The song, produced by early electronic dance music innovator Arthur Baker, bridged the worlds of rock and rap together in what was then one of the biggest genre converges to date. Van Zandt banded together a lineup for the song “I Ain’t Gonna Play Sun City” that nearly 30 years later remains not only impressive in its scope, but marks a symbolic first. In 1985, guitarist Steven Van Zandt of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band (and future actor on “The Sopranos”) helped spearhead a musical boycott of South Africa’s big ticket resort town Sun City, which until then had paid handsome money for superstar concerts. One of the most popular anthems of the anti-apartheid movement was South African singer Johnny Clegg and his band Savuka’s “Asimbonanga,” which, translated, means “We haven’t seen him.” A protest whose Zulu chant brings Mandela’s absence to life, the clip below features a special guest midway through - a dancing, smiling Mandela.Īrtists United Against Apartheid, “I Ain’t Gonna Play Sun City” (1985) Johnny Clegg and Savuka, “Asimbonanga” (1987) It’s a thrilling song, filled with the sound of black South Africa: a harmonious choral group, smooth as chrome, humming through the song while Fassie sings, imagining the moment that Nelson Mandela is released.
The South African government responded by banning Wonder’s songs - evidence of their hopeless desperation.īrenda Fassie, “My Black President” (1989)Ī song banned in South Africa when it was released in 1989, “My Black President” was a tipping-point song, offered as it was a year before Mandela’s exit from jail in 1990. That same year he was arrested during a Washington, D.C., anti-apartheid protest and dedicated the Oscar he won for the song “I Just Called to Say I Love You” to Nelson Mandela. Employing exiled South African musicians, Wonder put the rhythmic breakdown that is “It’s Wrong” on his “In Square Circle” album. In 1985, Stevie Wonder was at one of many career peaks, and used that power to expose the injustices occurring in South Africa. The result was, simply, “Nelson Mandela,” which featured Mandela himself reading from a speech he gave during one of his trials in 1964. The activist had been released from prison four years before, and Mabuse eagerly agreed he’d been singing about Mandela’s plight for years.
In 1994, singer Sipho “Hotstix” Mabuse was commissioned by the African National Congress to write an election song in support of Nelson Mandela’s campaign.