Nelson Mandela’s “favourite” singer and legendary local jazz musician, Thandi Klaasen, died on the 15th of January 2017. She along with the Hugh Masekela’s, Miriam Makeba’s and other musical activists were the soundtrack of Sophiatown – a culture-rich black area of Johannesburg whose people were forcibly removed by the Apartheid regime in the ‘60s, to make way for white suburbia.
Affectionately known as Mam’ Thandi, this iconic jazz artist played a pivotal role in the return of land to Sophiatown’s original inhabitants. To honour Mam’ Thandi, we took an iconic image of the Sophiatown resistance, shot by famous South African photographer Jurgen Schadeberg, and adapted its message from one of struggle to one of tribute to a musical legend.
The tribute was featured in the Sowetan newspaper, and on Universal Music Group Africa’s social media platforms. The poster was signed by UMG’s artists including Thandiswa Mazwai, Letta Mbulu, Mahotela Queens and the likes, and was delivered to Lorraine Klassen who is the daughter of the late legend.
