Dorothy Masuku
Dorothy Masuku is a Zimbabwean jazz music icon.
Dorothy Masuka was born in Southern Rhodesia now Zimbabwe, on September 3 1935 but spent her formative years living and attending school in South Africa. She left Rhodesia for Port Elizabeth, South Africa after her father moved there in search for work.
Her musical career started with her performances at school concerts from the tender age of twelve. A few years later she would discover popular music and a much keen liking of American jazz music and Afro jazz would become her main musical genre. Her music career break came when she auditioned for the record company Troubadour.
Her music was popular in South Africa throughout the 1950s, but when her songs became more serious, the government began questioning her. Her song “Dr. Malan,” mentioning difficult laws, was banned and in 1961 she sang a song for Patrice Lumumba which led to her exile. This exile lasted thirty-one years in total. Many of her songs are in the Ndebele language or Sindebele languages.
Dorothy would return to live and work in South Africa after the release of Nelson Mandela from Robben Island. She still lives and performs in South Africa and has over the years received numerous awards.
