Lebo Mathosa

Who was Lebo Mathosa?

Lebo Mathosa was a popular South African kwaito singer.

Mathosa started her career with the popular South African band Boom Shaka in 1994 at the age of 15, after she caught the eye of music producer Don Laka at a club in Johannesburg. She was one of the few successful female kwaito artists in an industry dominated by males.

She turned solo in 1999. Her debut solo album Dream went gold within four weeks of its launch in 2000. At the 2001 South African Music Awards, Mathosa won Best Dance Album for Dream, Best Dance Single for her debut single Intro from the same album, and Best Female Vocalist. Her next album, Drama Queen, released in 2004, again earned the SA Music Award for Best Dance Album.

She topped the South African pop charts in 2004, and in 2006 she was nominated for a British MOBO award. She performed all over the world, from Southern Africa to Malaysia to Trafalgar Square in London, one of her most significant performances being at Nelson Mandela's 85th birthday party. She also toured the US with the show The Vagina Monologues. Her appearance in a show with such a positive feminist message is indicative of the attitude held by Mathosa, who, according to author Zine Magube, has become "a role model for many young South African women, [appearing] at first glance to simply be reinforcing stereotypes about the wanton nature of Black female sexuality. Some critics have argued however that Boom Shaka's female members have used 'the skimpy clothes, the gyrating hips, and simulated sex onstage to promote a variety of apposite concerns.'" This strong pro-feminist attitude combined with her often shocking onstage sexuality earned her the nickname "The New Madonna of the Townships".