Phuzushukela biography of christopher

Today we feature the very last album by maskandapioneer John Bhengu, better known as Phuzushukela. Bhengu who, with his distinctive guitar finger-picking style, is largely responsible for the popularisation of this Zulu, neo-traditional style in South Africa.

For more background check out our earlier post Maskanda Rootshere at Electric Jive.

According to Rob Allingham’s detailed account in the liner notes of the excellent compilation CD Singing in an Open Space, “John Bhengu was the first South African rural recording artist to come to prominence.

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He was born at Nkandla in Southern Zululand on March 24, 1930. By the late 1940s he had migrated to Durban where he achieved a measure of local fame in street music competitions. The audience would judge these informal affairs on how skillfully a musician integrated a traditional song with guitar, the technique and originality employed in the izihlabo — the introductory instrumental flourish — and the rende