Brenda Nokuzola Fassie who is popularly known as Brenda Fassie was a South African anti-apartheid Afropop singer, songwriter, dancer and an activist.
She was affectionately called MaBrrr by her fans and she was sometimes described as the “Queen of African Pop”, the “Madonna of The Townships” or simply as The Black Madonna. Her bold stage antics earned a reputation for “outrageousness”.
She was a brave woman and she was loved so much by her fans. Let’s look into Brenda Fassie’s biography – Her age, early life and Occupation.
Brenda Fassie Early Life And Brief History
Brenda Fassie was born on 3rd of November 1964 in Langa, a township near Cape Town and she was named after the American country singer Brenda Lee. She was the youngest of nine children.
At 16, she had to moved from her home town to Johannesburg to seek her musical fortune. There, She found it when she was asked to stand in for a member of one of Soweto’s more popular groups at the time, Joy and later became the lead singer for a township music group called Brenda and the Big Dudes.
Although, her father died when she was two years old, and with the help of her mother, a pianist, she helped her daughter pursue her goals.
After that, Brenda Fassie released her first single titled “Weekend Special,” which later on became a hit in her homeland as well as in the U.K. Success proved to be a strain for Fassie, who was free with her money and liberal in her drug consumption. She had a son, Bongani, in 1985 by a fellow Big Dudes musician.
In 1986, Brenda Fassie made a public admission that she was a drug addict.
Brenda Fassie married Nhlanhla Mbambo in 1989 but later divorced him in 1991. And around this time she became very addicted to cocaine which really suffered her career alot.
In 1995, she was discovered in a hotel with the body of her female lover, Poppie Sihlahla, who had died of an apparent overdose.
Brenda Fassie died aged 39 on 9 May 2004 in hospital without returning to consciousness after her life support machines were turned off.
Brenda Fassie Death
Brenda Fassie died on the 9th of may 2004 where she passed away in the hospital.
Before she died, she collapsed at her home in Buccleuch, Gauteng, and was admitted into a hospital in Sunninghill.
The press were told that Brenda Fassie had suffered cardiac arrest, but later reported that she had slipped into a coma brought on by an asthma attack.
Reports later revealed that she had taken an overdose of cocaine on the night of her collapse, and this was the cause of her coma.
After Brenda Fassie ‘s death, Brenda Fassie was visited in the hospital by Nelson Mandela, Winnie Mandela, and Thabo Mbeki, and her condition was front-page news in South African papers.
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Brenda Fassie Relationship
Brenda Fassie had a son when she was 20 with one of her bandmates and In 1989, she married another man, Nhlanhla Mbambo, but the two quickly divorced.
She was hit by addiction after the divorce and struggled with a cocaine addiction for the rest of her life. Out of Nine children, Brenda was the last of them all.
Brenda Fassie Life Summary
| BIRTH NAME | Brenda Nokuzola Fassie |
|---|---|
| ALSO KNOWN AS | MaBrrr |
| BORN | 3 November 1964 Langa, Cape Town |
| ORIGIN | Johannesburg |
| DIED | 9 May 2004 (aged 39) Johannesburg, South Africa |
| GENRES | Afropop |
| OCCUPATION(S) | Singer-songwriter • Dancer • Activist |
| YEARS ACTIVE | 1980s–2004 |
| LABELS | CCP Records |
| ASSOCIATED ACTS | Brenda and the Big Dudes |
She was also inspired by example to others. When she confessed to drug and drink addiction, other prominent musicians went public about theirs. When she took her first lesbian lover, other black celebrities came out of the closet. She is survived by her son.
Although, some aspects of Fassie’s personal life still continue to appear in the news, she has reclaimed her status as a South African Kwaito diva with the most recent release of “Nomaknajani,” which has gone triple platinum.
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