Ihashi Elimhlophe on Joy of Jazz debut and four decades of marriage

It’s often said that bad things come in threes; that if an unfortunate event has already occurred twice, a third unfortunate event is likely to occur. But the same can be said about the good things in life.

South African music icon Ihashi Elimhlophe over the weekend celebrated four decades of marriage to his wife Linah Ngcobo, this year he commemorated 45 years in the music industry and will, in the next few weeks be one of the headlines of the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz.

“I think it’s all about respect,” Bheki ‘Ihashi Elimhlophe’ Ngcobo told The Citizen.  “Respecting myself, my job and those who I work with that has made me get this far.”

Ihashi Elimhlophe is one of the country’s celebrated Maskandi artists, with an extensive catalogue that includes his 1986 debut album Hololo; he has travelled the world sharing his music with fans of his traditional sounds and he has collaborated with younger artists such as Boom Shaka and Oskido.

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The husband and father

Over the weekend he and his wife renewed their vows in an intimate ceremony with family and friends. Though not exactly sure how long they’ve been together, Ihashi Elimhlophe spoke glowingly about sharing a life with his wife, who was celebrating her birthday.

“We were renewing our vows and it was also her birthday. I can’t remember how long we’ve been together, but it’s more than 40 years,” he said giggling.

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“It’s important to marry, but you shouldn’t be rushed by anyone…and it’s important to marry while young so that you can grow old and share your life with your partner who is also your friend. We are friends,” he said.

Marriage come with its own unique challenges and those become exacerbated when you’re a public figure.

“We’ve been very fortunate to be in the same industry. We’re always together, wherever you se me, you’ll see her.”

He spoke of the importance of apologizing and communication in a marriage and a family. “You can’t just say to your wife that ‘I’m the man’ therefore everything should go according to your desires. You should be able to apologise when wrong, even to your kids as well.”

Mrs Ngcobo is a music artist in her own right, known as Ebony, and her career blew up prior to being married.  Mrs dominated the pop scene in the mid-80s with hits such as I Need Somebody and Dlala Ngento Yakho.

“She blew up before me,” said Ihashi Elimhlophe.

The pair first met in Phalaborwa while Ihashi Elimhlophe was still part of band, the Mthembu Queens. “I saw her and asked the band leader Mr Mthembu if we could bring her to Joburg with us, but he said ‘no’.”

After a month or so, after Ihashi Elimhlophe’s relentless insistence of trying to get his now wife to be part of their group, the band leader gave in to his request.

“What made things easier to bring her to Joburg with us was because we discovered that her mother is of Mthembu descent, which made it easier for her mother to allow her to join the Mthembu Queens because at least she’d know with whom her daughter is with in Joburg.”

The couple is now married with four kids and grandchildren. The Ngcobo family also has a reality tv show on Mzansi Magic, Ofuze.

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Joy of Jazz

Ihashi Elimhlophe will for the first time perform on the Joy of Jazz stage next month. The eclectic line-up includes Portuguese-born musician Jéssica Pina and Malian singer Fatoumata Diawara, South Africa’s Thandiswa and Bongeziwe Mabandla among the long list of artists that will perform on the five stags for two nights.

 “I don’t think I’ve performed at the Joy of Jazz, I see this as a form of growth for me,” he said. He said he isn’t nervous about playing for a jazz audience.

“If you’re South African, you know all music. You find jazz artists who love Maskandi.”

This is true.

In an interview with The Citizen a few months ago, lead man of jazz ensemble iPhupho L’Ka Biko Nhlanhla Ngqaqu said he was excited to see the Maskandi legend at the jazz festival.

“There’s that opening guitar riff you’ll hear on Maskandi songs. That’s improvisation and jazz is about improvisation.”

“Someone who’s not a South African will appreciate seeing Ihashi Elimhlophe on stage because they will get an understanding of our culture and our music.”

Ihashi Elimhlophe has performed in China, India and places like Mexico among others, where the music was fully embraced.

“It’s important that the things we treasure like traditional music, are represented, artists such as Black Mambazo and the Soul Brothers”

“We’ve performed in Tanzania and even in India. I was most nervous when we went to India because when I listened to their music, I wondered if they’d appreciate our music, but they did. In China, they were taken by how we looked even before we got on stage”

“We sold out all of our merchandise on the first show in Mexico. Everything; caps, t-shirts, CDs were bought in the first show.”

Ihashi Elimhlophe was last year bestowed the Lifetime Achievement Award by the South African Music Awards.

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