Music from Africa Part 5: Weeping
I'm ending my series about music from Africa with another song from South Africa, called Weeping.
It was written by Dan Haymann in the 1980s as a protest against the white apartheid government. It included part of the melody of Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika, the anthem of the then-banned African National Congress. (Eventually the ANC was elected as the government in the country's first democratic election and their song became the official anthem.)
The song has been recorded dozens of times, but I've selected the version by heavyweight Josh Groban, who's singing with South African artist Vusi Mahlasela. The former needs no introduction; the latter possibly does. Mahlasela is a singer-songwriter who's been described as "the voice of South Africa". He performed at Nelson Mandela's inauguration in 1994, and at the kickoff concert from the FIFA World Cup in South Africa in 2010.
Here they are, performing Weeping at Radio City Music Hall on Mandela Day 2009. As Groban says, "It is a song (about political and religious differences) that is unfortunately still very relevant in the world we live in today."
Today in Tokyo (who lives in Tokyo but was born in South Africa)
Thank you for the attention!
@todayintokyo