Mbongeni Ngema

Musician

Mbongeni Ngema, born in 1955 in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, was a music composer, film and theatrical director, writer, producer, and choreographer best known for plays that reflect the spirit of black South Africans under apartheid.

Mbongeni’s first love was theatre, and he was inspired while working in factories where his colleagues created plays for their entertainment. He later joined the acting company of South Africa’s prominent theatre innovator and entrepreneur, Gibson Kent, where he learned theatre and went on to create his own plays.

Ngema wrote and performed “Woza Albert,” an anti-apartheid comedy/drama that received rave reviews during its tour of the US in 1984. Along with Hugh Masekela, Ngema co-wrote “Sarafina,” a musical drama depicting a day in the life of a South African township through the eyes of high school students.

Ngema is also famously known for being one of the vocal arrangers for “The Lion King.” He received the multi-platinum award for over 6 million sales of the show and won a Grammy Award for the musical arrangement.

As a composer, Ngema’s biggest album in South Africa was “Stimela Sase Zola.” He also wrote songs and arrangements for various artists, including Michael Bolton on the soundtrack for the film “Sing,” and co-wrote backing vocals with Kenneth Gambe for one of Third World’s albums, “Siyi-Nkatha, Siyi-ANC,” a song about reconciliation and unity, which became one of his most popular songs during the apartheid era.

Music Genre:

Instruments:

Multi-Instrumentalist