Icons: Brenda Fassie

Brenda Fassie (1964-2004) was South Africa’s queen of pop music. She had a fiery spirit and her fair share of controversies in the press, but that didn’t stop her from capturing the hearts of audiences across the globe.

We're celebrating Pride Month with Icons: supreme queens of queer culture. Some are household names... others are a little more behind the scenes. All of them have defied social norms and influenced generations of people to be unapologetically themselves.

History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.

Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more.  Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures. 

Womanica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Liz Smith, Grace Lynch, Maddy Foley, Brittany Martinez, Edie Allard, Lindsey Kratochwill, Adesuwa Agbonile, Carmen Borca-Carrillo, Taylor Williamson, Ale Tejeda, Sara Schleede, and Abbey Delk. Special thanks to Shira Atkins. 

Original theme music composed by Miles Moran.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hello for Wonder Media Network. I'm Jenny Kaplan and this
is Wamanica. We're celebrating Pride Month with icons supreme queens
of queer culture. Some are household names, others a little
more behind the scenes. All have to fide social norms
and influence generations of people to be unapologetically themselves. She

(00:24):
had a fiery spirit and her fair share of controversies
in the press, but that didn't stop her from capturing
the hearts of audiences around the globe. Please welcome Brenda Fosse.
Brenda FOSSi was born on November third, nineteen sixty four,
in Langa, a black township outside Cape Town. Music influenced

(00:46):
her life from birth. She was named after the country
singer Brenda Lee. Brenda's mother was a pianist, and soon
Brenda was singing while her mom accompanied on keys. By
the time Brenda turned five, taurus were paying to watch
her sing. She sang in local churches and hospitals and
was known around the townships for her musical gifts. Still

(01:10):
just a kid, Brenda started her own band called The
Tiny Tops. Brenda's musical talent caught the attention of music
producer Coloi Lebona. After hearing Brenda sing, he called her
the voice of the future. Coloy invited Brenda to live

(01:31):
with him in the Sowetto township where she could finish
school and start her professional music career. The way Brenda
tells it, she hitchhiked on a gasoline truck to get there.
Others say she simply got into Koloi's car with her
mother's permission. Either way, Brenda's music career kicked off. At first,

(01:51):
she landed gigs filling in for singers of other musical
groups and had solo acts alongside better known musicians. She
then became the lead singer of her her own group,
Brenda and the Big Dudes. Brenda's big break came in
nineteen eighty three when the group recorded and released their
single Weekend Special. It was a hit. Practically everyone in

(02:14):
townships across South Africa knew the words. The song inspired
a new genre of music known as bubblegum music because
it's stuck in your head like bubblegum. Brenda and the
Big Dudes toured throughout the United States, Europe, Australia, and Brazil.
At just nineteen years old, Brenda was an international pop star.

(02:38):
With her star on the rise, Brenda left the Big
Dudes behind and launched her solo career. The Dudes named
their next album hamba Uzubaya, meaning yeah, go, but you'll
come back. But Brenda never did. She was doing just
fine on her own. Her first solo album, Too Late
for Mama, achieved platinum status in nineteen eighty nine. Around

(03:00):
this time, she gave birth to her son. In nineteen ninety,
Brenda released the song Black President in tribute to South
African President Nelson Mandela. She offered referred to herself as
his niece. The song described Mendela's brutal arrest and incarceration
and praised his fight for freedom for black South Africans.

(03:21):
It was banned by the apartheid government soon after. To
show her pride of being African, Brenda announced to the
world she would no longer sing songs in English. From
then on, all her songs were in zuluk Josa and Sutu.
As her career progressed, Brenda struggled with cocaine addiction. Her

(03:43):
increasingly erratic behavior earned negative attention in the public eye.
She fired managers, bailed on her own concerts, and was
once fined for assaulting a journalist. She blew her money
on expensive cars, houses, and parties. Her son was expelled
from his school because Brenda was so deep in debt
she couldn't pay the tuition fees. Media coverage focused on

(04:06):
her drug use, financial issues, and rumored by sexuality. In
nineteen ninety five, Brenda hit rock bottom. She was found
unconscious in a hotel room in Johannesburg beside the body
of her then girlfriend, who had died of an overdose.
This incident inspired Brenda to check into a rehab which

(04:27):
she would drift in and out of for the remainder
of her career. In the late nineties, Brenda released the
album Mimesa. It went platinum on the first day of
its release and became the best selling album in Africa
in nineteen ninety eight. A period of success followed, and
for four consecutive years, Brenda won a South African Music Award.

(04:50):
On April twenty sixth, two thousand and four, Brenda was
rushed to a hospital in Johannesburg. Family members said she
was suffering from a bad asthma attack. Most mortem reports
indicated she overdosed on cocaine when Brenda arrived at the hospital,
doctors placed her on life support. Nelson Mandela visited her

(05:11):
while she was in a coma. Her longtime partner, Gloria Shaka,
stayed by her bedside. On May ninth, Brenda passed away.
She was thirty nine years old. All month, we're talking
about icons. For more information, check us out on Facebook
and Instagram at Womanica Podcast special thanks to Liz Kaplan,

(05:33):
my favorite sister and co creator. Talk to you tomorrow.