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CDs by Rebecca Malope
ree
at Last: South African Gospel /
Live at the State Theatre
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Rebecca
Malope
South African Gospel Queen
A Journey to Stardom Rebecca
Malope is without doubt South Africa's greatest gospel star, who
has had a musical journey touched with inspiration, luck,
and destiny.
Rebecca's early life was by no means easy as she grew up in a
remote part of South Africa. They didn't have a chance to get
formal education and had to work on a tobacco farm with her
sisters, taking the chance to sing whenever they could. In 1986, driven
by a burning desire, Rebecca, then 21 years, and her sister
Cynthia, left their home township of Lekazi near Nelspruit and
hiked 400 kilometers to Evaton from where they finally reached
Johannesburg.
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Arriving in
Johannesburg, Rebecca immediately set out to realize her dreams
and entered the Shell Road to Fame talent search. She was
unsuccessful but this did not deter her, and she entered again in
1987 and won the Shell Road to Fame Award in the Best Female
Vocalist category.
Diminutive in stature
but big in heart, this dynamic and tireless artist utilized the
award as a springboard to develop herself.
Rebecca struggled to
find a record company that was willing to help her fulfill that
dream.
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She realized that if she was to fulfill that dream, she had
to make it happen herself. She enlisted the help of Sizwe Zako and
they, together with Peter Tladi, were able to raise enough money
to record Rebecca's debut. Their confidence was rewarded when, in
a matter of weeks, the album reached gold status.
Rebecca won the OKTV
Awards as best South African female artist for the period
1989/1990; when over 10 million listeners voted for her the best
local established artist in the 1993 Coca Cola Full Blast music
show. She won it again in 1994. Also in 1994, she won the FNB
South African Music Award for Best gospel Singer.
All ten of Rebecca's
albums have sold in excess of gold and indeed the last six of her
albums have garnered platinum discs. To date, she has sold one
million albums.
Rebecca is now hailed as the Queen of South African gospel and
over the past decade she has toured all over southern Africa,
winning several major awards along the way. Gospel is fuelled by
the certainty that the spirit can triumph over adversity, that
love can conquer fear and despair. There can be few people more
qualified to bring the good news than Rebecca Malope.
In 1995 her CD 'Shwele Baba' sold more than a 100,000 copies in
three weeks and became the fastest selling platter in South
African showbiz history. A year later Rebecca lost her father,
brother and sister in tragic circumstances and this harrowing
experience prompted her to leave her old pop persona behind and
become a fully fledged gospel singer. The switch was no cinch, but
determination, hard work, and persistence paid off.
Although Rebecca's
loyalty is first and foremost to her fans here in South Africa.
She is held in very high esteem by fans in neighbouring countries
to the North. She also travels overseas to broaden her exposure
and to this end has visited and performed in the United Kingdom,
France and Israel. She made history travelling to Israel where CCV
TV crew shot a 52-minute Easter special for national broadcast on
Good Friday, 15 April 1995.
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The impact was such
that even the boxing fraternity, realizing that she is a national
treasure' commissioned her to perform before a double world title
fight and she was further given the honour of singing the National
Anthem which was televised live to 30 countries world - wide.
In 1996, she was
invited to perform at the State Theatre in Pretoria, and such is
her appeal and stature that the audience included a number of
Cabinet Ministers and other dignitaries.
Despite all of these tremendous accomplishments and
accolades, Rebecca refuses to forget her roots. |
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"I regard myself as a simple person and
will not be swayed by my success and achievements to become
something that I am not. All my life I wanted to sing and it is
because I believed in the lord, who has blessed me with a
wonderful talent, that I have reached the heights I have come
to."
Unfazed by her success,
Rebecca's deepest desire remains to reach out and embrace the soul
of her beloved country through sincere and dedicated song.
"My greatest wish
is that through music I can contribute to the happiness of the
people and somehow be a beacon of hope that everything is possible
if the lord is willing" says Rebecca. * * * *
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* updated 30 September 2007 |
