Musician Masekela dies at 78

JOHANNESBURG — Hugh

Masekela, the South African jazz musician and anti-apartheid activist, has died after a decadelong fight with cancer. He was 78.

Often called the “Father of South African jazz,” Masekela died in Johannesburg after what his family said Tuesday was a “protracted and courageous battle with prostate cancer.”

Trumpeter, singer and composer Masekela succeeded in fusing politics with his music, making his songs and performances compelling and timeless. His biggest hit was “Grazing in the Grass,” which went No. 1 on Billboard’s Top 40 chart in June 1968.

Many of his compositions were about the struggle for majority rule and full democratic rights in South Africa. Masekela’s catchy, upbeat 1987 song “Bring Him Back Home,” calling for Nelson Mandela’s release from prison, became an international anthem for the anti-apartheid movement.

In the 1960s he went into exile in the United Kingdom and the United States, using his music to spread awareness about South Africa’s oppressive system of white-minority rule. He returned to South Africa in 1990 after Mandela was freed and the African National Congress party was unbanned. He released more than 40 albums, and toured in South Africa and internationally until late last year.

In October, Masekela issued a statement that he had been fighting prostate cancer since 2008 and would have to cancel his professional commitments to focus on his health. He said he started treatment after doctors found a “small ‘speck’” on his bladder, and had surgery in March 2016 after the cancer spread.

Condolences from fans poured out Tuesday on social media paying tribute to the influential musician’s career.

South African President Jacob Zuma expressed his condolences, saying Masekela “kept the torch of freedom alive globally, fighting apartheid through his music and mobilizing international support … His contribution to the struggle for liberation will never be forgotten.”

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “recognizes the historical role that he played during the fight against apartheid and the fight for freedom and human rights after the fall of apartheid,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. “He was a global cultural icon that will be missed by people all over the world.”