Mbube is a form of South African vocal music, made famous by the South African group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. The word mbube means "lion" in Zulu [1]. Traditionally performed a cappella, the style is sung in a powerful and loud way (see Mbube Roots, Rounder CD 5025). The members of the group are male, although quite a few groups often have a female singer (On Tiptoe: Gentle Steps to Freedom). However, since the formation of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, the style has fallen in favour of softer singing, which is known as isicathamiya. Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, which is often contrasted with speech. ... Music is a form of art and entertainment or other human activity that involves organized and audible sounds and silence. ... Ladysmith Black Mambazo is a chorus from South Africa that is noted for singing a cappella isicathamiya and mbube music. ... The Zulu (South African English and isiZulu: amaZulu) are an African ethnic group of about 11 million people who live mainly in the province KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. ... The shield and spear of the Roman God Mars are often used to represent the male sex In heterogamous species, male is the sex of an organism, or of a part of an organism, which typically produces smaller, mobile gametes (spermatozoa) that are able to fertilise female gametes (ova). ... The hand mirror and comb of the Roman Goddess Venus is often used to represent the female sex. ... Ladysmith Black Mambazo is a chorus from South Africa that is noted for singing a cappella isicathamiya and mbube music. ... Isicathamiya is a singing style originated from the South African Zulus. ...

The style itself dates, according to Joseph Shabalala (of Ladysmith fame), to the times when young South African Zulu men left their families to travel to the major cities to find work — often in mines. In order to preserve a sense of community, these young men would form choirs and perform Mbube music. Bhekizizwe Joseph Siphatimandla Mxhoveni Mshengu Bigboy Shabalala, otherwise known as Joseph Shabalala, is the lead singer and founder of the South African choral group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. ... The Zulu (South African English and isiZulu: amaZulu) are an African ethnic group of about 11 million people who live mainly in the province KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. ... A choir or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. ...

The style is named after the song "Mbube" written by Solomon Linda. The song was later made famous internationally by The Weavers as "Wimoweh" and then as "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". Solomon Linda was a South African musician who wrote the song Mbube (song), which was later re-written with different lyrics and an addition to the melody, and was popularized as The Lion Sleeps Tonight. ... The Weavers were an immensely popular and influential folk music quartet from Greenwich Village, New York, United States. ... The Lion Sleeps Tonight began as a 1939 African pop hit Mbube that, in modified versions, also became a hit in the US and UK. The song was first recorded by its writer, Solomon Linda, and his group, The Evening Birds, in 1939 under the title Mbube (Zulu for lion...

References

• Veit Erlmann (1995). Nightsong: Power, Performance, and Practice in South Africa. University of Chicago Press.
• Mbube Roots, Rounder Records #5025