‘I just wanna be loved’

JOHANNESBURG – South African pop star Brenda Fassie, who died Sunday at age 39, was a daring and brash singer known as much for her energetic onstage performances as for her colourful life away from the microphone.

Fassie, adored by millions throughout South Africa and beyond, was nicknamed the ‘Madonna of the townships’, in allusion to the equally controversial and creative American singer. Born in 1964 in the sprawling township of Langa, outside Cape Town, Fassie moved to Johannesburg in her teens where a stand-in gig launched her singing career, turning the mercurial singer into a pop icon for millions of fans.But as much as her voice, described as “power-packed, versatile and gutsy” did for her singing career, so did the controversy surrounding her antics on and off the stage, making her a regular target for tabloid fodder in South Africa’s Sunday papers.”I’m a shocker.I like to create controversy.It’s my trademark,” she once said in an interview.The tabloids devoted reams to following her every move – “Caught in the act!” read one recent headline, which speculated on Fassie’s new lover, a man half her age.Fassie was a self-confessed bisexual, whose woman lover, Poppie Sihlahla, died of a drug overdose in 1994.’Kadhafi woos bad girl Brenda’ read another in 2000 after a meeting between the pop diva and Libyan leader Moammer Kadhafi, after which Fassie reportedly said:”I knew he was going to be at the show, but I didn’t think he would be crazy about me.”‘THIS IS AFRICA’Her penchant for shocking audiences reached new heights in 2001 while performing in a club in Washington, D.C., where her breasts popped out of her tight-fitting costume.”The audience gasped, but Fassie unabashedly grabbed her bare bosom and thrust it at the crowd,” Time magazine said of the show.”This,” she proclaimed, “is Africa!” From an early age it became clear she was destined to become one of South Africa’s superstars.Named after US country singer Brenda Lee, Fassie was already earning money by her fifth birthday, singing to tourists.Her first breakthrough came in the early 1983 with the song ‘Weekend Special’ which topped the charts and received wide international play, becoming the fastest selling record at the time.With fame came temptation.Fassie, with characteristic openness, said she was a drug addict and bisexual – a social taboo in South Africa’s townships.Fans started to boycott her concerts after she failed to show up for several performances, and in 1992 she was convicted of assaulting a photo journalist.Despite her struggles with drugs, she continued to record albums.But asked what it was like to work with Congolese musician Papa Wemba during one album, she said: “I can’t remember a thing, I was so high.”Poppie Sihlahla’s death – she was found next to her, herself high – seemed to have spurred her to get clean.In 1997 she recorded her comeback album ‘Memeza’ (Shout), released a year later.The album became South Africa’s best selling release a year later, selling 500 000 copies and earning Fassie several local and African music awards, including a Kora award for best African female singer in 1999.In the latter stages of her career her voice also matured, as she sang in the “kwaito” township style – a combination of hip-hop, slowed-down “house” music with traditional African bass, sang mainly in Xhosa, Zulu and Sotho.Despite her bad-girl image and sometimes eye-popping behaviour, Fassie’s popularity remained cemented firmly within South African pop culture.On April 26, she suffered cardiac arrest following an asthma attack and slipped into a coma, from which she never recovered.She is survived by a son, Bongani.While in hospital, she was visited by former and current presidents Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki, as well as several of her musical contemporaries, a testament to Fassie’s broad draw among South Africans.But the singer with the coy smile and the affectionate nickname of Ma-brr really just desired one thing, as she once said.”I wanna be loved.I just wanna be loved.”- Nampa-AFPBorn in 1964 in the sprawling township of Langa, outside Cape Town, Fassie moved to Johannesburg in her teens where a stand-in gig launched her singing career, turning the mercurial singer into a pop icon for millions of fans.But as much as her voice, described as “power-packed, versatile and gutsy” did for her singing career, so did the controversy surrounding her antics on and off the stage, making her a regular target for tabloid fodder in South Africa’s Sunday papers.”I’m a shocker.I like to create controversy.It’s my trademark,” she once said in an interview.The tabloids devoted reams to following her every move – “Caught in the act!” read one recent headline, which speculated on Fassie’s new lover, a man half her age.Fassie was a self-confessed bisexual, whose woman lover, Poppie Sihlahla, died of a drug overdose in 1994.’Kadhafi woos bad girl Brenda’ read another in 2000 after a meeting between the pop diva and Libyan leader Moammer Kadhafi, after which Fassie reportedly said:”I knew he was going to be at the show, but I didn’t think he would be crazy about me.”‘THIS IS AFRICA’Her penchant for shocking audiences reached new heights in 2001 while performing in a club in Washington, D.C., where her breasts popped out of her tight-fitting costume.”The audience gasped, but Fassie unabashedly grabbed her bare bosom and thrust it at the crowd,” Time magazine said of the show.”This,” she proclaimed, “is Africa!” From an early age it became clear she was destined to become one of South Africa’s superstars.Named after US country singer Brenda Lee, Fassie was already earning money by her fifth birthday, singing to tourists.Her first breakthrough came in the early 1983 with the song ‘Weekend Special’ which topped the charts and received wide international play, becoming the fastest selling record at the time.With fame came temptation.Fassie, with characteristic openness, said she was a drug addict and bisexual – a social taboo in South Africa’s townships.Fans started to boycott her concerts after she failed to show up for several performances, and in 1992 she was convicted of assaulting a photo journalist.Despite her struggles with drugs, she continued to record albums.But asked what it was like to work with Congolese musician Papa Wemba during one album, she said: “I can’t remember a thing, I was so high.”Poppie Sihlahla’s death – she was found next to her, herself high – seemed to have spurred her to get clean.In 1997 she recorded her comeback album ‘Memeza’ (Shout), released a year later.The album became South Africa’s best selling release a year later, selling 500 000 copies and earning Fassie several local and African music awards, including a Kora award for best African female singer in 1999.In the latter stages of her career her voice also matured, as she sang in the “kwaito” township style – a combination of hip-hop, slowed-down “house” music with traditional African bass, sang mainly in Xhosa, Zulu and Sotho.Despite her bad-girl image and sometimes eye-popping behaviour, Fassie’s popularity remained cemented firmly within South African pop culture.On April 26, she suffered cardiac arrest following an asthma attack and slipped into a coma, from which she never recovered.She is survived by a son, Bongani.While in hospital, she was visited by former and current presidents Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki, as well as several of her musical contemporaries, a testament to Fassie’s broad draw among South Africans.But the singer with the coy smile and the affectionate nickname of Ma-brr really just desired one thing, as she once said.”I wanna be loved.I just wanna be loved.”- Nampa-AFP