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Remembering ‘Africa’s Queen of pop’ Brenda Fassie, 18 years on
Brenda Fassie was known as a fashion trendsetter, for her on-stage performances and for her consistency in making hit music from the 80s into the 1990s.
Late singer-songwriter Brenda Fassie remembered 18 years after her death. Picture: Twitter
Eighteen years on, the iconic singer who gave us hits such as Weekend Special, Too Late For Mama and Vul’indlela, Brenda Fassie’s legacy continues on the 18th anniversary of her death.
Fassie was known as a fashion trendsetter, for her on-stage performances and for her consistency in making hit music from the 1980s into the 1990s.
The pop diva passed away on May 9, 2004, after spending two weeks in a coma. It is alleged that her death was caused by a cocaine overdose.
Her death is still shrouded with mystery as her son Bongani Fassie has placed doubt on the cause of death.
As we remember Brenda Fassie’s legacy, here is a timeline of her life and some of her biggest career highlights.
Queen of African pop:
Fassie, known to her fans as “Mabrr”, became known globally as a musical icon and the queen of African pop. The success of Weekend Special and Too Late For Mama made her the most popular South African musician of her time.
Brenda was also known as “Madonna of The Townships” or simply as “The Black Madonna” to international media due to her popularity and catchy pop songs.
In an interview with The Citizen in 2014, Yvonne Chaka Chaka said South Africans took Brenda Fassie for granted.
“She was a generous musician who lived to entertain and please audiences. She always wanted to see people around her happy and went out of her way to make that happen,” she said at the time.
Brenda released multiple albums under EMI, which included, Now Is The Time, Memeza, and Nomakanjani. Most of her albums became multi-platinum sellers, as Memeza was the best-selling album in South Africa in 1998.
Chaka Chaka praised Fassie’s on-stage performance; “Nobody could predict what Brenda would do when she got on to the stage.
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“But she would make the stage come alive with her vibrant energy and spirit. She was born to entertain, and she did that right up until her end.” One of the most memorable performances was the sold-out concert at Ellis Park in 1985.
In her personal life, Brenda was married to Nhlanhla Mbambo in 1989 in a lavish wedding with three receptions. However, the couple divorced three years later in 1991.
Struggle with drug addiction:
At the height of her career, Fassie became addicted to cocaine resulting in a nose dive in her success.
In 1995, she was discovered in a hotel with the body of Poppie Sihlahla – her lesbian partner – who had apparently died of a drug overdose.
Brenda did have several stints in rehab, however she struggled to beat the addiction.
Brenda’s death:
Brenda collapsed in her home on 26 April 2004 and was admitted to a hospital in Sunninghill, Gauteng.
Reports at the time suggested she had suffered cardiac arrest but it was later reported that she had slipped into a coma brought on by an asthma attack.
The cause of the coma, revealed by a post-mortem, was that Fassie had used cocaine excessively on the night of her collapse.
The star stopped breathing and suffered brain damage from a lack of oxygen.
RELATED: Brenda Fassie’s death: ‘Who switched off the life support?’
Her son Bongani doesn’t necessary believe the cause of her death, he revealed in his own reality show, Finding Bongani Fassie which premiered on Moja Love in June 2021.
In an episode, Bongani and his family visited his mother’s tombstone and asked the elders who made the decision to switch off the life support.
He was unhappy with the answers he received, as the elders did not want to mention the names of who made the final call.
Fans remembered Brenda Fassie on social media, as many tweeted how the singer changed the music landscape in the country forever.
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