Word: makeba
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Miriam Makeba's voice is as majestic and contoured as the Magaliesberg, a range of sloping grassy peaks near her home city of Johannesburg, South Africa. Makeba's nickname is "Mama Africa," and rightfully so. You can hear her homeland in her voice. As she lags behind a beat, drawing out emotion, one feels the weight of apartheid bearing down. Caught up in one of her forceful, husky glissandos, it's hard not to imagine soaring above the lush expanse of the African veld...
Many of today's female singers are content to paint their songs in two primary colors: blue longing or red lust. Makeba's palette is richer: scarlet shades of outrage, cerulean hues of optimism, sable determination. And while other singers paint self-portraits, Makeba, 68, paints vocal landscapes as well. Starting in the 1950s, she helped popularize "African jazz," a melding of jazz with traditional African folk music. In doing so, she helped create a sound that not only expressed her individual spirit but also captured a region's culture and traditions...