The Miriam Makeba Story: Miriam Makeba in conversation with Nomsa Mwamuka is a beautiful tribute to ‘the Empress of African Song’. We have one copy to giveaway and all you have to do to stand a chance of winning is to send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with the subject ‘Makeba’.

Miriam Makeba

Singer, composer, actress, humanitarian, activist and ambassador Zenzile Miriam Makeba was born in Johannesburg in 1932. Her mother was a domestic worker and sangoma. To make ends meet she also illegally brewed beer, which landed her in jail when Makeba was a child.

Makeba first gained prominence as a vocalist for the Manhattan Brothers before performing with the all-woman group The Skylarks, and acquiring local and continental renown in the 1950s.

International Stardom

Her role in a 1959 documentary, Come Back Africa, led to an invitation for her to visit Europe and the United States, where she soon gained international stardom and later became the first African to win a Grammy Award for An Evening with Harry Belafonte. In 1960, while she was overseas, the apartheid regime officially banned her from returning home; forcing her to spend the next 30 years in exile.

In this time she became more than a singer; she became a symbol of peace and freedom, a social activist and a voice for millions of people rallying against the evils of racism. Her fight for democracy and contribution to humanitarian causes won her many accolades and awards, including the United Nations Otto Hahn Peace Medal, Dag Hammerskjold Peace Prize and the UNESCO Grand Prix du Conseil International de la Musique.

‘I'm not a political singer… I don't know what the word means,’ she said. ‘People think I consciously decided to tell the world what was happening in South Africa. No! I was singing about my life, and in South Africa we always sang about what was happening to us - especially the things that hurt us.’

Acknowledging Mama Afrika

In acknowledgement of her international and continental profile, former president Thabo Mbeki appointed her as South Africa’s Goodwill Ambassador to Africa in 2001. Local and international academic institutions also recognised her contribution to the arts, bestowing on her a dozen doctorates in music, philosophy and the arts.

After her return from exile she founded the Zenzile Miriam Makeba Foundation. Through this, her legacy will continue to inspire generations to come. Among the projects it has been involved in are The Landmine Victim Assistance Programme and The Miriam Makeba Rehabilitation Centre for Girls.

The Miriam Makeba Story

On 9 November 2008 Makeba suffered a heart attack after performing her hit song Pata Pata at a concert in Italy in aid of those opposed to a mafia-like organisation. The beautiful book, The Miriam Makeba Story: Miriam Makeba in conversation with Nomsa Mwamuka, was published shortly before and is a fitting tribute to a truly great South African.

It chronicles Makeba’s early life to her departure from South Africa. It also details her time in America and friendship with Harry Belafonte as well as her various performances including the one at President John F Kennedy’s Birthday Salute alongside artists such as Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe. We also read about her marriages to musician Hugh Masekela and civil rights activist Stokely Carmichael. And there is her time in Europe as well as her move to Conakry, Guinea.

Style Icon

The book includes colour and black and white photographs of her performing and together with her musicians and political friends. There are also the images that tell why she became a style icon.

‘I see other black women imitate my style, which is no style at all, but just letting our hair be itself,’ she commented. ‘The call it the Afro-look.’

A full and in-depth discography round off this most fascinating and comprehensive work. It should be a must-have for every coffee table, bookshelf and library. We have one copy to giveaway and all you have to do to stand a chance of winning is to send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with the subject ‘Makeba’.