Miriam Makeba, the South African singer who for more than half a century brought the intricate rhythms of her native land to millions and whose role as a spokeswoman against apartheid subjected her to 31 years of exile, died early Monday after a concert in Italy. She was 76.
Makeba apparently suffered a heart attack after performing for about 30 minutes. She died afterward at a private clinic near Naples. A funeral will take place in South Africa.
“Her haunting melodies gave voice to the pain of exile and dislocation, which she felt for 31 long years,” former South African leader Nelson Mandela said. Citing her nickname, “Mama Africa,” he added: “She was a mother to our struggle.”
Makeba captivated audiences with a voice suited to the polyrhythmic chant-songs of African music. Her 1967 hit “Pata Pata” became the first Top 20 U.S. single by an African artist.
It was a reflection of troubled times that her career became identified with politics, first through her banishment in 1960 by South Africa’s white apartheid regime and then through her 1968 marriage to the black American radical Stokely Carmichael.
After she and Carmichael toured Cuba, her U.S. bookings evaporated and her U.S. recording contracts were canceled. But she insisted her political protests were directed at South Africa, not Washington. The couple settled in Guinea at the invitation of President Sekou Toure and divorced in 1978.
