Ladysmith Black Mambazo

Ladysmith Black Mambazo is a Grammy Award-winning male group from South Africa that sings in the vocal style of isicathamiya and mbube. They rose to worldwide prominence as a result of singing with Paul Simon on his album, Graceland. Ladysmith Black Mambazo were formed by Joseph Shabalala in 1960 (who still leads the group today) and became one of South Africa's prolific recording artists, with their releases receiving gold and platinum disc honors. The group has now become a mobile academy, teaching people about South Africa and its culture.

In 1985, Paul Simon travelled to South Africa in the hope of collaborating with black musicians for his Graceland album. Simon asked Ladysmith Black Mambazo to work with him, and they travelled to London to record. The first recording was "Homeless", composed by Shabalala with English lyrics by Simon. The group's 1986 Ezulwini Siyakhona refers to the encounter with Paul Simon in the liner notes. Graceland was released in May of that year, and although both Joseph Shabalala and Paul Simon were accused of breaking the cultural boycott of South Africa, the album became a huge success and sold 16 million copies and boosted further Ladysmith Black Mambazo's international image