, please scroll down and listen via Soundcloud.) ![]()
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