Monday, November 13, 2006

South African Musician Jabu Khanyile Has Died in a Johannesburg Hospital From Complications Related to Diabetes and Prostate Cancer

Jabu Khanyile dies after battle with prostate cancer

Johannesburg, South Africa
13 November 2006 06:59

South African musician Jabu Khanyile died in the Johannesburg Hospital on Sunday morning.

Fellow musician and music producer Chicco Twala confirmed that Khanyile died shortly after midnight.

The Star newspaper reported that Khanyile had been undergoing radiation therapy for prostate cancer and that he had diabetes.

Khanyile began his music career in Soweto at a very young age. He played with different bands for a decade before joining Bayete, first as a drummer and then as the band's lead vocalist, South African Broadcasting Corporation radio news reported.

His success with Bayete won him a Kora award in 1996 for best South African artist. He was a charismatic man, known for his flamboyant dress sense and dedication to pan-Africanism. Khanyile was a passionate promoter of African music in the international market. He performed with such big names as Angelique Kidjo, Papa Wemba and Youssou N'Dour.

"The last three years have been sad years for the South African music industry with the likes of Lebo Mathosa, Tsakane 'TK' Mhinga, Moses Khumalo and Brenda Fassie all passing away," said Twala.

A memorial service for Khanyile will be held on Wednesday and his funeral has been scheduled for Friday. -- Sapa


Jabu Khanyile, South African Musician, Dies in Hospital

Mon, 13 Nov 2006

South African musician Jabu Khanyile died in a Johannesburg hospital on Sunday morning.

Fellow musician and music producer Chicco Twala confirmed that Khanyile died shortly after midnight.

"All I know is that he died from sugar diabetes," said Twala.

Official confirmation of the cause of Khanyile's death could not be obtained.

Khanyile began his music career in Soweto at a very young age. He played with different bands for a decade before joining Bayete, first as a drummer then as the band's lead vocalist, SABC radio news reported.

His success with Bayete won him the 1996 Kora Award for being the best South African artist.

He was a charismatic man, known for his flamboyant dress sense and dedication to Pan-Africanism.

Khanyile was a passionate promoter of African music and musicians in the international market. He performed with such big names as Angelique Kidjo, Papa Wemba and Youssou N'Dour, SABC reported.

Khanyile's death, two weeks after that of another prominent SA musician Lebo Mathosa, who died in a car accident, marks a "sad time" for SA music, said Twala.

"The last three years have been sad years for the SA music industry with the likes of Lebo Mathosa, Tsakane TK Mhinga, Moses Khumalo and Brenda Fassie all passing away."

A memorial service for Khanyile will be held on Wednesday, while his funeral has been scheduled for Friday, SABC reported.

The venues had not yet been finalised.

Sapa
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Biography

Once a primary member of Bayete, Jabu Khanyile is now the driving force for the latest versions of the band, as well as its mastermind. Khanyile's path to the present is somewhat of a circuitous one — his father is described as "a playboy," while his mother passed away early in Khanyile's life.

With existence becoming a struggle, and little support, Khanyile was unable to finish school, and found himself unsuited to holding down any sort of regular job. The major influence from his father came in the form of Mbube music, performed by his father and friends on Sunday afternoons. Khanyile's elder brother John, a member of a group called Editions, who released several popular singles, eventually bought Jabu a guitar, after allowing him to come along to various Editions gigs.

Khanyile taught himself enough guitar to be able to busk for a living. Young Khanyile's interests also extended to drums and percussion; whenever possible, he would get behind the drumkit at Editions gigs. When Editions broke up, Khanyile was approached by the group's manager with the idea of re-forming the band — keeping the name, but using younger musicians.

While the new band quickly landed a record deal, the political climate led to various band members fleeing the country or going into hiding. Not to be stopped, Khanyile once again recruited a new set of musicians. This version of the band recorded Izinyembezi to general acclaim, but fell apart during the recording of a new album.

Khanyile then joined the Movers, who promptly achieved a hit with "Inhlonipho," only to fall prey to internal problems as they achieved success. Disgusted with the infighting, Khanyile left the band, auditioning for the drummer's throne in a new band, Bayete. A brass-driven outfit with its heart firmly in African territory and a somewhat politicized attitude, Bayete had an immediate appeal to black South Africans whose frame of reference was extremely uncertain just prior to the abandonment of apartheid policies.

The first Bayete album, Mbombela, released in 1987, spoke out about the economic realities of life in both the country and the townships, and about the shattering of families. Hareyeng Haye appeared in 1990, with the release of "Mbube" generating a significant hit (one adopted by many people, who would replace "Mbube" with "Mbumbe," which means "unity").

Unity was far from the minds of those in Bayete, however, and the band split in 1993. Khanyile quickly assembled a new collection of players and got back to work, recording Mmalo-We. The new album not only continued the momentum gathered by the band to that point, earning a gold record and several South African Music Awards, it also attracted the attention of Island Records maven Chris Blackwell, who acquired the album for worldwide release.

1996's Umkhaya-Lo continues Khanyile's exploration of African musical styles, combining history with contemporary musical ideas. The 1997 Africa Unite is a compilation of tracks from Mmalo-We and Umkhaya-Lo. — Steven McDonald

1 comment:

Pan-African News Wire said...

Diabetes threatens many of world's indigenous people

James Grubel
Canberra, Australia
13 November 2006 02:45

Diabetes poses a deadly threat to indigenous people across Asia, the Pacific and the Americas as Western lifestyles and diets replace traditional habits, medical experts warned on Monday.

Professor Martin Silink, head of the Brussels-based International Diabetes Foundation, said indigenous people had a greater genetic risk of contracting Type 2 diabetes, which is often undiagnosed.

"They also have the genes that make the diabetes more damaging, so they are more prone to develop the serious complications of diabetes," Silink told Reuters.

About 230-million people -- or about 6% of adults worldwide -- have Type 2 diabetes, but the problem was worse in developing nations and among indigenous people, where up to one in two adults will have the disease.

These findings were showcased at a gathering in Melbourne of diabetes experts from the United States, Canada, Australia and the Pacific islands.

Conference host Professor Paul Zimmet said diabetes was unknown in the Pacific before World War II, but now the region had some of the highest rates in the world and where the existence of indigenous communities were at risk.

In the Pacific nation of Nauru, the world's smallest republic with a population of 10 000 people, more than 30% of adults aged over 20 years have Type 2 diabetes. But the number rises to one in two in adults aged 35 years and above.

Similar rates of between 25% to 50% of diseased adults are found in American and Canadian indigenous peoples as well as in Australia's Aborigine and Torres Strait Islander populations.

"It is a tragic situation, but not a lost one," Zimmet said.

"The world needs to act now if we are to deal with this problem, which threatens to consume world economies and bankrupt health systems. It could also mean the end of some of our treasured indigenous groups."

Globally, Silink said that every year saw between seven to eight million new cases of diabetes. Experts project more than 250-million people will suffer from the disease by 2025.

Silink said the International Diabetes Foundation was pushing for a UN resolution to make governments encourage more active lifestyles and better diets.

"There is a death due to diabetes every 10 seconds, and an amputation due to diabetes every 30 seconds. We are dealing with the biggest epidemic in world history," he added. - Reuters