Description
In Hammarsdale, South Africa, where the Zulu tradition of a cappella singingis central to the cultural identity of its people, youll have to transcend thesum of your constituent parts to truly command attention. But singingtogether as teenage boys for the first time, Pastor (Ntokozo Bright Magcaba),Duzie (Melokuhle Mkhungo), Guduza (Sphelele Hlophe), Sthombe (PhelelaniSithole) and Marcus (Sanele Ngcobo) have no reason to pause and consider that.
The Joy grew up on Ladysmith Black Mambazo, but theirharmonies hark back to another vocal tradition. Mbube means lion, whichgives some indication of the elemental power its practitioners summon when bursting into song. This seems to be the lineage into which lead vocalistDuzie seems to be tapping when he cuts loose from the intonations of his cotravellers, as if compelled to commune with the ancestral spirits whose music he invokes.
In the right hands, these songs can open the gates of heaven, so perhaps itsnot so surprising that, for The Joy, they open up the gates to places theydnever imagined theyd see with their own eyes. First prize in a municipalitywide singing contest earned them something in the region of $1,300, whichthey divided in five and sent straight to their families, where its most needed.Alicia Keys and Jennifer Hudson pronounce themselves fans, the lattercalling them my favourite group and inviting them onto her US talk show.
Sessions produced by longtime champion Two Inch Punch amass millions ofstreams either in spite of or because of the fact that they correspond tonothing else competing for your attention in the modern musical firmament.And, displaying the brotherhood that they say bonded them together fromthat very first session, they insist that the music speaks to them all with onevoice, telling them what to do before they themselves are even aware of it.The Joy sing about the big stuff – the power of dreams, religious faith – but actually when they address the harrowing specifics of day to day life,sometimes these
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