The three SA Music Awards Lifetime Achievement honourees, who will be celebrated at the awards ceremony later this month, represent a potpourri of sounds that influenced generations.
#SAMA23, as this year’s awards have been dubbed, announced that multiple Sama winner and “Queen of Gospel” Rebecca Malope, would be presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Don Laka is also in line to take home a Lifetime Achievement gong. Laka is considered the pioneer of kwaai-jazz. He began his career in the trenches of jazz, dabbled with the influences of kwaito, and is now a revered pianist and record label co-owner. He is also a Sama winner and a respected figure in the local music industry.
A voice that defined black music of the 1970s and 1980s, Babsy Mlangeni will also be honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Mlangeni never let his condition as a blind musician prevent him from achieving his goals.
Recording Industry of South Africa chief executive Nhlanhla Sibisi said: “We, as the Sama organisers, value these honours highly.
“We believe that our veterans, who served the industry with unmatched dedication and gave us timeless music, should never be forgotten by history, as such we look forward to etching the names of Rebecca Malope, Don Laka and Babsy Mlangeni in our prestigious list of lifetime achievers.
“We say well done on such colourful careers and let this be a token of our appreciation of your talent as a nation,” said Sibisi.