Remembering SA musical legend Brenda Fassie in 5 quick facts

Remembering SA musical legend Brenda Fassie in 5 quick facts

Africa's queen of pop may not be around anymore but her legacy lives on. The music icon managed to sing her way into millions of hearts and even today her music is adored and admired by people across the globe. Brenda's passion was insatiable and she won't likely ever be forgotten.

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Brenda Fassie's name is synonymous with passionate music. Her voice and vocals can cause goosebumps in mere seconds.

Briefly.co.za decided to take a moment to remember this legend and gathered a couple of facts about her.

Brenda was born to make music

Her mother was a gifted pianist and her musical genes were inherited by Brenda. While pregnant, Brenda's mom expected and planned for a boy so when she gave birth to a girl, she had to find a name in a hurry. The name Brenda was settled on, after the American country singer Brenda Lee.

With a start into life like that, how can you not make good music?

Her big break came at the tender age of 19

Brenda was already busy in the music industry from the age of 16, when she was involved with the groups Joy and Blondie and Papa as well as Brenda and the Big Dudes. Women24 reports she may have been as young as 14 at this time.

However, big things started truly happening for Brenda when she recorded Weekend Special - her first hit single. From there the hits seemed to pour out of the young musician.

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Her life wasn't only moonlight and roses

Brenda had a troubled life. She got involved with drugs and dramatic situations often. She faced allegations of drug abuse and confessed that it was true. She also bravely admitted she was a lesbian. The musician also faced a fraud case and an abusive husband. She attempted to commit suicide 3 times.

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She lost her lover to drugs

Brenda's life took a turn for the worst when her partner Poppie Sihlahla died of a drug overdose. The tragic incident changed her life and she decided to turn things around. A few years later she released Mameza (Shout) and it went platinum immediately.

Brenda dropped English for African languages

When she released Nomakanjani, the musician moved away from English lyrics and chose to sing in Sotho, Xhosa and Zulu. The album went triple platinum within a few months.

Despite a hard life with many obstacles, Brenda was an undeniable musical genius with a passion that burned bright against the African sky.

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Source: Briefly News

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