Legendary musician Madala Kunene to be celebrated at Van Toeka Af event

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South African music legend Dr Madala Kunene will be celebrated at a recognition event on Thursday.

This celebration will be the sixth edition of the Van Toeka Af Living Legends Recognition Series, a Department of Sport, Arts and Culture initiative which recognises and acclaims South Africa’s living legends in the creative and cultural sectors.

Previous honourees in the Van Toeka Af Living Legends Recognition Series are Dr Pitika Ntuli, Dr James Matthews, Dr Peter Magubane, the late Dr Madosini Mpahleni, and Dr John Kani.

Born in 1951 in Cato Manor, Durban, Kunene steadily developed his own technique of guitar playing that combines blues, soul and afro folk.

His hypnotic signature of his Zulu folk singing elevates his performances to a near-spiritual experience.

Kunene performed publicly for the first time as a seven-year-old in the 1950s, after fashioning a guitar with a cooking oil canister, a plank, and a fishing line.

In the following decades, he captivated audiences and received acclaim for his music.

At the age of eight, in the year 1959, Kunene and some members of his extended family were trucked off by the Apartheid government to go live in the then relatively new township of KwaMashu.

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In very little time he had become the hottest guitar player and was discovered by the late Sakhile leader Sipho Gumede.

Madala started to share the stage with such luminaries as Doc Mthalane, Songamasu, Shor Philips, Mankunku Ngozi and Busi Mhlongo.

Affectionately known as “Bafo”, Kunene’s latest album is titled 1959. It explores dense and often melancholic subject matter, especially his own history as a victim of forced removal.

Department of Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Zizi Kodwa said Kunene’s unique blend of blues and African folk music has enriched South African music, cementing his place as a South African music legend.