Unquestionably, Lebo Mathosa lived a life that drew the attention of music lovers in her home country South Africa and Beyond. Her fame began in 1994 and spent about a decade until she lost her life in a car crash in 2006 at the age of 29. Until her demise, she made a name for herself as a kwaito singer. She was a former member of Boom Shaka.
Biography of Lebo Mathosa
Lebogang Mathosa was born on July 17, 1977, in Daveyton, Benoni. She attended St. Mary’s High School in Johannesburg.
At the age of 7, Lebo joined her church choir and at 14, Don Laka, a music producer discovered and put her in the Boom Shaka music group alongside 3 others including Thembi Seete, Theo Nhlengethwa, and Junior Sokkhela.
The group gained fame with a number of hits before Lebo went solo in 1999 and made another success. She released her first solo album in 2000 and fast earned gold and awards that included Best Dance Album for Dream. It was fast followed by other works that equally won the singer’s fans.
Her Career is Compared To Brenda Fassie’s
Brenda Fassie reigned in music from the 1980s-to 2004 when she dies. However, her name, music, and contributions have not gone to extinction. Although her genre differs from Mathosa’s, their infusion of culture in their music has often led to comparisons.
This is however not the only thing that earns the two women comparisons, both of them were able to make music that immortalized them even many years after their death.
They also have reportedly accepted to be bisexual even in an African society that saw the act as taboo.
She Made Historical Songs But Her Appearances Landed Her a Number of Controversies
Talking about music that just cannot go out of history as far as South Africa is concerned, Mathosa’s definitely falls in that category. Some of her most notable songs include Free, Ntozabantu, and Ngi Fun’ukugana among others.
She however was not able to entirely stay away from controversies, especially regarding her sexuality. Another is her dress sense which she was accused of showing off too much and using to promote her music right from the time she was a member of Boom Shaka.
While she may have enjoyed her time on stage, she equally was accused of stimulating sex onstage by using her hips a lot in her dance. All of these in one way or the other won her the name of The New Madonna of the Town.
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Selected Songs and Albums of Mathosa
She Won Several Nominations and Awards
Lebo Mathosa Had A Career in Acting
Although she started as a singer, she explored acting where she featured in Muvhango and other soap operas like Generations, Backstage as well as a film titled Soldiers of The Rock (2003).
She Died in 2006 at The Age of 29
Lebo Mathosa died in a car accident in October 2006 on the N3 highway near Germiston on East Rand. This happened as a result of her 20-year-old driver losing control and crashing into a tree. She then was flung out and died on the scene.
13 years prior to her death in 2019 on the BET Africa Network, a biopic was released about her life titled Dream: The Lebo Mathosa. The biopic gave details about her life and how she attained fame in her career.
Her adult role in the biopic was played by KP Motsinyalane and her teenage self was played by Bahumi Madisakwane. Although both actresses may have interpreted the role relatably well, it was criticized by many viewers who felt the actresses who played the roles should have looked more like her.
