Child of 76 lives for liberation
The spirit of the revolution won’t leave her mind, says ‘wild woman’thandiswa
THANDISWA Mazwai, also known as King Tha, says being born in 1976, the year of the Soweto uprisings – a turning point in South Africa’s liberation history – tainted her in that she can’t seem to get rid of the spirit of liberation.
The trailblazing and freespirited Mazwai plans to publish a book about her life.
“I can’t get rid of the spirit of the revolution. And in my memoir, there is an interesting story I tell about how I relate myself to that year,” she says.
Mazwai recalls how she made a critical decision to represent a certain kind of woman, who is not being represented in popular media.
“My aesthetic was a political choice because I knew that was the first thing people see. They might not have heard of me but if they can get from my appearance that I am proafrican, pro-woman, pro my own wildness and rules that were always important to me,” she says.
“I remember when I wore my hair in a messy style, the late Brenda Fassie once said to me ‘you can sing, neh, you are beautiful and everything, but you didn’t comb your hair’,” she laughs.
“And I am like ‘okay’. So it was always important that the aesthetic is representing the wild woman, a woman who does what she pleases and knows what she wants,” she says.
Her mother, Belede Mazwai, who died when Thandiswa was 16, was her inspiration.
“She was a ridiculously powerful woman who could make anything happen. She was not afraid of anyone or anything. She wore her African cloths and she didn’t care.
“So I think firstly I got it (courage) from her, and because she died so early, I had to grow up quickly and realise that I had to find my position in the world,” she said.
Mazwai says writing her memoirs comes from a desire to own and take charge of her history by personally documenting it.
“This one I am working on covers my earliest memories to about 25 years. The other stuff post-25 is still too soon to tell. The book has no clear deadline. I might even release it when I am 45 years old, who knows,” she laughs.
“I started writing in 2011 for myself,” she said.
As she wrote, she realised her story could inspire others and help them find their freedom.
Being an Afro-centric and soulful artist, Mazwai, who was a member of the Bongo Maffin kwaito music group, says her music is a platform to express “Thandiswa” and break down societal barriers and norms.
Mazwai will host a massive show dubbed the King Tha Day on her birthday, March 31.
The show will serve as a prelude to her Amandla Women’s Festival, to which she aims to attract 5 000 women.
She describes the coming together of women as a supernova – a massive explosion that happens when great energies come together in one place.
“I find it beautiful to share a space with women on my birthday because we share so many common experiences. So a space full of women allows me to be myself and allows me to feel a certain communion with people I consider to be sisters. So I look forward to that,” she says.
The Amandla festival is for “non-gender conformists” and she says straight men will not be allowed in.
“If you are a cisgender man, you won’t be allowed in,” she says.
@Amandamaliba