Legendary South African family chorus group Ladysmith Black Mambazo are in Honolulu through Sunday at the Blue Note Hawaii performing at 6:30 & 9 p.m. each night. The entire ensemble spent nearly an hour in the Atherton Performing Arts Studio during the All Things Considered interview performance session as group veteran Albert Mazibuko spoke with HPRATC Host Dave Lawrence.
In addition to performing several classic songs, the studio session included a wide range of topics, including their origins, Albert Mazibuko's transformation from growing up on a farm to joining the group, living under apartheid, their special relationship with Nelson Mandela, the role they play as ambassadors for South Africa, their strong feelings about the rhino poaching crisis and South Africa's position as custodian for most of the world's rhino, how the critical experience with Paul Simon developed and impacted the global reach of their music and much more.
Watch the complete interview performance session: