As usual, the South African Music Awards will honour three prestigious musicians in the Lifetime Achievement Award category. This category is open every year, so this year SAMA24 has chosen the late Spokes H, Steve Kekana and Mbongeni Ngema who shall be bestowed with the honour come 2nd June 2018.
Spokes H, who died in 2013 aged 45, became a household name in the 1980s with hit songs such as Tamatisous and carried on the winning streak into the 1990s with anthems like Rabaki and Peace Magents. Steve Kekana, 59, lost his sight at age five and attended a school for the blind in Polokwane. He discovered his singing voice there and became a member of amateur groups as a teen.
In 1979 and 1980 he won the SABC Black Music Award as the best male vocalist. His song Raising My Family was a hit in Europe. He has more than 40 albums to his credit and gave a generation a soundtrack with chart toppers like Feel So Strong (featuring Hotline). Kekana holds B Juris and LLB degree and is an advocate and a lecturer in Labour Law at the University of South Africa.
Mbongeni Ngema’s talent that straddles the worlds of music, theatre and film with great ease will be honoured a day after his 62nd birthday. A writer, lyricist, composer, director and theatre producer, he started his career as a theatre backing guitarist. He is synonymous with some of the nation’s most iconic theatre/film productions such as Sarafina, Woza Albert, Asinamali and Magic at 4am that all boast stunning soundtracks that he composed. His greatest hit Stimela Sase Zola catapulted him to the heights of music acclaim and popularity. Ngema has released over 10 albums to date.
Shashika Mooruth will receive the International Achiever Award. The musician put South Africa on the map in Indian music and has achieved a lot not only as a recording artist but also as a producer. Her album Krishna, The Flute Player featured on the Billboard charts on its release. Her music has enjoyed a lot of international acclaim and numerous award nominations.
“We salute this year’s recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award. Their sterling careers will not go unnoticed and these accolades are reminders of how they contributed to the music industry. In the same breath the SAMA sees the achievements on the international scale of Shashika Mooruth befitting of the International Achiever Award. South African music is in good stead with talents of her magnitude and we say well done to the daughter of the soil,” said Nhlanhla Sibisi, RiSA CEO.
The SAMA24 award ceremony is on 2 June 2018 and will be broadcast live from Sun City, North West on SABC1 at 8pm.
Sourced From Daily Sun
